WONDERLAND Blurbs #1

WONDERLAND has received its first blurb, from the talented author of TEMPER, Layne Fargo. Thank you, Layne!

2020 Reading Lists

It's incredibly exciting to see WONDERLAND starting to appear on 2020 reading lists! I'm so eager for readers to have access to this suspenseful, mysterious, magical, terrifying little book of mine. 

In the past week it has been selected by Tor-Nightfire for their list, All the Horror Books We're Excited About in 2020, and the SheReads list, The Most Anticipated Books by Women in 2020.

This has been all the more surprising and gratifying because the ARCs are only just starting to go out, and I don't know if anyone has even read the book yet! :-)

WONDERLAND Cover & Pre-order

I can finally reveal WONDERLAND's beautiful, intriguing cover! 

When I first saw it I thought "Orange? That's a strange color for a novel that takes place in winter." And then all of the symbolism started coming to me, and haunting me, and I realized how brilliant this cover is.

And for those of you who are really excited, WONDERLAND is now available to pre-order!

Now On Goodreads

Good news, reader friends! My next book, WONDERLAND, is now listed on Goodreads! The book is set to be published on June 16, 2020 and the cover hasn't been revealed yet (I absolutely LOVE the cover and can't wait to share it with you!). I'd sure appreciate it if you'd add WONDERLAND to your Goodreads Want To Read list. 

Wow, it seems like it's been a long time coming to get this second book out into the world, but I think things are going to start picking up now. I'll be back with updates when I have them! 

Pitch Wars Advice Blog Hop

For those of you who are about to be selected for Pitch Wars – and for those of you who are not – I see REVISIONS in your future!

Revising is something all writers do, whether it's your first book or your hundredth. "How do I make my book better?" can be a maddening question and there aren't always easy answers. However, there are common things that you can look for as you approach the next draft of your novel. I'm in the process of developing a workshop to help writers identify issues that many of us encounter, and these fall under two headings – Strengthening the Story, and Perfecting the Writing.

From Sept. 2017: ready with the red pencil

The biggest "big picture" concerns are bigger than what I'm going to address here, things like plot, character arcs, a story-worthy problem, a concept with zing, etc. You can read about those in any number of craft books. Rather, I want to address the sort of details that you can train yourself to become aware of. Many of these, if left unresolved, will earn you a plethora of "bubble comments" from critique partners, beta readers, or even editors.

STRENGTHENING THE STORY:

1) Not enough tension. Tension is necessary in all genres. Tension keeps the reader on edge and involved. To achieve tension in your writing you need to make sure that various things, on various levels, are unresolved. New questions need to be continually introduced: "What's going to happen if________?", "Why did she react like that?", "Oooh, what's that little teaser referring to?" Tension also exists when characters disagree with each other. In short, tension is a byproduct of conflict, and you want to have multiple layers of active conflict present throughout your novel. Regardless of what type of story you write, tension can increase the likelihood that your readers keep turning the page.

2) Have you left all the good stuff in your head? You know where your scene is taking place and what it looks like. Do your readers know? You see how your characters react to situations, and know the backstory that makes them act that way. Have you let the readers in on that? There's an element to this that's about description (places, people, objects, weather, etc.) – which needn't be long to be effective – but a bigger element is about world and character building. If you want readers to SEE and KNOW what you see and know, you need to show them.

3) Write "in scene" whenever possible. Sometimes a bit of summary is useful, but don't use it to avoid writing difficult or otherwise more interesting "in scene" chapters. Where summary tends to be passive, writing "in scene" is active. Where summary is telling, writing "in scene" is showing.

PERFECTING THE WRITING:

1) Consider dialogue:

- Where is it too explanatory?

          

- Are there exchanges that could be a little shorter? (i.e. conversation that doesn't contribute to the story or characters)

          

- Are there exchanges that could be a little longer? (People can be kind of roundabout in conversations; the novelist needs to find a good balance.)

          

- Are there certain words that only a certain character uses?

          

- Look for places where you can replace "she said" with more meaningful action or internalization: 

a) "I don't know," she said. Vs:

b) "I don't know." Mary scratched her nose, determined not to look Wade in the eye. He probably already knew she was lying, but she'd made a promise to her sister.

2) Consider individual words:

- Look for stronger verbs

          

- Look for more accurate/expressive words of all kinds

          

- Look for overused words, both common and "weird" (In Word, use "Find")

          

- Look for words that are repeated too close together (in the same sentence or paragraph)

3) Check punctuation. Watch for overuse/underuse of commas, semi-colons, colons, and em dashes. Use exclamation points rarely!

4) Make sure every sentence reads JUST as you want it: **

- If it's awkward – or when in doubt – FIX it!

          

- Find yourself yawning while reading your own book? Tighten in places that feel like they're dragging.

          

- Keep an eye on she/her (and he/his) in places with multiple people = make sure it's clear who the "she" and "her" are referring to.

** Note: this can be easier to assess when you have "fresh eyes." Try to take some time off between drafts – weeks, or even months!

It might take some practice, but over time you can become conscious of these kinds of nuances and really take your work to the next level.

Happy writing… and revising!

BABY TEETH Soon To Be A Major Motion Picture

I can finally reveal... BABY TEETH has been optioned for film by Village Roadshow!

EXCLUSIVE: Village Roadshow and Valparaiso Pictures have partnered on a film adaptation of Zoje Stage’s bestselling 2018 novel Baby Teeth from St. Martins Press.  Screenwriter Nina Baker will adapt.

For the full DEADLINE announcement click here.

I have many film friends who have thought that writing/publishing novels was my secret backdoor plan to resume my filmmaking career... but that isn't true. I love how writing a novel is like wearing every creative filmmaking hat - writer, director, cinematographer, production designer, actor, etc. - and it is fulfilling in a way I can't even describe. I am thrilled that the adaptation of BABY TEETH is underway, and while I'm available to any of the film team if they want to pick my brain, this project is in their hands.

I've already spoken in-depth with screenwriter Nina Baker, and I'm very excited to see her adaptation of my book come to life! Hopefully we'll have more updates on this in the near future...