A Break!

Oh hello!

So I took a little break, as I'm sure you noticed by the silence from June through September. That first month I was just exhausted from finishing The Tempest, and thought I'd relax.

I just came on today to check how long I'd been away, and found, in horror, that it's been nearly THREE MONTHS since my last post! WHERE DID I GO?! If YOU disappeared for three months I would've been very worried!

I am alive! I promise!

Here's my story:

In August, I was a bridesmaid in my best friend's wedding and proceeded to tear the ACL in my knee, which is a ligament you need if you want to walk.

It was similar to this.

So now that walking is out of the picture, I've been on crutches. I chose not to go out on disability and instead worked from home and then found out I'd need surgery and began going back into work on crutches, which let me tell you, is the worst. The commute is god-awful, and it seems that no matter what you do strangers are drawn to your injury and insist on touching/hitting it. I had three bags bang my bad knee on my first bus trip by three different people. I've never had anyone bang my knees on public transport before, so this was shocking and infuriating.

I honestly wish I'd broken a bone. First, because it would have healed by now, and second, because it would turn this blog post into a pun.

I also wish I had a charming story about my life to tell you, but my life has been closer to A Series of Unfortunate Events than a fairy tale recently. People literally make jokes about my luck now. And it's not because of my good luck.

That's the universe responding to me.

So instead of diving into that cesspool of sad, I thought I'd share a little about what happened after I removed The Tempest from this cherished blog of mine.

Querying is exactly the nightmare I remember it to be two years ago with my first novel. If I recall correctly, my first 5-6 rejections ended with me doing something similar to this:

Only now I have more writer friends in the same process, and it's a MILLION times better. I've always hated my queries and with the help of friends, they actually seem decent. Not "OMG I NEED TO HAVE THIS BOOK IN MY LIFE IMMEDIATELY," but I'm working on it. It will get there, and having friends who have the tools and knowledge to point you in the right direction is the most anyone can ask for. Why? Because writer friends are the only people who let you demand things of them, but *only* things you're willing to do in return as well. That's a golden rule to stand by.

One or two will let you go this far.

Want to see my pitch?

Of course not, but when has that stopped me before?

The Tempest

Going through puberty is hard, with wild uncontrollable emotions and embarrassing crushes, no one makes it through unscathed. But what if your anger causes lightning and your embarrassment creates tornadoes? For Sparrow Remy, losing her temper has devastating consequences.

After losing her temper with her best friend Tiny, Sparrow is whisked away from the only home she’s ever known, and sent to live with her grandmother; a warm and strange woman who owns an apothecary in Mendocino, California.

At first lost and alone, Sparrow makes fast friends and the mischievous three enter a haunted lighthouse on a dare, and stumble into a real ghost! When Sparrow receives an Ouija board, the three attempt to contact the ghost, but are instead met with a spirit that possesses Mason and tells Sparrow that all of the men in her family were murdered.

Sparrow begins diving deeper trying to unravel the clues to her heritage. With the help of a spell book from an Italian man she’s never met, and the lack of help from her tight-lipped grandmother, Sparrow uncovers horrifying answers that send her down a path of revenge.

Decent, right? I'm hoping your reaction was like this:

  Until you have that reaction I'll be changing it a million times over the next few months.

I'm also looking for Critique Partners! Hit me up if you also write MG loooow fantasy/paranormal! I am looking to swap and start finding plot holes! I'll be participating in #CPMatch on Saturday and I hope to see you there! :)

I hope your summer has been happy and bright! I've missed you like crazy!

All my love,

L.B.