First up, BLACK CITY is going to be a lead title! *jumps for joy* I found out a few weeks ago, and I’ve been walking on air since. This is such a huge honour, and I’m just so flattered that my publishers have so much faith in my book. I’m still pinching myself.

As a result of BC being made a lead title, my packaging had to be totally reworked, and I got my sparkly new cover through yesterday, and it’s BEAUTIFUL. It’s all top secret for now, so can’t say any more about that, but a cover reveal is on the cards soon, so watch this space.

Finally, BLACK CITY now has a new publication date. It’s coming out in November 2012, so mark your calendars!

In the meantime, I’m gonna carry on with Book #2!

• View Waiting on Wednesday post

5: WOMAN IN BLACK

I can’t wait to see this spooky horror both on stage and at the cinema this February!  There’s nowt I love more than a good scare, and nothing puts the heebie-jeebies in me more than ghosts…or spiders…or spider ghosts! EEEEPS! Plus the film stars my all-time weird crush Daniel Radcliffe (le dreamy sigh), so it’s going to be all levels of awesome.

4: CREWEL

Gen Albin’s debut novel  about a group of women called Spinsters who can weave the very fabric of reality sounds uh-mezzin, and I’m TOTALLY jealous I didn’t think of the idea first ;-p  Looking forward to reading it this Fall.

Read my interview with Gen Albin

3: HARRY POTTER STUDIO TOUR

Just brought my ticket for this, yay! I fully expect to get arrested for trying to thieve off some of Dan-Rad’s costumes.

2: THE HUNGER GAMES MOVIE

Mockingjay-pins at the ready! The Girl on Fire shoots her way onto our screens this March and it’s going to be epic. I loved, loved, loved the books and I just hope the movie does Katniss and Peeta proud.

1: BLACK CITY LAUNCH

SQUEEEE! Of course, the thing I am most excited about this year is the launch of my debut novel, BLACK CITY in August 2012. I can’t believe in the space of twelve months I’ve gone from being that weird girl who walked around her local bookstore daydreaming about being an author, to becoming…well, a weird girl who still walks around her local bookstore, but this time she has a secret smile on her lips.

I’ll keep you all posted on launch dates, cover reveals and how things are going with Book 2, but for now, Happy New Year to you all!

Urgh. Seriously. You’d think writing a sequel would be so simple. You’ve already got the characters, set up the universe, worked out the plot arc. Really, what’s there left to do except put fingers to the keyboard and type?

With a deadline looming on the horizon like an oncoming storm, I tried to pin-point why I’ve been having trouble writing the book, and it occurred to me this morning that I had fallen into the common pitfall of many newbie authors of ’trying too hard to impress’. I’m trying so hard to make every sentence perfect, every paragraph amazing, that I’m not actually writing anything – I’m just obsessing over the same stuff again and again, and driving myself stir-crazy in the process.

So my awesome writer chum Tracy Buchanan gave me some very sage advice today, which I shall pass on:

‘Just get it fucking written.’

Yup. Seems so simple, but she made a very good point. The first draft is just about getting the story down. It doesn’t need to be perfect. Heck, it doesn’t even need to be that good. It just needs to be fucking written.

So she’s ordered me not to re-read anything I’ve done until I’ve finished the book and that way I won’t nit-pick and obsess over the smallest thing, which upon revision I’ll probably just delete anyway.

So there we have it. I’m now gonna follow her advice and get it done.

Thanks Trixie-Pie!

To also help spur me on, I’m unofficially doing NaNoWriMo and have taken on the 50,000 word challenge for the month of November, so follow me on Twitter for updates and see how I’m doing. I’d love your support and encouragement, so feel free to Tweet me!

So far the NaNoWriMometer is at:

400 words

Just another 49,600 to go. Eeeps!

I’ve always been a massive fan of supernatural dramas, so when I saw the Secret Circle being advertised on TV, it’s fair to say I was a smidge excited. Anything that had both witches AND Thomas Dekker in it surely had to be full of win? Mmm…

I’ve just been flicking down my Sky+ menu trying to find something to watch that isn’t a cake program (which isn’t easy. I’m obsessed! Cake Boss, Ace of Cakes, Fabulous Cakes, Choccywoccydoodah, Cupcake Wars… you name it, I watch it all with gooey-eyed gluttonous glee) , and I paused on Secret Circle.

Rather than my usual ‘Squeee, I’ll watch that tonight with hubbie’ reaction I get with programs like True Blood or Vampire Diaries, I was half tempted to ‘accidentally’ delete it so we could both be spared another resigned conversation along the lines of ‘Maybe we should give it another go? It might be better this week’.

I honestly don’t know why I keep watching it. I guess I’m hoping it’ll get better. I guess I’m hoping Thomas Dekker will finally get his bleedin’ shirt off. But I think I’ve reached my limit with it now. Which is such a shame, as all the elements are there to be an amazing drama, it’s just missing one vital ingredient:

Magic.

Q&A with Suzanne Lazear

What is Innocent Darkness about?

Innocent Darkness is a Steampunk Dark Fairytale — these aren’t your little sister’s faeries. It’s a tale of flying cars, wishes gone awry, bad bargains, forbidden love, and sacrifice. It takes place in an alternate version of Victorian Los Angeles and San Francisco, as well as the Otherworld (Faerie). The story tells the tale of sixteen-year-old Magnolia Braddock who makes a wish that sends her tumbling into the Otherworld. But if Noli doesn’t die, an entrie civilization will.

Steampunk seems to have entered mainstream consciousness (even my mum knows what it is) – why do you think this is?

Steampunk as a term has been around since the 80′s, but I don’t think a lot of people were aware of the term. I think Steampunk is gaining popularity because people are finally realizing that that thing they like has a name — I liked steampunk long before I knew what it’s called.

What’s your favourite steampunk book and why?

My favorite Steampunk books are Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate Series because they are hysterically funny and have a very strong female protagonist.

What is is about steampunk that appeals to you?

I write steampunk for the hats.

[And what a hat! Tremazing.]

What’s your top tip for aspiring authors?

Never give up. I wrote many, many manuscripts and got many, many rejections before I sold and found an agent. Keep writing, keep learning, and keep trying.

Find out more about Suzanne and Innocent Darkness

• Goodreads
• Official author website
• Suzanne’s blog
• Follow Suzanne on Twitter

We chat about Black City, my publishing journey and hints and tips for aspiring authors.

You can read the full interview on her blog:

• A chat with Elizabeth Richards

Some of you may have noticed the pretty new ‘Ash and Natalie’ tattoo logo that’s now the background for this blog. Isn’t it cute?  

The two hearts represent Ash and Natalie’s dual heart, which are being strangled by rose thorns, representing Purian Rose – the man determined to keep them apart.

Big thanks to Amy Vincent for the logo!

Check out my latest interview on Goths and Goggles, where we discuss Twilight, Within Temptation, my inspirations and, of course, Black City Chronicles!

• Read interview with Elizabeth Richards on Goths and Goggles

Your debut novel LIES BENEATH is coming out in Summer 2012. Can you tell us what the story is about it?

The one-line pitch I always give is “mermaid assassins on Lake Superior,” but it’s about so much more than that. It’s a revenge story. It’s a love story. It’s a lesson in forgiveness. The back cover blurb will read something like this:

Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a dysfunctional family of mermaids, obsessed with killing Jason Hancock, the man they blame for their mother’s death.  To lure the aquaphobic Hancock onto the lake, the sisters charge Calder with the task of seducing Hancock’s 17-year-old daughter, Lily. “Get close to the daughter,” they tell him, “and you’ll get close to the family. Get close to the family, and you’ll get close to the man. Get him out on the lake. We’ll take care of the rest.” But Calder screws everything up by falling in love. Now he’s in the unenviable position of loving the girl while simultaneously plotting her father’s murder. Suffice it to say, his sisters aren’t pleased with his efforts, and Calder is running out of time (and excuses).

What was your inspiration for Lies Beneath?

Growing up, I spent summers sailing Lake Superior and its Apostle Islands, and there is a saying up there that “Lake Superior doesn’t give up its dead.” I was always intrigued by what that might mean, although I never planned to write about it. Instead, I was busy writing adult fiction, short stories, essays, etc. Then one night I woke up with Calder saying the first line of the book. I couldn’t shake him, and so now his story is told.

You wrote an interesting blog post about what makes a hero. What attributes does Calder White have that makes him such an interesting hero?

Thank you! Calder is very…conflicted. He’s a “mama’s boy” with no mama. (He’s lost two.) He is desperate for an idealized kind of family, and yet he agrees to destroy the Hancock family so that he can leave the only family he’s got and strike out on his own. He wants to kill; he doesn’t want to kill. He falls in love even though he doesn’t think it’s possible for his kind.  He’s unable to break a promise, yet everything he says is based on a lie. He’s basically pretty messed up. One thing that makes him a hero though is his willingness to be self-sacrificing.

The sequel to LIES BENEATH, WATER LILY, is coming out in 2013. Can you tell us a little more about it?

Well, I just sent it to my agent for her to read through, and I don’t plan to have it to my editor until October, so obviously it’s in its infant stages and a lot could change. However, I can tell you that while LIES BENEATH is told from Calder’s point of view, WATER LILY is a continuation of the story, but told from Lily Hancock’s point of view.

What YA books have inspired you the most?

Harry Potter (who hasn’t been inspired by Harry?); Shiver, Linger, and Forever; The Book Thief; Nightshade; and Twilight come to mind. I keep a list of faves on my website.
 
What’s your top 3 tips for aspiring authors?

Write because you want to. If it’s not fun, it’s not worth it. If you’re rejected (over and over and over), you’ll keep going, even though there seems to be no hope of getting published, because writing is fun in its own right. Publishing is the gravy.

So, I have to ask, will Agatha the Witch ever make a return?

*Sigh* Doubtful. I’m sure my parents still have a yellowed copy lying around somewhere. Maybe I’ll publish it on my website someday!

Find out more about Anne

http://annegreenwoodbrown.com
Twitter: @AnneGBrown
www.facebook.com/AnneGreenwoodBrown