Stephanie Lawton

It occurred to me that maybe I should share the FIRST six sentences from Want. I’ve posted some interactions between Juli and her piano teacher, but there’s much more to her story. It’s kinda heavy, so next week I’ll make sure to post one of the funnier moments.

If you want vampires and werewolves, faeries, fallen angels or zombies, you won’t find them here. I know a real-life monster. She drains the life out of me and tears at my flesh with words and fingernails that sink deeper than fangs ever could. I’m not her only victim, just her favorite.

Even the thick walls of our ancient house couldn’t absorb the crash of a delicate heirloom when she’d aim at Daddy’s head for his latest transgression. My six-year-old self used to peek around the corner and along the steps to where the monster did battle with Daddy.

Want will be released June 7 from Inkspell Publishing and the cover reveal (OMG GORGEOUS) is Feb. 10 on Novel Novice.

I just handed in a revised draft of Want to my editor, so now I can breathe again and tell you all the exciting things that have been happening!

First, like I just said, I have an editor! We’ll be working together for the next couple months to get Want all shiny and ready for publication. Her name is Melissa Keir and she’s a teacher and writer, as well.

Just this week I was introduced to my publicist (hah!) Majanka Verstraete. She unveiled an outline of our publicity plan and I can tell we’re going to have a lot of fun working together. (I’m also getting help from my “ninja publicist” but I’m not allowed to talk about that!) Suffice it to say there will be local, national and international exposure.

I’ve corresponded with a few of my fellow Inkspell authors and it seems like we have a nice group going.

We’re connected by our fearless leader, Shilpa Mudiganti, who is a real sweetheart and a trooper for patiently answering my million questions.

One of the scarier aspects of this whole process popped up this week. A former co-worker sent me a message that said, “I was talking about you at work … ” O_O Now, it’s bad enough to know that my entire family (and by that I mean the one I was born into and the one I married into) will be reading my book. But former co-workers, former college classmates, perhaps former English professors, ex-boyfriends … OH GOD.

I think I’ll be able to handle criticism from anonymous readers and online acquaintances, but people I actually know? Um, I may never go “home” again.

It’s Sunday, and that means another six sentences from Want, which will be released in June by Inkspell Publishing! It was written as YA, but our main character has some definite adult tendencies. Since most of the participants in #sixsunday (click here to see the others!) are romance writers/readers, they’ll probably recognize the undertones of this passage. Scandal!

Seventeen-year-old Juli has just been yelled at by her twenty-seven-year-old piano teacher. It’s the first time he’s shown his temper. She gets yelled at quite often by someone else close to her, so she’s understandably fearful, but …

He stands behind the piano with his massive arms crossed again, feet wide apart in battle stance.

Scorching embarrassment creeps up my neck and into my ears. Part of it is fear, but part of it is shame, shame because … I kind of like it. The adrenaline tingle is almost pleasant.

What kind of sick freak does that make me?

As if my mind’s betrayal wasn’t enough, my body turns traitor, too, when a tear breaks free and slips down the side of my nose.

Can I just say how much I’m enjoying #sixsunday?

Since most of the participants in #sixsunday are romance authors, this is a more “adult” excerpt from my older contemporary YA novel, Want, which, as of Wednesday Jan. 4, is under contract with Inkspell Publishing and tentatively scheduled for release in June 2012!!!

Here’s the set-up: Seventeen-year-old piano student Juli is on a post-performance high and risks coming on to her 28-year-old teacher. He’s rebuffed all her previous attempts. But here she has just, um, invaded his personal space.

His eyes glass over, and he doesn’t say no. Instead, he reaches up with his right hand and trails a finger along my jaw from ear to chin. I don’t expect an answer, so I don’t wait for one. I slip out of the studio and discover I’ve got a new little wiggle in my walk. Before I shut the back door, I take one last peek.

Isaac has his head in his hands.

Here’s the synopsis for the novel:

 Julianne counts the days until she can pack her bags and leave her old-money, tradition-bound Southern town where appearance is everything and secrecy is a way of life. A piano virtuoso, she dreams of attending a prestigious music school in Boston. Failure is not an option, so she enlists the help of New England Conservatory graduate Isaac Laroche to help her.

She can’t understand why he suddenly gave up Boston’s music scene to return to the South. He doesn’t know her life depends on escaping it and the madness that threatens her success. Isaac must resist a taboo attraction, but an indiscretion at a Mardi Gras ball—the pinnacle event for Mobile’s elite—forces their present wants and needs to collide with sins of the past.

For the last few Six Sundays I’ve been quoting my current WIP, Surrender, but there’s been renewed interest in my first MS, Want (thanks to #sixsunday)!

In this scene, our MC is playing Rachmaninoff for her new, handsome, impossible-to-please piano teacher:

I begin the Etude-Tableau no. 2 in C. It’s a relatively quiet piece, but technically difficult. For the next few minutes I’m lost. I will my left hand to do what it’s supposed to. When I finish, I hear the clock tick like a metronome. I sing a little ditty in my head, “Tick tock, goes the clock. Tick tock, tick tock …” and I wait for his judgment like a gladiator in the ring, wondering if my performance gets me a thumbs up or down; live or die; mercy or none.

Here’s the synopsis for the book:

Julianne counts the days until she can pack her bags and leave her old-money, tradition-bound Southern town where appearance is everything and secrecy is a way of life. A piano virtuoso, she dreams of attending a prestigious music school in Boston. Failure is not an option, so she enlists the help of New England Conservatory graduate Isaac Laroche to help her.

She can’t understand why he suddenly gave up Boston’s music scene to return to the South. He doesn’t know her life depends on escaping it and the madness that threatens her success. Isaac must resist a taboo attraction, but an indiscretion at a Mardi Gras ball—the pinnacle event for Mobile’s elite—forces their present wants and needs to collide with sins of the past.

Uh-oh.

See the other #sixsunday participants here.

Today I posted my picks for top YA books of 2011 on Novel Novice. Below is my list, but check out the complete post here.

In no particular order:

• Divergent by Veronica Roth
• A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young
• The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter
• Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton
• Hourglass by Myra McEntire
• Forever by Maggie Stiefvater
• Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton
• Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
• The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

I finally worked up the courage to read a passage at our writers guild’s open mic night … and it got canceled. SO, this week I bring you six sentences from the excerpt of Surrender that I was going to read.

Here’s the synopsis of the book:

Nothing’s been the same for Dylanie since she and her family visited a Civil War site and the place came alive with cannon fire. Problem was, no one could hear it but 10-year-old Dylanie.

Six years later, her dad’s moved out, her mom’s come out of the closet and Dylan’s got a spot on Paranormal Teen, a reality TV show filming at historic Oakleigh Mansion. She’ll spend a weekend with two other psychic teens learning how to control her abilities.

None of them realized how much their emotional baggage would put them at the mercy of Oakleigh’s resident spirits, or that they’d find themselves pawns in a 150-year-old mystery. Each must decide what’s right or wrong, and which secrets are worth keeping. A wrong choice could be fatal.

This exchange takes place between an adult psychic who is mentoring the three teens and Jake, a 17-year-old empath:

“If I don’t put up, like, a barrier, I can’t stop the emotions.”

“Tell me about your diagnosis.”

“Which one?”  It’s still a kick to the nuts to talk about this. You want to break a kid? Take him to doctor after doctor, each one talking like he’s not in the room, each one telling his parents a variation of Your kid’s fucked up.”

Hmm, it’s Sunday again already, which means another #SixSunday–about the only thing this slacker blogger can handle these days.

This excerpt is much different than last week’s. It’s an, um, exchange between the MC, 16-year-old Dylan, and the Civil War spirit who has just wiggled his way into her room at Oakleigh House, a historic (and allegedly haunted) antebellum mansion in Mobile, AL.

I shiver when his hands move from my back to circle my ribcage. He brushes his thumbs over the soft flesh, coming dangerously close to a line I don’t want to cross yet. I’ve gone from zero to sixty in the last five minutes, no games of truth or dare or movie theater make-outs to soften the shock of skin on skin and lips in places they’ve never been.

“Tell me, Dylanie, are you still completely inexperienced? Or have you shed that particular fear tonight? If not, we still have several hours until dawn to—how shall I say this—perfect your technique.”

First, I know form rejections are necessary evils. As writers, we totally understand why agents must employ them–too many queries and not enough time. Understood. As a busy mom and wife and writer and chef/chauffeur/maid/active member of the community, I get it.

However, as a writer in the query process and frequent visitor to querytracker.com, I’m seeing some real damage being done by form passes.

What’s wrong?

Most writers only submit what they feel is their best effort. If it’s clear that the agent has been given a first draft or terribly sub par manuscript, then by all means, send a form reject.

However, many of us send manuscripts that have been through a critique group. And beta readers. And rounds of revisions. And still get form passes. These vary from very kind forms, some slightly personalized (thank you!) to (I kid you not), three-word rejections. A fellow writer on querytracker reported getting a pass that read: “No, thank you.”

Seriously? Despite the “thank you,” where I come from that’s just rude.

Those of us who have put monumental effort into our manuscripts are left wondering, “What am I doing wrong?”

Just a few words of direction from an agent would give us a hint as to why our manuscript is not successful. Perhaps it’s just not the agent’s style or what they’re looking for at the time. Maybe there’s something too similar coming out.

OR, perhaps the manuscript just isn’t up to snuff. Okay. Tell us why. Obviously we don’t know and can’t see it or we would have fixed it already.

Damage

Form rejections cause damage on several fronts.

Until authors are told what needs improvement (or that maybe professional writing isn’t for them), agents will keep receiving not-quite-right submissions. This is frustrating for everyone involved. It’s a waste of the agent’s time and all the following ones who get the same manuscript. Some may say, “Why should I give you advice to fix your manuscript just so you can query another agent?”

Karma. Paying it forward. Do unto others. You get the idea. One day, YOU will be the agent who gets that improved manuscript.

Now, I know this will come as a shock, but many writerly-artistic types are sensitive. Many have not yet developed thick skin. What a shame if a really great writer gives up because they received all form rejections, even though the manuscript was fantastic, just not quite right for one reason or the other. What a waste. An encouraging word from a seasoned agent might have convinced the writer to keep going.

Whose job is it?

I can already hear agents picking apart my arguments. No, it is not an agent’s job to teach writers how to write. It’s not even can agent’s job to edit their own clients unless they choose to be that kind of agent.

I’m just saying that those who choose to go the traditional route to publication are frustrated because the keys to the kingdom are so elusive. As gatekeepers, agents have a lot of power and influence. I’m asking them to be benevolent rulers. Between whip lashes of, “This just isn’t right for me,” consider throwing out a few words of personalized praise or direction. It will come back to you.

And one final word to writers who respond to helpful rejections with misdirected anger: STOP.

You’re ruining it for everyone else.