Spread Your Wings & Fly or Before, After, Wow! What a Difference!

Here are the pictures you've been waiting for all your lives. The back of my head before and after my hair straightening. No, no, you don't have to thank me. I'm here to serve.



Um, sure, Debbie, whatever. You've finally cracked just like we knew you would.

What, if anything, does my hair have to do with writing, you ask? Plenty! I've done several posts on the difference between first drafts and final drafts, but the subject - at least for me - never grows old. These pictures of the back of my head represent "first draft" vs "final draft." For my purposes here, final draft means the point where you, as the writer, decide you're ready to submit your work to agents. From there, the manuscript is almost always edited further by both literary agents and editors at the publishing houses, so rarely is it ever the final, final draft.

The picture with my wavy hair represents the first draft. Every piece is there, ready to be teased and combed into place. However, it's a mess. It's gnarly, knotted, unruly, and not too nice to look at. My straight hair illustrates the final draft. It's perfectly structured, well-defined, and elegant. Months of focused, detailed, concentrated work is needed to transform the unruly mess into well-defined elegance.

If you're anything like me, getting to the point where you feel your work is "done" is one of the most difficult aspects of the writing process. I could literally edit my "final" draft over and over ad nauseum until the cows come home or until hell freezes over or until (insert your favorite cliche here) and never feel "done." So, when I got one request that quickly turned to three for a novel I'd finished months ago, I felt I needed to "review" my final draft before I sent it out.

Over the last 10 days, I've had the pleasure of revisiting my novel SPARKS FLY SOMETIMES: CONFESSIONS OF A ROCK PRINCESS. While it still needed editing, it was better than I remembered. I read through the entire manuscript, deleting unnecessary words, tweaking dialogue, and tightening scenes. It was a gift because it allowed me to see how far I'd come as a writer in such a short period of time, and because it gave me a chance to fall in love with the characters and story all over again.

And, I'm happy to say, SFS is complete! Until an agent or editor tells me otherwise, it's a "final draft." Like my sister, Laurie says, "Before, after - wow! What a difference!"

I've sent my baby off to those few select agents and, like a good parent, hope it will spread it's wings and fly.

And now it's back to the wild, unruly mess that is the beloved first draft. YA novel, look out, cause HERE I COME!!!

Soon is Good, But Good is Better Or, Please, Take Your Time

First of all, I promised an update of my Denver trip complete with poodle skirt pics. Well, it turned out not to be a poodle skirt, but pretty darn close. Given my musical background, this skirt was more appropriate. Please keep your laughter to a low roar.

Here are me and my family. Aren't my guys cute? If you look closely, you can see their fake tats on their arms with hearts and Mary Lou and Peggy Sue written on them.

And here are the my parents eating their cake and looking spectacular on their 50th Wedding Anniversary.

They had a ceremony and read vows to each other. It was touching to see my parents declare their love for each other after a lifetime together.

Afterward, we had a 1950's styled party complete with an acapella singing group doing all 50's music, hula hoops, and a 50's style dinner including mashed potatoes, chicken pot pies, meatballs, and chocolate cake.

Chuck and I performed the song, "All I Have to Do is Dream" by the Everly Brothers, and my whole family performed the song, "The Great Pretender," substituting lyrics written by my sister, Laurie.

Here are a couple of pictures of the cake with my parent's wedding picture on top. Isn't it gorgeous?

Of course, meeting my new niece was a highlight of the trip. Here she is, in a puff of pink, all dressed up for the big party.

IN OTHER NEWS...
First of all, a shout-out to one of my favorite Twitter friends. Congrats to you, Jamie, for securing representation! I'm thrilled for you and look forward to watching your career flourish.

Secondly, another agent has requested the full manuscript for SPARKS FLY SOMETIMES, which is beyond awesome. He said something to me that struck a chord. When I told him I was reviewing the ms before I send it out he said, "Soon is good, but good is better." Wow. Simple yet totally freaking brilliant. I have a tendency to want everything done yesterday (I blame it on my Brooklyn DNA) so this statement is deep for me. Very deep. SLOW. DOWN. Hmm.... What an ingenious concept.

So, I'm doing my best to read/edit at a reasonable rate, and not feel like I have to finish it in record time. I'm not yet halfway through, and have shaved off over 4,000 words. As I stated in my last post, Twitter has helped me hone my writing skills and become fearless in slashing words that aren't necessary. There's always more that can be cut, but I'm doing my best. In addition, I'm tweaking the dialogue to make it tighter, more efficient, and as genuine as possible.

I'm also writing THE SECRET KEEPER, but more slowly than before the requests came in for SPARKS FLY. I'm in love with my new book, and setting it aside is hard. It's like leaving your newborn with a sitter for the first time and feeling your arms ache with longing.

BUT... I know my baby's safe in the heart of my laptop (and on a back-up CD), and that as soon as I finish editing SFS, I will nurture it to the best of my ability.

So, thank you, you-know-who, for your sage advice. I'm doing my best to follow your counsel. I hope my work will prove worthy. No matter what, it's making me a better writer which is the greatest gift of all.

Sparks Fly Sometimes or Strange but Wonderful Things Can Happen...

A strange but wonderful thing happened yesterday. I was asked for a short partial - 10 pages - and a few hours later, a full manuscript for my novel SPARKS FLY SOMETIMES: CONFESSIONS OF A ROCK PRINCESS (SFS). My one line pitch for this novel is: Life as a rock princess in the Denver music scene does nothing to prepare Jenny Sampson for life as a domestic goddess in the suburbs of Philly.

Those of you who have been following me for a while may remember I queried this novel in the spring and when I finished MURDER ON TWILIGHT CIRCLE (MTC) began querying that. Then I went on to begin the follow-up to MTC called MURDER ON SONGBIRD LANE and, since the 20th of September (yup, that's the exact date I started writing!) I've been immersed in my first YA novel called THE SECRET KEEPER.

So, back to the strange thing. First of all, the agent who requested it is someone I met in person at the Backspace Conference in May. I fell instantly and madly in love with her and wondered what devil I could barter my soul with to get her to represent me. I queried her, at her request, and waited. And waited. And waited some more. Then she hired some help, got caught up with her queries, and lo and behold, requested my partial then full manuscript of SFS.

THE GOOD NEWS AND THE BAD NEWS
Said agent has kindly given me as much time as I need to review the ms. It's only been a few months since I finished writing it, but it seems like ages due to all the writing I've done since then. The good news is, I'm thoroughly enjoying reading SFS again! What an unexpected treat. The bad news is, I'm going to be slowing down on THE SECRET KEEPER, which I've been flying through at an average of about 2,000 words a day, while I re-read SFS.

You may be wondering why I need to review SFS since I completed it in May. I'm reviewing it because I know I'm a better writer now, and I'm taking my "new" eyes to peruse and lightly edit the entire ms. Fortunately, it's in pretty good shape. The biggest change I've noticed is due to the fact that since I finished writing SFS, I've become an avid Tweeter. That means, communicating in 140 characters or less, which translates into being a more economical writer. I'm eliminating a lot of unnecessary words in SFS or rewriting sentences to be more succinct. It's inspiring to see how far I've come in such a short time. I love SFS, and it's a gift to be given the opportunity to revisit it and tweak it that much more, all the while knowing it will be before the eyes of an agent I greatly admire.

So, there you have it. Like an unexpected bouquet of flowers, sometimes, when you least expect it, strange but wonderful things can happen. ;-)

The ART of Transformation

Transformation

An act, process, or instance of transforming or being transformed.

I'm in the process of fully transforming myself into a published writer. I've just become the Philadelphia Songwriter Examiner (I'll attach the link soon), where I'll write several articles a week on songwriting and the music business locally and in general (yay! and special thanks to Amy for turning me on to the possibility) and I've been bleeding myself dry working 10-12 hours a day going over every word of my novel to the point I can practically recite all 80,000 + words by heart in an effort to make my novel the absolute best it can be. (Given I can barely remember the lyrics to my own songs, this is saying something!)

My book, Sparks Fly Sometimes is about transformation - from a little girl with a dream to a rock goddess to a domestic goddess to a rock/domestic goddess. SFS is an affirmation of dreaming dreams, keeping a marriage alive through good times and bad, surviving the teenage years (your kids, not your own - MUCH more difficult!) and resuscitating dreams you thought were dead and buried. And doing it all with a LOL sense of humor!

I'm also working out regularly at the gym for the first time since I was a cheerleader in high school, transforming my body into a stronger, thinner version of myself. (Never fear. I'll be sure NOT to post any pictures of that bygone era!!)

Transformation can be a simple act. Forgiving yourself. Forgiving someone else. Making a declaration (as in a wedding vow). It can happen in an instant, perhaps in a dream; or as you stare at the ocean mesmerized by the waves, or sit in the mountains listening to the breeze gently blowing through the trees. It can be in a transformational seminar like the Landmark Forum (which I highly recommend) or as a result of a spiritual and/or religious experience or "awakening." Or it can be a process - an ongoing decision to take action in order to move from Point A to Point B.

Recreating yourself - that is the art of transformation.

So, my wonderful blog friends - what are you doing to bring the art of transformation to your lives???;-)

ALSO.... MY FIRST ON-LINE AWARD!!!!

Wendy gave me an award---a really sweet one, too. The Lovey Award is for "blogs that are exceedingly charming. These kind of bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to three bloggers who must choose three more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

THANKS WENDY! Now it's my turn to share the love.

I choose...

Amy
Ray
Joanne

27 Dreams / Sparks Fly Sometimes

27 DREAMS

I've been asked by some of my auspicious colleagues about my book. As I summed it up on Ray's blog, "Sparks Fly Sometimes" is about a rock goddess turned domestic goddess turned rock goddess. With a whole lot of other shit in between!;-)

My wonderful copy editor, Karen Carter, has told me to start a website featuring pictures and stories from back in the day. (Mid to late '80s.) Until I get to that, I thought you might enjoy a few photos from Jenny's, I mean my, days as a rock goddess. (I can hear you, so keep your laughter to a low roar.)

Pictures: Top - Crescent Wind (Pre-27 Dreams) Band Photo, My "Stevie" phase. My husband, Chuck is Frankenstein with suspenders in the middle.; me performing live; singing in a studio; during set-up before the Colorado People's Fair (notice Elvis on the drum!)

And, if you're curious to hear the music click here or here. (FYI: Our name is Karma Chain and my stage name is Jamie Keys.)