Working Title

Well, the day has finally come.

As of next month it will be two years since I started blogging on Disdainful-Soul.net. It’s an odd sensation to be sitting here now and writing this post. But I’ve finally stopped putting it off and putting fingers to keys.

Some of you may have already noticed this, but I have started to use my full name on most things, and now it has reached the logical conclusion: Catherine-Haines.com. It will be a combination of D-S.net and Working Title, and hopefully when I find me an agent who gets me a publishing deal, I can have a nice author website all set up (with a nice pre-built fanbase to go with it :P). I’ll be renewing the domain names for both when the time comes, so I have a whole year to work out what to do with them while the content stays up. It’ll also mean that all the stuff on the subdomains will be fine too. My bank balance… not so much. Oh well.

So please, come and check out Catherine-Haines.com, with its shiny new layout I am very proud of. I’d be tickled pink if you stopped by.

Originally published at Disdainful-Soul.net. You can comment here or there.

Originally posted at On The Nightstand.

Online bookseller Amazon.com is in deep doo-doo. You see, in a move tagged with #amazonfail on Twitter, the company has started deranking “adult” titles, which removes them from search queries.

Sounds okay, right? Wrong.

The problem lies in what they are classifying as “adult”: literature with GLBT content or leanings. Even books that don’t have any graphic content, such as non-fiction books, have been labled “adult” and thus deranked.

You can imagine my fury when I saw that Stephen Fry’s memoir and (the hardcover edition of) John Barrowman’s autobiography had both been deranked and removed from search engine result. The same goes for Heather Has Two Mommies, a children’s book. There is a list of affected books over on Meta_Writer.

So what can you do? Let Amazon know that they have done wrong, of course. Tweet about it using the #amazonfail tag. Blog about it. Sign the petition. Get the word out.

Other Links On #Amazonfail

• DearAuthor.com - Amazon Rank
• Jezebel.com - Why Is Amazon Removing The Sales Rankings From Gay and Lesbian Books?
• Mashable.com - Amazon Accused Of Removing Gay Books From Rankings
• BookSquare.com - Open Letter to Amazon Regarding Recent Policy Changes
• Petition - In Protest at Amazon’s New “Adult” Policy
• Smart Bitches, Trashy Books - New definition of Amazon Rank

Looking for an Amazon alternative? Try The Book Depository - same prices, with FREE worldwide shipping.

Originally published at Disdainful-Soul.net. You can comment here or there.

I’d be writing this whole post myself, but I think Kiandra has put it best, so I steal quote from her post.

Coming up with an initial idea for a story is most likely the easiest bit. Then you have to work on the idea; you have to create characters, a plot, settings and all the rest. This can take a long time, depending on how much effort you put into it all. Eventually you manage to finally get everything worked out; what happens here, who falls in love with who, who dies, how it all ends, stuff like that. You think to yourself “finally, I can start writing the story.”

So you’ve written the first couple of thousand words and everything seems to be going along nicely. The world your characters live in is starting to take shape and your story has really begun. Then comes that unpredictable problem that has certainly plagued me for a very long time; you come up with another fantastic idea (or so you think anyway).

Now what you want to do is work on that idea, develop it and create the characters, the plot, the settings and everything else. But wait…aren’t you all ready writing another story?

I know exactly what she means. I had been working on The Superhero Diaries, but when that stalled along came more and more ideas for He Came From The Sea. And then, while I was working on the beginning of He Came From The Sea, back came The Dead Girl (a fragment/off-shoot/mini story you might have already seen). And these are all ideas that have been plotted out and actually started, not ideas bounced around.

I both hate and love my brain sometimes. Do you have the same problem?

Originally published at Working Title. Please leave any comments there.

As the title says, this is a short story set in the Blood Bound universe. It takes place a few months after the events of chapter one (Charlie’s turning), but it is still early on in the whole “vampire hotel” thing the Richards family have got going on.

Warning for language and sexual references. Also for work posted without a beta (but with spellcheck).

Read the rest of this entry »

Originally published at Working Title. Please leave any comments there.

As if maintaining both Disdainful-Soul.net and Working Title wasn’t enough, I have gone and started a third blog. Having noticed that several of my recent blogs on D-S.net were about books, and there were several on Working Title as well I decided to join the leagues of book bloggers and start my own.

So from now on all my book reviews (and book-related posts) can be found at On The Nightstand. My three latest reviews are for The Graveyard Book (Neil Gaiman), Uglies (Scott Westerfeld) and The Tricksters (Margaret Mahy).

If you like books and are looking for reviews and suggestion please stop by at On The Nightstand.

</shameless promotion>

Originally published at Disdainful-Soul.net. You can comment here or there.

I looked over at my DVD shelf just now and found myself asking, “When did I get so many DVDs?” They just seem to accumulate gradually and randomly, depending on what’s on special wherever I am. I added to my collection just today, with the two-disk versions of Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc. thanks to the local car-boot sale.

For my own sanity, if not you’re own interest, I’ve made a list of my DVDs. I think I got them all.

Read the rest of this entry »

Originally published at Disdainful-Soul.net. You can comment here or there.

We’re about a third of the way through the second round of beta-ing for Blood Bound, so while JK is doing her thing, I am doing mine. And right now that means (besides working on The Superhero Diaries) I am trying to write a query letter.

A query letter sells your article, novel, short story, or other work to an agent or editor. You send a query letter to get a request to write a piece or to save you (and the editor or agent) the expense and hassle of dealing with a manuscript that isn’t wanted. Query letters are sales tools. If you’re trying for an assignment, then the letter tells how and why you will do an excellent job for the editor. If you’re trying to place a completed manuscript with a publisher or agent, then the letter describes the book and your worth as an author.

They say that the hard part comes first but to me it’s the opposite. Writing the novel was the easy part. :/ Before I can even get the whole thing down perfect, or even submit it to Absolute Write for critique, I have to actually complete it. Unlike with writing BB it’s less… instinctive? Intuitive? Easy? Whatever the case is, I have a much shorter space to write it, I have to sum it up but still make it catchy, and I have to make the agent want to actually read it.

I’m almost there with a first draft thankfully. Just got to fill in a blank space I have, round it off and a few little bits. Then I can have it hacked to pieces by the people of Absolute Write.

And once that is all done, and I am happy with the final product… then I can actually start contacting agents about my novel.

Complete at 80 000 words, BLOOD BOUND is a young adult urban fantasy novel about a girl, a boy, and a hotel for vampires.

Hee hee. I am still giggling over that.

Originally published at Working Title. Please leave any comments there.

Title: Wicked Lovely
Author: Melissa Marr
Genre: Young adult, fantasy
Pages: 331

Rule #3: Don’t stare at invisible faeries. Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in the mortal world. Aislinn fears their cruelty—especially if they learn of her Sight—and wishes she were as blind to their presence as other teens.

Rule #2: Don’t speak to invisible faeries. Now faeries are stalking her. One of them, Keenan, who is equal parts terrifying and alluring, is trying to talk to her, asking questions Aislinn is afraid to answer.

Rule #1: Don’t ever attract their attention. But it’s too late. Keenan is the Summer King who has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. He is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost—regardless of her plans or desires.

Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working anymore, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything. Faery intrigue, mortal love, and the clash of ancient rules and modern expectations.

Read the rest of this entry »

Originally published at Disdainful-Soul.net. You can comment here or there.

I started writing my first novel when I was thirteen. It was called Never Trust A Hybrid and it was a girl who discovered that her father wasn’t dead… he was undead. What was planned was a journey of self-discovery, acceptance of one’s self and role in life, and internal debate on the nature of good and evil and whether it is nature or nurture that shapes you.

Not bad for a thirteen year old, I think. Unfortunately my thirteen year old self did not have the dedication to see the story through and even if I did I suspect it wouldn’t be as good as Blood Bound is today. Eight or nine years was good for me in that respect.

However Never Trust A Hybrid is not lost: it still leaves traces of influence on Blood Bound. One character survived from Hybrid and now is firmly settled into the BB universe. He is mentioned throughout BB, makes his first appearance in the sequel and was last seen shaking his fist at the sun.

Of course, Athanasios has changed since Hybrid: he is no longer the protagonist’s father (Delia: “Thank God!). His name is no longer Marcus/Mars and he was no longer identified with the god of the same name (in fact, he’s gone slipping down the Roman social ladder, all the way down to “slave”). On the flipside, he is still seen by some as a stupid radical for changing the way things have been done for centuries. He still has a surprisingly warm and fatherly demenour. He still has a fondness for modern technology.

Characters and stories evolve within themselves as well as from older, deceased works. I first came up with the concept of The Superhero Diaries back in 2006. Since I resurrected the idea there have been a number of changes.

• The overall plot has changed, while the opening sequence is still very similar in events.
• In the 2006 version, Gaia was called “Diana”. Now she is “Georgie”.
• The German superhero (whose civilian name is) “Aylin” was called “Sabine”. Now Sabine is someone else, although connected to Aylin.
• “Diana” lived with her parents and two younger brothers, aged 7 and 10. “Georgie” lives with her mother, stepfather and twin stepbrothers (aged 13).

Many things remain the same as stories evolve but some things do change. I can see how my own writing has evolved, just as The Superhero Diaries has evolved from its 2006 idea into the 2009 draft. Characters change and grow, new ideas are added and entire planned scenes are dropped (I learned this in BB when I had to cut some scenes because they didn’t fit anymore - I am still sad that the vampire macarena scene between Charlie and Jared is not mentioned in-text now).

They evolve.

 
——–

In a shameless plus that is not related to evolution of stories etc. but is about growth in a way, some friends and I have just opened up Bibliocon, a forum for the discussion of YA fiction (and other types as well. :P). So if you’re interested, join! Help Bibliocon grow. Help it evolve.

Originally published at Working Title. Please leave any comments there.

With the help of a few friends I have opened up Bibliocon, a forum for discussing YA books and more! So join, please!

Originally published at Disdainful-Soul.net. You can comment here or there.

Checking out the Fragile Eternity ARC contest over on BoyWithBooks.com.

Originally published at Working Title. Please leave any comments there.

It’s been almost ten days since my last blog entry and yet I can’t think of anything substantial to write. I know I should write something - after all, it has been ten days - but I just can’t bring myself to do much.

I was going to blog about my trip to Napier, but I couldn’t drudge up the energy. You can see my photos taken on the trip, though.

I want to write a review of Wicked Lovely and Ink Exchange, both by Melissa Marr but again… nothing happens.

It’s like all the sparks have gone out of my head for the moment.

I’ve had the same problem with writing The Superhero Diaries. I know exactly what comes next in the story - a pissing contest (not literally, just a “lay ‘em out and we’ll see whose is bigger” thing) between two Supes (over the catching of airplanes) and then the introduction to Georgie’s family. I’ve only just settled down the names of her stepbrothers (Callum and Paul) but her mother and stepfather keep eluding me. I kinda see “Steve” for him so that’ll probably stick. Her mum is still gone.

As you can imagine, that blows. I have entire scenes in my head waiting to go, all laid out but I can’t muster up the energy to sit down and type. I’m in my worst stage of procrastination.

I thought about writing a blog about job-hunting but what would I say? I applied to loads of places and got rejected. I am either over-qualified or under.

Basically life kind of sucks. And to make things even worse… my Pikachu gets wiped out by Lorelei’s Dewgong in one hit. And there’s only four levels between them.

Hmph.

Originally published at Disdainful-Soul.net. You can comment here or there.

I was recounting a small tale from the Blood Bound universe to JK, my friend and beta, and well… she whipped up this little drawing.

Backstory: This scene features Athanasios¹, the king of vampires in the United States² in his newly modified Vegas mansion… which has tinted windows³ and is partially solar-powered.

And so he says to the sun, shaking his fist, “WHO’S THE BITCH NOW?!”

So yes, that’s a little bit of Blood Bound humour for you. And as a little update: JK is on the last four chapters of BB in has finished the first round of editing. We’re getting closer and closer to getting ready to start querying literary agents. Cross fingers everyone.

1. He is mentioned several times over the course of Blood Bound, but we have to wait until book two to meet him in person [↩]
2. Minus Alaska and Hawaii… long story [↩]
3. He doesn’t know how the tinted windows keep him and others from frying, but as he says, “Gift horse, mouth, you know the phrase.” [↩]

Originally published at Working Title. Please leave any comments there.

What I am about to say may sound harsh - that’s because it is. It is not directed to all of you¹, but at least a good-sized chunk of the fanbase.

You are by far one of the worst fandoms I have ever had the misfortune to come across² The batshit crazy portion of you can be rude, obnoxious, horrifyingly stupid at times and, if reports are to be believed³, you can also be prone to fits of violence.

Most people understand the concept of opinions, and that people are allowed to have them. Just because someone doesn’t like [insert fandom of mine here] does not mean that they are a horrible person, or that they are stupid. I am not simply better just because I like [insert book/movie/musical artist here] and they don’t. It is their right to not like something, just as it is your right to like it.

Everyone has the right to an opinion, whether it’s a positive one or a negative one. Opinions are a two way street, people.

It is TweenTeacher’s right to be of the opinion that “the books are poorly written” and that “the message of the books is icky” without being bombarded with horrible comments.

You really have no idea of what the books are really about. let meguess you never fallen inlove with some one or even had the experience. You read this books with your eyes closed and with a closed mind as well.

My first impression of your review is that you’re probably a failed writer who is taking it out on Steph Meyer. Five bucks says this is true. If you have never written, I *will* send you the five bucks. Just email me. Then I will ask you what the hell you’re doing teaching if you’ve never written.

LEELAwhereareyou is allowed to have her (incredibly eloquent, especially for a twelve year old) opinion that the books suck without being told she’s ugly, that she “needs to get the fuck over it” or worse things I do not want to repeat on my blog.

Entertainment Weekly is allowed to publish a negative review of Breaking Dawn without the author and the magazine being sent chess pieces in an attempt to change the review. Actually, that goes for any review of Twilight and its sequels, be it from a large site like Smart Bitches, Trashy Books or a random person’s personal blog.

It doesn’t matter - they all have the right to an opinion. Which leads me to…

Stephen King, writer of many, many novels is allowed to say that Stephenie Meyer “can’t write worth a darn”. He knows a thing or two about writing, and guess what: he is allowed to have an opinion. He is not “insecure”, “jealous of Stephenie Meyer’s success” (or of Edward’s good looks!) or “upset that a woman is so successful”. The appropriate response is not to flame him, make nasty comments, suggestions to send him hate mail or promise to throw something at him.

And I am allowed to write a short story poking fun at one of my favourite genres - the very genre I have written a novel for⁴ without receiving a comment about how it is offensive (thanks for saying it’s good though).

wow. as a twilight fan i find this funny yet slightly offensive. i mean its a good story but come on do you really think that writing this story is going to get people to stop talking about Twilight?

Just remember die-hard fans: people have the right to not like Twilight, just as you have the right to like it. They have the right to say they don’t like it, just as you have the right to say you do. Them not liking Twilight is not an attack on you - it is not an appropriate response to attack them back. And if they do start a fight… finish it in a calm, mature and responsible way. Don’t swing right back.

In short: Grow up. Act like the adults some of you are. You’re giving vampire fans - and fandom in general - a bad name.

1. Those of you who are sane Twilight fans, I applaud you. This blog entry is for the really obsessive, over-reactionary fans. [↩]
2. The dubious honour of being the worst goes to the K-Pop band Super Junior’s fanclub E.L.F. And they only win because there are no confirmed Twilight deaths. [↩]
3. The “Twihard Attack Directory”. Some of these reports do sound fake/exaggerated, but some do not. I speak from personal experience when I say teenage girls can be batshit insane at times, and can do unspeakable things. [↩]
4. Blood Bound is currently in the first round of editing. You can read more about it, and my other works, at the projects page of my writing blog, Working Title. [↩]

Originally published at Disdainful-Soul.net. You can comment here or there.

As some of you may or may not have noticed, the projects page of Working Title has received a serious overhaul. Now it is not simply a page for Blood Bound and a few other short pieces: instead it is about Blood Bound, The Superhero Diaries and a third, secret project, Mirror, Mirror.

So check out the projects page, read up on The Superhero Diaries and Mirror, Mirror and, of course, check out the opening scene from The Superhero Diaries!

And for those of you wondering about Blood Bound… my beta is currently on the last few chapters in the first round of editing and should be complete in the next few days.

So what does this mean for BB? Well, the first round is smoothing out sentences, cutting out bloat, keeping things in line with previous statements, and Ameripicking (one thing I love about TSD is that the narrator is a kiwi, so I get to keep my natural “writing accent” you might say :P), amongst other things. As for the second round we get to go in more heavily… JK probably can explain better than me - she’s beta’d published stuff before. And since she’s been ill these last few days, please go ahead and give her some comment love. She deserves it.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the little snippets here and there. I promise to have the spellchecked-draft of Mirror, Mirror’s prologue up soon. It’s almost done.

Originally published at Working Title. Please leave any comments there.

One of my biggest fears about starting The Superhero Diaries is that Georgie/Gaia (the main character and narrator) would sound like a Delia clone.

It took me a while to get into Delia’s voice - my wonderful beta says it is because I was doing exams at the time, and so my head was in essay mode - but once I did her voice was clear to me. She’s very sweet, and what you might call an old soul. Despite the weirdness of the world around her, she’s used to it, and it doesn’t faze her much.

Despite being the same age as Delia (give or take a few months) Georgie comes across as being much younger - she’s going through the period of forced growing up that Delia went through several years earlier. Unlike Delia, who is an observer by her position and nature, Georgie is a world-changer by the nature of both her personality and the position/powers that have been thrust upon her as the newest Supe. She’s much drier in tone than Delia, plus I get to have fun using New Zealand slang and the like when she’s speaking. No more having to type “trunk” instead of “boot” and the like.

While I am enjoying writing The Superhero Diaries there is just one thing that really is a hassle: having to go Ctrl + I whenever I want to write fragments of a telepathic conversation.

Oh well. Writing the scenes and conversations between Georgie/Gaia and Santiago/Morph is worth it.

You okay up there?

The voice was in my head, but it wasn’t mine. I jumped just a fraction at the sound; I still wasn’t entirely used to being able to send and receive telepathic communications from a few certain people. A few months ago my mind had been mine, and mine alone, so it was still definitely a little awkward to have other people invading it.

Yeah, I sent back. I paused to wriggle my way through a dense part of the crowd. I guess you could say I’m still not used to this skin, even if it is mine.

Laughter echoed through the telepathic link. I hear you. I still get that feeling now and again.

You’re a shapeshifter, Morph. Of course you feel so out of place in your own skin – you’re in and out of so many of them I almost forget which ones are actually yours.

That earned me more laughter. Okay, okay. Time to get serious now. Can you spot me?

Not with Andre the Giant’s sister in front of me.

Originally published at Working Title. Please leave any comments there.

Title: Burial
Author: Neil Cross
Genre: Crime, thriller
Pages: 291
Tagline: Can your guiltiest secret ever be buried?

Nathan has never been able to forget the worst night of his life: the party that led to the sudden, shocking disappearance of a young woman. Only he and Bob, an old acquaintance, know what really happened and they have resolved to keep it that way. But one rainy night, years later, Bob appears at Nathan’s door with terrifying news, and old wounds are suddenly reopened, threatening to tear Nathan’s whole world apart. Because Nathan has his own secrets now. Secrets that could destroy everything he has fought to build. And maybe Bob doesn’t realise just how far Nathan will go to protect them…

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Originally published at Disdainful-Soul.net. You can comment here or there.

Two things: D-S.net is now using tags, and I have a Tumblr account. Check it out and feel free to follow me!

Originally published at Disdainful-Soul.net. You can comment here or there.

About this time last year Nellie did a short series of posts under the grouping AMGMC: The Anti-Mainstream Gangsta Music Campaign, and being the sheep I am I did two entries on the same theme. Recently it occured to me to give it another go so here we go: Disdainful-Soul.net’s third AMGMC post.

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Originally published at Disdainful-Soul.net. You can comment here or there.

I am in the middle of cleaning my room, or at the very least tidying up my bookshelves.

I am like my parents, in that I like to read, and have a big collection of books. And thanks to Borders and TradeMe that collection is only getting bigger. It only bugs me when the books I want are not available in New Zealand yet, or even worse, books that are out in hardback but are not in the massmarket paperback (which are a) cheaper and b) matching the rest of the series).

As I have mentioned before, I am working on completing a goal of reading 29 books in 2009 and I have added a section to my sidebar that reflects what I am currently reading. My shelves are only going to get more full as time goes on.

I am so proud having bookshelf #1 all tidy and organised for once I wanted to share it with all of you!

Click image to learn more about what’s on these shelves.

 
So now I need to get into bookcase #2 and make room for even more books that I know will be put on these shelves.

Originally published at Disdainful-Soul.net. You can comment here or there.