Author Erin Albert interviews me...check out 12 Random Facts!

I've found a great circle of author friends who share their spotlight with a generous heart. Erin Albert is one of them. She is a YA writer. Albert's debut novel, The Prophecy is due November 2013! Please support her by liking her Facebook page.

CLICK HERE to check out the fun interview I did with her. Find out why I freaked her out...read random fact #8! And, discover why I'm excited to have this guest blogpost come out today, July 24...Lynda Carter/Wonder Woman's 62nd birthday...random fact #4.

Authors are Rock Stars and Should be Treated Accordingly....

At least for me, authors are ROCK STARS….I met YA author, Gennifer Albin today at the Lynnwood, WA Barnes & Noble. I arrived an hour early to avoid lines and to assess the situation. I would have been an awesome Girl Scout, I tell ya.

I asked the first employee to greet me for the location of the author signing. She had to call someone else and told me there were two possible places it could be within the store. She finally pointed me in the right direction. I expected to see more signage, maybe gaggles of teenage girls around, but I was the first one circling the author table.

To make use of my time, I bought a mocha I didn’t need and strolled the YA and Fiction sections. I treated the hour I was gifted like I was at Costco sampling books instead of food. I nibbled on beginning lines of some books, devoured first chapters of others. I read author bios and picked up books with covers that called to me.



When Gennifer and her husband arrived, I was already chatting up a lovely lady, Margaret, who was also circling the author table. She told me she arrived by ferry for this very event and we both agreed that we thought we would be out of place with a group of teenage girls. Margaret said her daughter was a blogger who reviewed books—a dream job if I wasn’t a writer, or a librarian, or anything else involving writing. The blog, Making the Grade…which I researched to find it is now Jenna Does Books…

Gennifer waited at the empty Information Booth and as much as I wanted to tell her where her table was, I kept quiet. Instead, I waved hello.

After she was seated, Margaret and I waited. And waited, knowing that it was indeed past 4PM. We listened for someone to announce her presence. Being an author myself, I wanted there to be more fanfare for our visiting author…maybe even a marching band.

After the weak announcement, I finally looked at Gennifer and greeted her. I told her I learned about her from NaNoWriMo—the National Novel Writing Month group. She was one of the success stories and inspirational speakers so to speak as I trudged through November 2012 trying to meet my quota of 50,000 words in 30 days. Her husband perked up and asked if I succeeded, and I was happy to share that I did. I told them that manuscript (Wonder Summer) was ‘marinating’. Mr. Albin shared that he too did NaNoWriMo.

Geek girl that I am, I wore my NaNoWriMo shirt and flashed it to them. Ahem…

Gennifer shared that an author friend told her of author signings at Costco…needless to say, my Costco comparison paralleled hers, but I wasn’t about to share that, for fear of being too fanatic.

There was no B&N employee there to facilitate the exchange between fans and author and I felt like since there was no official start bang or someone in tights declaring, ready, set, GO! I asked if we could proceed and she happily signed my book.

"To Tanya, Believe who you are."

She told her husband to snap a photo of us. I showed her for approval and reassured her that I would use Instagram to filter it so we could both be supermodels. She chuckled and said she forgot her phone and asked if I could tweet it.





The Albins wished me luck in my writing endeavors and for me, that was like a blessing. She was in the world I hoped to one day be a part of. I’ve had nominal success with Sirena and Attitude 13. When I say, nominal, it means I was able to pay for the fees to create the books. And, I hope that my upcoming romantic comedy, Secret Shopper—which I hope to release in May 2013 will reach a wider audience than my very supportive Chamorro community.

So, authors are rock stars because it’s a tough market. To create worlds from your imagination, to offer nuggets of truth, to make loveable, believeable characters who can resonate with someone…that’s tough. And, if there’s an author putting their world, their book out there, I will support them. I can only hope for the same. I’ve sat at my various Pacific Islander festivals, slinging books, pushing my imagination and hoping to connect. I’ve had events where I’ve only sold one book, but made connections. I’ve had events where I couldn’t even sit down, let alone eat from being busy.

So, as a fan of reading and as a career writer, I support authors who make that effort to meet their fans. I walked away enriched by my in person encounter with Gennifer. I will continue to support her career and wish her continued success.

So, of course, I’ve tweeted the pic to Gennifer, added it to her Facebook page (and mine) and now I’m blogging about it.

Writers need to uplift each other and I’m glad to have met Gennifer today.

Find out more about Gennifer Albin and her novel, Crewel here.

Kevin Smith, McFly and Writing Constipation

When I was 19, I took my first strides to being a writer. I was a sophomore at the University of Guam on a clear path to getting my degree in English and Secondary Education. My calling was literature, the beacon that took any spare moment of my time. I was reading and appreciating poetry and literature.

So, at 19, I pulled out my yellow notebook, wire ring and all, and outlined the story I was eager to flesh out. In my head, the entire book played out, the beginning scenes solidified on paper. I still have that notebook and the story is still swimming in my head. Its relevance and marketability now are questionable since I concocted it in the 90s. Jet City Woman. That was the title (I listened to Queensryche). Lynn Crow. The main character.

Aside from domestic goddess duties, Navy wife duties and weaving through our new Washingtonian status in Pac NorWest, I wake up every morning with the intent and sometimes a plan to write. Yesterday, I edited two chapters of my 2/3 finished novel.

I am impatient and distracted and with each full moon, hormonal.

My daughter and I just feasted on s’mores, so now I’m energized and feeling guilty about being sidetracked. I’ve also spent part of my morning watching Kevin Smith’s Too Fat for Forty. I folded clothes and enjoyed the first of three hours, saving the rest for later. I also ordered his book, Tough Sh*t: Life Advice from a Fat, Lazy Slob Who Did Good. I’m all about him right now, trying to squeeze out wisdom from his comedic and vulgar delivery.

In addition, thanks to CNN’s coverage of hot right now on YouTube videos, I came across Tom Fletcher. He’s a singer with the British group, McFly. His wedding speech, all 14.41 minutes of it was charming, engaging, entertaining and romantic. When I stumble upon a lead, I investigate everything encompassing that subject, so I’ve watched a number of McFly’s music videos, loving some of their catchy tunes.



So, Kevin Smith and McFly factor into this whole crazy process of writing. Sure, experts tell you to treat it like a job, sit for an hour or whatever prescribed time and just write. I did that with NaNoWriMo in November and I know I can sit and crank it out, but the creative process can be complicated. My interest in Kevin Smith and McFly right now will color my writing in some way, I’m sure. The creative process for me is more than just sitting my butt down in front of my laptop and pounding away.

I am suffering from literary constipation if you must. Something is brewing and when it’s ripe, the words will flow easier. (Like the visual in your head? Yep, that's what writers do)...

My first draft of a romantic comedy flowed easily. This was 2009. I was excited to share with two women who were part of a free writing group I joined at my local library. I printed them each a copy and we even met over coffee to discuss. I felt vulnerable since these women didn’t really know me as a person, but was honored that they had taken the time to read my crap. I call it crap endearingly, because the first drafts, let alone the first book you write are just that. I voiced this to the women when they didn’t give me a solid critique like I hoped. One lady only read the first 20 pages and the other, although she wrote notes, said “I only skimmed, sorry.” In my self-deprecating ways, I remembered walking back to the library, carrying the returned manuscripts, and said, “Well, writing is like taking a big dump. Once it’s out, you have to figure out what to do with it.”

I recall the two ladies looking at each other, laughing, “Did you really say that?”

Anyone who knows me truly knows I make the weirdest, sometimes vulgar analogies. It’s how I roll.

The only thing of value I have in this life is my ability to tell a story, whether in print, orating, writing it down or having people acting it out. That's why I'm always hoping society never collapses because the first ones to go will be entertainers. --Kevin Smith

Anyway, I’m experiencing writing/literary constipation. I walk around my domestic life hoping for a sliver of time to write. Yeah, yeah, I’m blogging right now, but it’s all part of the grander creative process. I’m figuring out what project to tackle, taking in Kevin Smith and McFly’s music in the background to get my gears going again. I’m doing the warm up to the marathon writing session I know is around the corner.

Needless to say, I’ll be 39 in a few months. Twenty years after I made a conscious choice to be a writer. I am one. But, I’m hoping the cumulative effect of my life will help me produce literary nuggets I can be proud of.


ESTA LATER