The Next Big Thing: The Promise Ring

After seeing this writing meme around lots and loving the opportunity to learn about what people are working on, somebody actually tagged me. Twice. So thanks to Q and Kelsey, you get to learn a bit more about the novel I'm currently revising, THE PROMISE RING. 

What is the working title of your book?
THE PROMISE RING. Honestly, it's pretty self-evident why, but it's not exactly a title I'm in love with. With my first novel, SICKGIRL, the title was something that I really connected to and it was sorta intuitive. With this one, it just sorta seemed to do the job. But I still feel like it's good enough, and so until I can think of something better, it stays. Besides, it's sorta growing on me a bit over time. 

Where did the idea come from for the book? 
This idea really stems– probably not a huge surprise here– from the concept of promise rings. I went to a Catholic high school, and knew at least one girl who had one. The words written across it, "True Love Waits" always stuck in my mind. One day when trying to sleep, I had this image of a girl wearing this delicate ring that felt so heavy, because of the implications attached to it. When I first wrote those first two lines on a post-it note I promptly lost, I had no idea it was going to be in verse. SICKGIRL, my first completed novel, wasn't. But when I went to write THE PROMISE RING, it was like I knew instantly this was how it was meant to be. Now I just have to hope I wasn't wrong.

What genre does your book fall under?  
It's definitely YA contemporary and it's probably a bit darker than you would expect.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? 
I honestly really hate these questions. I don't mind reading about other peoples' dream casts, but my brain doesn't work that way, and I just get a little frustrated thinking about it. Maybe at some point I'll feel more comfortable answering, but for now, if you want to know what my characters are like, then you'll have to read my book!

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
One sentence? Really? No matter how many times I see other writers answer this, I'm always impressed they've managed to condense their book into one sentence. And most of them have novels much, much, longer than mine. So anyway, I'm sure this is going to suck, but here it goes:

Eden made a promise to her dad to remain pure until marriage but then he dies, and she meets Mason, who finally makes her feel alive again but her desire for him may cause her to forget the one thing she promised her dad.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? 
An agency I hope! I think an agent is crucial to making sure it's sold to the right place. I'm also thinking about a career, not just this one book. If I can't get an agent with THE PROMISE RING, well there's always my next book! Or, uhh, my previous book, if I ever finish rewriting SICKGIRL.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? 
Fifteen days. Keep in mind, however, that it's only 25,000 words long, so it's not as impressive as it sounds. That said, it was a pretty amazing feeling to realize that when those two weeks were over, I had a brand new novel on my hands. Now I just have to get the inspiration for my next novel, and start writing!

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? 
I feel compelled to limit my genre to YA in verse, rather than YA contemporary, which would also qualify, and because of that my options are pretty limited. When I think about these for querying, I always come back to Lisa Schroeder as well as EXPOSED by Kimberly Marcus.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?
Pretty sure I already covered this, but basically I gave up on a novel that had some unfortunate similarities to one that's going to be published next year and was looking for a project. I mentioned my post-it idea to a writing buddy, and she was really supportive and I decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
It has kissing, but it's not a romance.

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Now I have the opportunity to tag other writers, which would be great, if I knew any! It seems like most have already done this, but if you haven't– I TAG YOU.

Here are the rules:

• Use this format for your post
• Answer the ten questions about your current WIP (Work In Progress)
• Tag five other writers/bloggers and add their links so we can hop over and meet them. (Include the link of who tagged you and this explanation for the people you have tagged.)

Planning A Trip To The Other Side Of The World

So back in September I applied, along with my twin sister and younger brother, for a Birthright Trip to Israel. It's a really incredible opportunity for young Jews to visit, and it's the sort of chance I probably never would have had otherwise. All three of us were accepted and are taking that trip together. It just so happens that we're leaving in less than three weeks.

Unfortunately, because of a lot of political stuff and unrest I do not want to talk about, I wasn't really sure if the trip was still going to happen or not, so I held off on a lot of planning. The entire ten days we get to spend in Israel are completely organized for us, but I wanted to stay longer and visit a neighbouring country or too, and take full advantage of my plane ticket to the other side of the world. I didn't actually book the extension though, until earlier this week.

We were supposed to come back January 6th 2013, but while my siblings are, I'm not coming back until the 20th. Instead, I'm taking a detour to Istanbul, Bahrain, and hopefully Dubai and Oman (though those last two haven't had plane tickets booked yet). I bought my Turkish Air tickets today after I got confirmation that my extension on my Israel ticket had been confirmed. So now I'm all set to go. Except for the fact that I haven't planned anything.

Luckily, my best friend Laala happens to live in Bahrain, which is my reason for visiting, and I can rely on her for lots of organization and ideas. She also spent five days in Istanbul earlier this year, so she's already recommended a hostel and I plan to get as much information out of her as I can. Still, this is the first time I've ever taken such a massive trip, and the fact that I'll be traveling for nearly a month is both nerve-wracking and exciting. So while there probably won't be any blog updates while I'm away, I can promise lots and lots of photos when I get back.

Oh, and just to quell any jealousy you might feel, my current journey home (from the 19th to the 20th of January) looks like this:

Bahrain -> Istanbul -> Tel Aviv -> Toronto -> Halifax

And as excited as I am, I'm tired just looking at that two day journey. Traveling to the other side of the world is incredible, but I wish there were a way to orb myself home. It's the wrong kind of science for me, but somebody should definitely get on it.

Happy things with which to end the week (1)

Happy things with which to end the week is a post that Micaela at Dolce Vita Micaela does almost every week, featuring exactly what it says. I love the positivity of her posts, so I've decided it's something I'm going to try to participate in regularly. Plus it's a great opportunity to make use of Instagram and give a little more information about the pictures I post there now that I've officially joined the club. You can find me @strandedhero if you're looking for more nail polish and other random things (probably food, based on this first week).

It was too early for a Halloween manicure so I went with a lovely green by Sinful Colors (Rise and Shine) and a top coat of glitter by L.A. Colors on my thumb and ring finger. A little sparkle always makes my week better.

 

 Last Saturday we went to visit M's parents and his mom made a delicious, but gluten-filled, pizza which meant I got to spoil myself with sushi instead. There's a new local place there that I've now been to twice and both times it's been satisfying and wonderful. I had tuna, avocado, and one with avocado, smoked salmon and cream cheese and all three were great. Any week is better with sushi.

The next day M and I went out for lunch with his mom at the local truck stop where he got a happy meal. "You wouldn't want a sad hamburger," the waitress said and she is obviously right.

I got hailbut and a massive chocolate milkshake. M had a vanilla one, which he usually gets when he goes there with a friend and I was glad to finally get the chance to taste what he'd been raving about. That metal cup in the background was also pretty much full, so that I ended up with double what the glass holds (though I couldn't quite finish it!) It was just as delicious as it looks. I have an intolerance to dairy and so it made me kinda sick but it was definitely worth it. 

After lunch we picked up a massive (1/2 bushel) amount of Cortland apples and I made applesauce from scratch. Thanks to M's mom for her help peeling! I love my homemade applesauce, all it has is apples and a touch of cinnamon in it. I've been enjoying it all week. Oh, also the second photo is before I mashed it, so it's not that lumpy anymore!

And by Tuesday it was finally time for me to justify my Halloween manicure. I went with the Hunger Games orange nailpolish by China Glaze and a slightly sparkly black by Gosh. Again, I went with the accents on the ring and thumb finger– I guess it's a style I'm fond of lately. I think it's a pretty classy Halloween look. I do have a more traditional orange and black (sans glitter) that I might use next week if this chips off in time. Nothing like some holiday-themed nails to cheer you up. 

It's great to look back on these photos on Friday, after I just came home from a fantastic time at a departmental grad student Halloween party, and be grateful. Especially because I'm going to be spending much of my weekend on a midterm that is eating my soul and my all my free time. I really hope I can keep this up though! It was a lot of fun taking photos on my phone– and a lot easier than having to upload and reformat them all, even the quality is better on my camera.

What happy things do you have to end your week with? 

Letting Go and Looking Forward

Moving across the country and starting a brand new degree is hard. I'm not sure why I expected it to be any different. I really want to focus on the positive and the fun for Writing Whimsy, because otherwise, where's the whimsy? But I have to say it. Beginning my PhD has not been easy. Right now I'm realizing that a project I've been attached to since I started in September may not be the one I'll end up doing. I might be able to save elements, but in general– it just might not be the right time for it. Maybe in ten years, when certain costs have decreased. But sometimes, I think, you have to admit to yourself that no matter how much you want something, it's not always possible. That's depressing. I mean, we're always told to chase after our dreams and believe in ourselves. Well, I can't believe in $340,000 magically appearing to do my project, and I'm not sure that my Plan B will work. So if it doesn't, then yes, it is time to move on. I'd rather recognize this now then after three or four years of work. I think the same thing can be said about a lot of life. Sometimes, it's okay to let go.

The other thing I'm struggling with is a take home statistics midterm, but I just got that today and I somehow maybe just managed to do a question worth 8% which is way more than I thought I could do when I was first handed it. So I'm going to somehow believe the rest is possible. I have to try to be a little optimistic at least. 

With that in mind, here are a few things I am looking forward to this week:

• Halloween manicure (tomorrow night! And I have the best orange by China Glaze from The Hunger Games collection).
• Debate club on Wednesday, which I joined and really enjoy. I debated for the first time in three years last week and it went surprisingly well. My partner and I placed 2nd out of 4. Now that the rust is off, I can only get better.
• Trying out another meal on my slow cooker. Probably a roast with potatoes, though I also bought some "simmering steaks" that I think might be good with onions and potatoes. 
• Watching the new episode of Dexter that M and I didn't get to watch tonight. I love that show. 
• Continuing to work with the awesome associate book reviewer I got for my book blog, In The Next Room, and give myself a bit of a break from book reviewing. She just agreed to review a book I was pitched by the author– it sounded great but I didn't have the time or energy for it. It felt awesome to be able to say 'yes' when usually I would have said 'no'.
• Somehow, despite the fact that it feels impossible at the moment, making a dent in this midterm (due next Wednesday) and being able to look back and be proud of all I've accomplished. I guess that goes for life in general.

Judgey Eyes

Phew. I'm so glad that first post is out of the way. It's like a blind date. You don't know what to wear, or who you're meeting, or if they're going to be looking at you with judgey eyes or not. Now that it's over with I can move onto my regularly scheduled unscheduled programming. By which I mean, here's another blog post. I may or may not have already run out of things to say.

Okay well here's a secret that's not a secret anymore. This weekend I started watching The Bachelor Canada, there's been three episodes so far and we caught up. I've never watched The Bachelor before but I was interested by the Canada aspect and also, CityTV has all the episodes online for free. I'm not sure how the normal Bachelor works, but they seem to be eliminating girls awfully fast on this one... which is probably good because at this rate the show will be over in about a month and I can go back to my slightly less guilty pleasures instead. The horrible girls on the show are definitely the ones that stand out so I guess it'll be interesting to see if they are the ones that stay. There are a couple nice ones too. The guy himself, Brad, seems alright though he does have a pretty horrible tattoo. So I guess I have judgey eyes too.

Anyways, it was kinda neat that he booted extra people off on the most recent episode so he could spend more time with the remaining girls. Or– and maybe I'm just cynical– maybe the show only got a limited number of episodes. I'm sure they'll draw it out longer if it's a hit and it comes back next year. I promise not to watch it again if it does.

The show I'm most excited about right now is Dexter, and it's been an intense and awesome season so far. Also loving, The Big Bang Theory. And How I Met Your Mother, though this isn't the best season so far. And I guess that's about it. No wonder I got desperate enough for The Bachelor Canada, especially now that Project Runway is over. For the record– Fabio should have won, I'd be most likely to wear Melissa's, Christopher was out of his depth and knew it, and if the judges said "impeccable construction" about Dmitry one more time I was going to scream (but sorry, even with that weird hair, the clothes were not that exciting or creative which was disappointing because he was one of my favourites throughout the season). I would have swapped Fabio and Dmitry's places based on the final collection, but for the season as a whole I agree.

My favourite reality television is definitely cooking competitions though, so I'm still very excited for the start of Top Chef Season 10 really soon (November 7th). Part of me is getting a little tired of it, especially between the All Stars and the Masters and the Just Desserts and the Canada series. But I know that the instant that show starts I'll be hooked back in.

Do you watch any horrible TV like I do? Is there any of it you'd recommend?

Hi, I'm Zoë. The dog is Sass.

I haven't had a 'real' personal blog in ages, maybe forever, because I was pretty much under the impression that you needed to have an interesting life to have one. Well, maybe this will force me to be more interesting! If not, it'll be a lot of nail polish and science. Maybe even the science of nail polish. Probably not.

Okay, well here's a cute picture:

This is me and my puppy Sass back in June. She's not actually my puppy, she's my mom's. So she lives an hour and a half plane ride away which means that I don't have to walk her or feed her or all those other things that grad students don't really have time for. But she's cute and I love her. Someday, I will have my own puppy. Until then, I have a blog.

Also, just so they don't feel left out, my mom actually has three puppies.

From left to right, they are Mango, her half sister Nala, and then mommy Sass. This photo is two years ago, so Mango is now actually the largest one. And yes, they are poodles, no need to make them insecure about it.

Now I've run out of things of things to say. Nice to meet you.