There is so much love and light that 2010 gave me and here it goes...the big sha-bang!
FINALLY! "Brand New Eyes" is a done deal! After leaving it hanging and realizing during the 2009 NaNoWriMo stretch that it needed to be so much more than a month of mere writing could feed its eager mouth, I put it on hold until January 2010 when I picked it back up and began a long and tedious journey of trying to understand why the characters were the way they were. Days turned into weeks, which quickly turned into months of curtains drawn, staying up all night and sleeping for very few hours, if any, and then working more and more until I thought my wrists were going to collapse and fingers fall from their joints. I was a hermit...but that isn't really that different from right now. Except for that I was depressed throughout the entire process of getting the idea of the story onto the paper, it was an extraordinary ride and I hope that a publisher picks it up after I get finished polishing it. I really can't send my baby off to kindergarten in wrinkled clothes now, can I?
For those of you who have no freaking clue what I'm talking (and wondering if I'm a little crazy) about here is a short synopsis (that I am currently revising and making much more enticing):
Amelia, an aspiring art history professor, and Andy, her loving best friend, have an almost perfect relationship, except for the fact that Andy has kept a secret from her for twelve years and he takes it upon himself to point a gun to his temple. As he is standing at the top of his parent’s barn in front of Amelia, he pulls the trigger- Andy dies in her arms. The people who are intertwined throughout the story touch each other’s lives in conspicuous ways- some good and bad, others selfish and ambiguous. Throughout Amelia’s discovery, Sarah, Simon, Joe, Erich, Ben, Riley, Emma, Miranda, Daniel and Lydia tangle themselves in an ever growing mess. Set in the rural town of Alma, Wisconsin, New York City and Los Angeles, they all begin to discover a true sense of self through the experiences of HIV and AIDS diagnoses, rape, domestic violence, drugs, homosexuality, contemplative and literal suicide, family tension, and a terrorist attack. With the good, conservative girl becoming a roller derby badass/stripper and husbands and wives becoming adulterers, they begin to learn things about themselves they never knew existed and everyone that comes into each of their lives changes and lays rapture to a speeding car in a downward spiral. All are thrown into their own stories that mirror each other more than they could have ever imagined, building a new and more complete picture of the human condition and the effects of it.
Thirdly, I finished a novel within a month! "Such Great Heights" is the spawn of a more than insane NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month attempt. Here is the synopsis. I have also began to send out query letters. (This is utterly terrifying, because I live by a "this sucks" mantra and "no one will ever love it as much as I do.")
For thirteen years Zoe has not understood why she got away with something while someone she loved had to suffer. She cannot wrap her head around that the one person she loved had to disappear. She still lives in the past even though her future is taunting its magic in front of her. It is just close enough to reach, but the desk she is glued to wreaks stability- a paycheck that pays the bills and her sister’s school tuition. At twenty seven she is still punishing herself and pushing everyone away. When her sister, Marissa, gets involved with the wrong people and ends up hooked on more drugs than Zoe can count on both hands she shrouds herself in her sister’s problems to deny her own. When her inner bomb explodes, Zoe storms out of the confines of the office and into a new world where all is anew. A chance meeting in the office elevator leads her to the person who will make her want to change and a grim diagnosis sparks her to confront her past and fears. She begins to think that there has to be a reason for all of the negative in her life. When she comes across journal entries and letters that help her write to an old acquaintance, she starts to unravel them. Sorting through her feelings about why she feels so depressed and anxiety ridden she discovers a place of acceptance, forgiveness and on the path to Nirvana.
Also, the anthology, "Oil and Water...and Other Things That Don't Mix," was released on December 15th through LL-Publications! This is beyond exciting! I remember back in August when I got the e-mail that my story, "Black Waters," was chosen- my sister and I simultaneously screamed and almost woke the entire neighborhood. I am forever grateful to my editor for the project, Nicky Wheeler Nicholson-Brown, for giving me a chance and putting up with me throughout the entire process.
Here is what "Oil and Water...and Other Things That Don't Mix" is all about:
The BP oil spill disaster in April 2010 prompted authors Zetta Brown and Nicky Wheeler-Nicholson Brown from the She Writes™ online community of writers to develop the charity anthology Oil and Water...and Other Things That Don’t Mix. All proceeds will be divided between charities that not only help the wildlife and environment, but also the people living in the area. With this in mind, they picked the charities of The Bay Area Food Bank (www.bayareafoodbank.org) and MOBILE Baykeeper® (www.mobilebaykeeper.org) to aid their continuing mission to help the Gulf Coast communities affected.
This anthology features award-winning authors, poets, journalists, bloggists, newly published authors, and talented new authors making their debut. The women and men contributing to the work came from everywhere wanting to do something to help the Gulf region.
The official theme of the anthology is “Conflict...Resolution optional.” Not all stories are specific to the South, but all have the theme of conflict and there is fiction and non-fiction inside. The stories, poems and recollections will make you laugh, cry, think—and some may even get you angry.
CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS: Jenne’ R. Andrews, Shonell Bacon, Lissa Brown, Mollie Cox Bryan, Maureen E. Doallas, Mylène Dressler, Nicole Easterwood, Angela Elson, Melanie Eversley, Kimeko Farrar, L B Gschwandtner, John Klawitter, Mary Larkin, Linda Lou, Kelly Martineau, Patricia Anne McGoldrick, Ginger McKnight-Chavers, Carl Palmer, Karen Pickell, Dania Rajendra, Cherie Reich, Jarvis Slacks, Tynia Thomassie, Amy Wise, Dallas Woodburn, Zetta Brown, Nicky Wheeler-Nicholson Brown
You can purchase it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, LL-Publications. VISIT us on She Writes, Facebook, AND follow us on Twitter, & Blogger.
So, I made a new friend from Kentucky! He is amazing, because he read my book. Wonder where??? In an indie bookstore in Morehead, Kentucky, that's where! I started screaming, not only because one of my books has achieved bookstore status, but because he looked me up and e-mailed me about it. This makes him super cool anyway, but then he went on to say that he loved my work. I almost peed my pants and jumped up and down and went and got milkshakes to celebrate! Chocolate milkshakes too...and you can buy the book that he read (Rollercoaster Road) and my other books on BLURB BOOKS!
So, I made a new friend from Kentucky! He is amazing, because he read my book. Wonder where??? In an indie bookstore in Morehead, Kentucky, that's where! I started screaming, not only because one of my books has achieved bookstore status, but because he looked me up and e-mailed me about it. This makes him super cool anyway, but then he went on to say that he loved my work. I almost peed my pants and jumped up and down and went and got milkshakes to celebrate! Chocolate milkshakes too...and you can buy the book that he read (Rollercoaster Road) and my other books on BLURB BOOKS!
Finally, the last thing that made 2010 pretty stoke-able! POSITIVE REVIEWS for "Oil and Water...and Other Things That Don't Mix!" YES! And they are unsolicited too. No one asked for them. These people were just awesome enough to care about the anthology that twenty-seven people poured their hearts into. So to these people: THANK YOU! You can also read them on Amazon!
Now, to start off 2011, I begin a completely new adventure: entering the publishing world (this entails finding an agent who loves my work as much as I do and getting on the track to having a novel in my hands), the "Oil and Water" Blog Tour (mark your calendars people: MARCH 2ND!), finishing the rest of my novel project (12 in one year...AHHHH), possibly moving to a new city, putting together a photo project and getting into a gallery, and, most importantly, trying not to go crazy while all of this is flying past me.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! May 2011 be the best year yet!
