Miranda Kenneally Promo!, ROW80, Writing Wrap-up by Decade, Wishlists and Research, and Joe Hill in Pyjamas

early goals!

A long long time ago, I came across a year-by-year wrap up of writing and other events written by an author some of you might recognise (she said cheekily). I was inspired to do the same and hinted that I might post it, but never did.

So now, four years late, here is a brief wrap up by year of all my writing (some of the years and stories overlap a bit here and there). I originally meant to have school and travels and family and reading lists as well, but that'll have to wait. Also the list doesn't mention every writers' houseparty we've had to date.

2000: Some poetry. Some book and music reviews and essays in university newspapers. Probably some short stories. Nothing to sneeze at, unfortunately.

2001: Year-long travel column in Bizim Anadolu

2002: Started my YA novel An Arnavutkoy Spring, which takes place in Istanbul c. 1910

2003: Continuing work on the first draft of An Arnavutkoy Spring

2004: Year-long book review column in Bizim Anadolu

2005: These memory exercises are hard! I don't remember what-all I was writing in 2005. Maybe I was playing at translating Tolkien into Turkish. Who knows?

2006: Joined the Compuserve Books and Writers Community. (I should mention that this was a direct result of reading the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. Thank you, Diana!)

2007: Started MG/YA The Face of A Lion! Wrote a short story called He Ain't Heavy and submitted it to the SIWC Storyteller contest. Started this blog.

2008: I spent the year working on The Face of A Lion, writing and editing and researching. Wrote a couple of columns for Bizim Anadolu.

2009: Finished The Face of A Lion and began sending it out to agents! Started a new novel, set in 1492 (Out of the Water). Wrote a few columns and books reviews for Bizim Anadolu. Wrote two short pieces for the staff newsletter at work.

2010: Lots of editing and research for The Face of A Lion, and then in the summer, the Cherry Hill and Constantinople writers' houseparties happened. I began drafting Out of the Water in earnest. Also had a dream of a story that finally saw the light of day as my 2013 NaNoWriMo project.

2011: The year of Out of the Water - endless drafts and editing and research and query preparation. NaNoWriMo project was Rome, Rhymes, and Risk, which I typed up later in the spring.

2012: Drafted a paranormal novella, Druid's Moon, over the summer, as well as a short story called At Summer's End. NaNoWriMo project was Captive of the Sea. Wrote a very rough draft of a short mystery that takes place in time between Out of the Water and Captive of the Sea. Reworked two very old pieces and shared some ancient writing snips on the blog.

2013: Shelved all other stories in order to edit and query Druid's Moon. Typed up Captive of the Sea. NaNoWriMo project is Alice and George's story (the dream from 2010!). Wrote a short story called Where's There's Life, which was shortlisted for the SIWC Storyteller award. Wrote a vignette on New York City, which I hope to submit to Vine Leaves.

ROW80 is going well - my main goal on the To Do list was to keep up with NaNo and I've been doing much better than I expected at getting words down. It really does help to make writing a daily habit and not let others distract you for at least an hour a day, no matter what!

2014: I hope this will be the year of edits and queries. I'd like to have a lot more polished works under my belt, rather than so many stories shelved to edit later. Which means I had better enjoy my drafting highs while I can...

Tweeting about writing in your pyjamas with Joe Hill. As you do...

Wishlists. I have wishlists every where. Links to books saved in my various emails, a list of Books To Get in my work email, Amazon US and CA wishlists, and so on. I'm adding another one here: all the books on Neil Gaiman's American Gods (incomplete) bibliography that I haven't read yet. So many fascinating titbits of folklore and American lore and intriguing portholes to aspects of American history that hardly ever get discussed. I need more reading time!

Here's a book I saw at a New York City flea market...

But they were charging way too much.

As if I had all the time in the world, I just signed up for an online course from Future Learn!

I do need it for research, after all.

Speaking of research, I found some great travel and railway guides as part of my research for Alice and George's story, set in the summer of 1914 near Knowlton, Quebec (in the weeks leading up to England and Canada's declaration of war):

Some people were aware of the need to save the forests even back in 1922

Driving directions up to the Windsor Hotel in Montreal in 1914!

I'm not sure what "with trolley" means - turn in the direction of the trolley? Watch out for the trolley?

Also took a photo of our neighbourhood war memorial near Remembrance Day:

Montreal West

I've got lots of other New York photos - and some secret photos of the upcoming Tobey Maguire film Pawn Sacrifice, which turned Montreal's Notre Dame street into a 1950s Brooklyn avenue for a weekend! - that I'll be sharing now and again...

I've also got a Miranda Kenneally promotion to share!

From Sourcebooks...

They're from two different worlds, but Savannah isn't exactly one to follow the rules. . . get the next contemporary novel from blockbuster YA novelist Miranda Kenneally: RACING SAVANNAH!

Right before her senior year, Savannah's father whisks the family off to Tennessee to work as head groom at fancy Cedar Hill Farms. Savannah finally sees it as the perfect opportunity to earn extra money as an exercise rider -- no matter how many others don't want a girl around the barn. But she's also caught the eye of Jack Goodwin, the owner's son. She knows the rules: no mixing between the staff and the Goodwin family. But Jack has no such boundaries. With her dream of becoming a jockey, Savannah is not going to let someone tell her a girl isn't tough enough to race. Sure, it's dangerous. Then again, so is dating Jack.

We've put together a fun campaign to thank readers for pre-ordering: send us your proof of pre-order and we'll send you this fabulous horseshoe key chain!

A Gift for You, for Pre-Ordering RACING SAVANNAH by Miranda Kenneally

We have a special offer for US and Canada YA fans for the release of RACING SAVANNAH by Miranda Kenneally in stores in a little over three weeks! If you pre-order the book, we will send you an exclusive horseshoe key chain—perfect for any busy teen on the go! You have until December 2 or until quantities run out.

Here's how to get your charm:

1. Pre-order the book (print or eBook) through any retailer (Barnes and Noble, Amazon, your local independent bookseller/Indiebound, Books-A-Million, Hastings, etc.).

2. Email your proof of purchase (receipt or picture of the receipt) to teenfire@sourcebooks.com. Put "Racing Savannah Pre-Order" in the subject line. Don't forget to include your home address (US and Canada only please) so we can send you the horseshoe key chain! If you’ve already pre-ordered this book -- not a problem! Send us your receipt!

3. You will get an email back confirming when the items have been sent out.

4. Enjoy Racing Savannah when it comes out in December!

Optional: take a pic of you and your horseshoe key chain and share it with Miranda Kenneally or Sourcebooks Fire on Twitter! You can find Miranda @mirandakennealy and Sourcebooks Fire @sourcebooksfire.

And in other book news, Paul Blackwell has won the 2013 Quebec Writers' Federation Prize for Children's and Young Adult Literature!

Do you have travel or book photos you'd like to share?

How do you keep your wishlists organized?

D'you ever look back over your long-term projects?