Lindsey Frydman: 2012

In two short days, I'll be entering my query and 150 words to the GUTGAA small press portion of the contest. I gratefully accept any and all feedback! I also appreciate all the help everyone has already given me.

Quick side note: I've considered renaming my book. While I feel like Uncovered fits perfectly, I think it might be slightly lackluster. Any thoughts on that?

(UPDATED QUERY: In case anyone stops by, here is the edited version)

When Hallie Hartman’s life turns into nothing short of a freak-show, she knows she took her ordinary life for granted. Running into tall, dark, and swoon-worthy Colton Dane changed everything. He’s teeming with secrets and his cryptic answers about who he is and where he’s from have Hallie yearning to punch him—whenever she’s not thinking about kissing him. When she finally uncovers the truth, she finds he’s not just from out of town.

He’s an alien.

Unfortunately, there are other secrets far more terrifying. The Megaera, a deranged alien mafia group, is hunting Hallie. They say she’s a Hamartia, a half human race who isn’t allowed to exist. The Megaera think she could be an asset but they didn’t anticipate finding a Hamartia without any abilities. Hallie’s not sure if Colton can be trusted but she knows she’ll be their prisoner until she decides which is worse, being a pawn or being dead.

UNCOVERED

YA Sci-Fi Romance

62,000 Words

Query: (ORIGINAL)

When Hallie Hartman’s life turns into nothing short of a freak-show, she knows she took her mind-numbingly ordinary life for granted. She didn’t expect running into Colton Dane would change everything. He’s tall, dark, swoon-worthy and teeming with secrets. His cryptic answers have Hallie yearning to punch him--whenever she’s not thinking about kissing him. To her, this is so not awesome. When she finally uncovers the truth, she finds he’s not just from out of town.

He’s an alien.

There are other secrets far more terrifying. The Megaera, an outcasted rebel faction, is hunting Hallie. The deranged alien mafia group says she’s a Hamartia, a half human race who isn’t allowed to exist because they’re a threat. The Megaera thinks she could be an asset but they didn’t anticipate finding a Hamartia unable to manipulate energy like they can. She’ll be their prisoner until she decides which is worse, being a pawn or being dead.

First 150:

My entire life has consisted of a level of normalcy that makes me want to stab myself in the eye with a pen.

That was the only sentence of my English essay I had written after thirty minutes of mindless pen tapping. All my brilliant ideas had vanished—if I’d really had any to begin with. Spinning my chair around, I resigned myself to the fact that staring at the screen would not magically make words appear.

I decided to distract myself with a run. After I’d changed, pulled on my shoes, and grabbed my iPod, I left the house and started pounding pavement. Clearly, I couldn’t write an essay to save my life. In fact, the only thing exceptional about me is how fast I can run but what is that going to do for me? Now, if I could find a way to run straight out of my dull life and into one that’s electrifying, maybe I’d have a use for it.

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Parallel Worlds: Writing and Graphic Design

5:08 PM

I've been thinking about this a lot lately and while it's surely not a new concept (I mean, what is anymore, right?) I have a serious desire to express my feelings about it.

I spent too many years in school and finally graduated with my BFA in Photography/Graphic Design and am currently looking for a "real" full-time design job. Since I've finished school, I've gotten the chance to spend countless hours on my writing. I was always one of those people who "wanted to write a book". Well, now I have. (Insert applause here) While doing both things, I got to thinking about how similar the two careers are. For example...

Dear Awesome Agent/Agency,

I hope that after reading my Query/Cover letter that you will be interested enough to look at my Manuscript/Portfolio. I've spent so much time on it and I've poured my entire heart and soul into it. I've gotten feedback from other Writers/Designers and after endless amounts of editing and tweaking, they've helped me make it something I'm truly proud of. I hope that the first Chapter/Piece grabs you and won't let you go until you reach the last one. Of course, everything in between is still just as awesome, but I know the first and last Chapter/Piece is what you will remember most. I'm looking forward to your call when you decide you absolutely must Represent/Hire me.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

A new and hopeful Artist.

Then let's take a look at some graphic design quotes I love...

Design (writing) is easy. All you do is stare at the screen until drops of blood form on your forehead.

Good design (writing) is all about making other designers (writers) feel like idiots because that idea wasn’t theirs.

I love the comment, “You must love designing (writing) for a living.” At that point I usually start to laugh or break into uncontrollable tears.

Graphic designers (writers) are idea embalmers, loving undertakers preserving bits of data like so many butterflies pinned to felt in a jewel box.

To create a memorable design (story) you need to start with a thought that’s worth remembering.

See what I mean?

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Critique Partners

12:56 AM

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Swoon Me

6:23 PM

Who doesn't want to be swooned? If you find someone who doesn't, please smack them for me! And I meant that in the kindest way possible. I saw a similar post on a blog. Now I can't remember which blog or I'd link back to it. But here are some of my favorite swooning moments from books I love.

Side note: Yes, there are two from Jennifer L. Armentrout because she is the queen of sexual tension and I love everything she writes--especially her kissing scenes.

OBSIDIAN by Jennifer L. Armentrout

His hands slid around my head, pulling me back to his mouth. There was a cracking sound in the house. A fissure of electricity shot through the room. Something smoked. But I didn’t care. We were moving backwards. His hands were moving down, under my shirt, his fingers skimming over my skin, sending a rush of blood to every part of my body. And my hands went down. His stomach was hard, dipped and rippled in all the right places.

And then my shirt joined his on the floor. Skin against skin. His hummed, brimming full of power. I ran my fingers down his chest, to the button on his jeans. The back of my legs hit the couch and we went down, a tangle of legs and hands moving, exploring. Our hips were molded together and we moved against one another. I think I whispered his name, and then his arms tightened around me, crushing me against his chest and his hands slipped between my legs. And I was swimming in raw sensations.

This very scene for your viewing pleasure. :)

SHATTER ME by Tahereh Mafi

And he’s kissing me.

Once, twice, until I’ve had a taste and realize I’ll never have enough. He’s everywhere up my back and over my arms and suddenly he’s kissing me harder, deeper, with a fervent urgent need I’ve never known before. He breaks for air only to bury his lips in my neck, along my collarbone, up my chin and cheeks and I’m gasping for oxygen and he’s destroying me with his hands and we’re drenched in water and beauty and the exhilaration of a moment I never knew was possible.

MY SOUL TO SAVE by Rachel Vincent

He leaned forward and his lips met mine. Softly at first. The eagerly. I tilted my head for a better angle and kissed him back, loving the feel of his lips on mine, his hand at the back of my neck. My fingers found his chest, trailing lightly over his shirt to feel the firmness beneath. My heart raced, adrenaline pulsing through me in a steady, charged rhythm, leaving my limbs heavy, my body eager. My mouth opened beneath Nash’s and he moaned. The sound of his need skimmed lightly over my skin like a shadow given form, warming me as it slid down my neck, over my collarbones and between my breasts to burn deep inside me.

PURE by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I knew I should stop him, because allowing him to kiss me totally defeated the point of the argument we’d just had, but I found myself closing my eyes instead. His mouth was so warm and sweet, dizzying actually. Then it deepened, stealing my breath and sending my heart racing.

Kissing wasn’t a big deal, so this kiss shouldn’t be any different. But by the gods, I’d never been kissed like this before.

I looped my arms around his neck, tangling my fingers in his hair, and then I was kissing him back. Kissing him with the same wild abandonment he’d divided into, and gods, I liked kissing Seth.

So what books swoon you?

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Tagged! --Some GUTGAA Awesomeness

3:05 PM

I never knew playing tag could be so much fun! A big thanks for being tagged by one of my awesome critique partners-- Diana Long. Be sure to check out her questions. :)

So, here we go!

What is the working title of your book?

It's called Uncovered as of now. I think the title works but I'm always on the look out for something better.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

From the Land of Stories, of course. You know, that place you go when you're supposed to be working/driving/eating/sleeping. Seriously though, I just started with my two main characters and a general plot idea. It's evolved a lot since that first day.

What genre does your book fall under?

Young Adult Paranormal Romance.

Side note: It could definitely be termed a Sci-Fi also. Would that be better? Maybe. I think I could also tack on Thriller but as we all know, no agent wants to read a book that's a YA Paranormal/Sci-Fi Romance/Thriller. I'm not looking to get instantly rejected. Haha

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I've spent way too much time thinking about this. Haha For my awesome MC, Hallie, it would be Emma Roberts. For the swoon-worthy hero, Chace Crawford. He's swoon-worthy, right? And then it would be Alexis Bledel for the fun, loving Adalyn.

What is a one sentence synopsis of your book?
Oh boy, this is the hardest part. I'm sure it will change 1000 more times but here's what I have:
When Hallie runs into Colton, an alien who's part an outcasted rebel faction who, she must decide who to trust and figure out why they think she's of use to them before she ends up dead.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agent?

I'm hoping and praying (and writing, writing, writing) that it will be represented by an agent.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Honestly, about a month. But... (and this is a big but) it freaking sucked! Not all of it, but a lot of it. My antagonist was flatter than a pancake that had been sitting out for a year.

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

An antihero, plot twists, and a protagonist who isn't a pushover and is oh-so-awesome. (At least, I hope you think she is!)

Plus, what's not the love about a hot alien boy? I guess unless you're a guy, then that definitely wouldn't be the selling point! =)

Now it's my turn.

TAG! You're it.

Anabel Gonzalez
J. M. Bray

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Twilight: Why it both inspires me and devastates me

8:23 PM

As I've stated before, Twilight was an inspiration for me--like many other writers. It's arguably the number one reason why YA books are selling like wildfire. I started seriously writing after reading those books. Why? What was it about them that I loved so much?

It wasn't the vampires.

Sure, Stephenie Meyer created my favorite version of vampires and I love them because of it. So did I want to write a book about vampires? No. What I did want to write was a novel involving something paranormal.
I think this quote sums up my feelings quite well:

"It may seem petty compared to the tears and heartache, the wishes for a new life, but everyday I feel the yearning, deep desire to know fantasy filled worlds, to be somewhere beyond the everyday normal. To feel the touch of magic roll across my skin, to see fantastical creatures only known in fairytales and bedtime stories. Sometimes I think I would give up my entire life just to feel that. Just once."

That is why I love Twilight as well as so many other books that fit into that genre. I also really loved the Hush, Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick. That one gets compared to Twilight all the time. Some reviews have said if you just switched out vampires for fallen angels, you'd have Twilight. It's true that Bella's first encounter with Edward is in biology and that the opening scene in Hush, Hush is in--you guessed it--biology class. Too close a similarity? Maybe. But for me, outside of the biology scene (and the anti-hero thing going on), the stories are entirely different. Nora's a more interesting and sensible heroine. This doesn't stop people from going on and on about how Fitzpatrick ripped off Meyer. If you get on goodreads, you'll see endless comments on this. Blah, blah, blah, whatever.

My point is this: If Twilight hadn't blown up like it did, I wouldn't have to worry about how everyone will always compare YA books to Twilight--until the end of time.
If it's true there are no original ideas, only new ways of presenting an idea...well, I wish everyone knew that!