Beginnings and Endings and Everything In Between

It’s been a crazy month.  While I’ve been gearing up for the June 1 release of Every Word, which I’m very excited about sharing with people, I’ve also been in the process of writing the third (and to my understanding, final) book in the Every series, Every Move.  My editor has already given me a month’s extension, when the copyediting process for Every Word ran over a little, so I’ve been busting my buns trying to get the book finished.  I know, I know, my editor would probably be okay to give me another few days, or even another week, but I like to be vaguely professional and get my manuscripts in on time.

I’ve been so busy with the writing of this book, that it didn’t occur to me until I reached this point, the nearly-end-point, that I’m about to write the ending of the series.  About to write – yes, that’s correct.  I haven’t written the final two chapters yet.  I have to admit I’ve been kind of stuck on it (don’t worry, Eva, I’m definitely going to get it finished!).  I know basically how it will end, and some of the outcomes, but I have to work out the choreography of it – how the action will all play out.

There’s a few reasons, that I can figure out, why I might be struggling with this ending bit, even though I’ve been mentally preparing myself for writing this book since halfway through the writing of Every Word.  I know exactly what the reasons are, because I had to get up in front of Simmone Howell’s RMIT YA creative writing class and talk about them (and hi to everyone from the course, this is your shout-out.  Also to Simmone, who is awesome).

The first reasons is that I’m a pantser – ie, I write by the seat of my pants, with no pre-organised plan for what’s happening or who’s going where or who’s doing what (except for the plan in my head).  I do scribble down a lot of notes, and I often go so far as to write a rough outline.  But I think I figured out some time in high school that me writing outlines is actually a kind of giant procrastination technique – see, look at my beautiful colour-coded outline!!  I wrote it on big sheets of cardboard and stuck it up on my wall to follow, and it took 3 WEEKS to write it all out, which is time I could probably have better spent WRITING THE ACTUAL BOOK, yes, I know, but see the pretty pretty??!  I actually almost never follow outlines that I write for myself, so I’m better off just ditching the outline, and writing what’s begging to be let out of my head.

But, coming back to the reason being a pantser makes it hard to finish things is…this means that I don’t know what’s going to happen next.  I swear to you right now, I do not know what will happen in the final two chapters of Every Move.  And I’m submitting next Wednesday.  I know - freaky, right?  Also – scary, because I have no idea how I will get it together between now and then (particularly scary for my editors, I imagine).  Also – holy crap, now I’m on deadline and I HAVE to think of something.  I don’t have time to mull, or muse, or wait for that bolt of inspiration from the blue, la lalalala.  I HAVE to think it up RIGHT NOW.  That is kind of stressful.  On the positive side, I'm hoping that If I can't see the way this is all going to end, then maybe when readers get it in their hot little hands, they will be kept on tenterhooks in the same way.

One of the other reasons I’m finding Every Move hard to finish is, there are lots of threads.  You know, in a book, there are plots, and subplots, and subsubplots, and characters with issues, and background happenings, and side characters that would very much like their story arc resolved now thank you.  Well, it turns out that by the end of a series you have a LOT of that stuff floating around. And you need to tie all the loose threads up (mostly).  That has taken me a while to get my head around, and also to figure out what all the threads are that actually need tying up, and then how to work them all in.

Phew.

Another reason why I’m finding it hard is – I’m tired!  I’ve been writing the Every series for the better part of five years now.  It’s become my main (not my most lucrative, but my main) job, and I’ve been working a pretty punishing schedule of inside-12 months release dates for a while now.  Producing what I hope is good quality work at that rate is tiring.  Some days I do get word strain.  My brain gets overfried.

I want to make good words!  But it’s harder do that – avoid those adverbs, reject that cliché – when you’re tired.  Still, that’s what you’ve gotta do.  Especially in a series: you owe it to your readers, your characters and yourself to keep your language and ideas fresh, keep the characters interesting, and make sure the plots are fun and twisty and as original as you can make ‘em.

I’m also doing other jobs that are related to publication and promotion of the books, like communicating with my lovely new publisher in Canada, Tundra, about the release of Every Breath in September over in North America, and also editing one book intensively while writing another, and attending speaking engagements (hi, Tintern College students, I will see you again soon!), and doing interviews, and updating my blog (oh yes, that would be this!), and a bunch of other business-y type stuff that I had no idea was part of the professional life of being a writer.  At the time I signed on with my publisher, I thought I would hand over my manuscript (oh blessed holy manuscript!) and lo and behold, that was it.  Wrong wrong wrong.  There’s a lot of housekeeping involved in being a writer, I’m discovering.

Finally, there’s one last reason why writing this ending has been a hard slog.  And it’s very simple and obvious.  Halfway through the class, after I’d waxed lyrical to Simmone’s lovely students about most of the stuff I’ve just talked about, Simmone actually turned to me and said, ‘Wow, so this is gonna be it, yeah?  You’ll have to say goodbye to the characters.’

And it really hit me.  OH MY GOD, I’M SAYING GOODBYE TO MY CHARACTERS.  These people I’ve lived with, had adventures with, talked with in my head for five years…  My invisible playmates.  My imaginary friends, who I know almost as well as I know myself.  I mean, I can tell you how James Mycroft likes to drink his tea (strong, lots of condensed milk) and his favourite band (The Black Keys), and what Rachel has in her drawers (lots of denim, flannelette shirts, t-shirts, cut-offs, only two pairs of shoes – runners or boots, a windbreaker, tank tops, thermal shirts and leggings, various undies in white cotton and four bras – two are sports bras) and how Mike always has trouble getting his hair to stay down, and what their family house looks like, and…

Maybe that’s why I’m having so much trouble writing these last few chapters.  Because I love my characters.  And even though I will have a great sense of accomplishment after writing the end of the series, and will celebrate it with champagne, and throw up my arms and yell, because I’ll be able to y’know, have a holiday, and then start on something new which I’ve had on the mental back burner for ages (it’s begging me to let it out), I will still be sad.  I will be incredibly sad when I send off the final pages to the printers on this last book, because – oh, my babies!  I love Rachel and James, and I will miss them like crazy.  I will probably do strange things like obsessively re-read all the books in a row, just like a mother who goes back over all the old baby photos…  Oh boy.  Maybe I won’t do that.

Anyway, it all comes down to this.  There’s beginnings and endings, and one book – Every Word – is about to have its beginning out there in the world, and I give it all the love and luck that’s in me. I can’t wait for people to read it, and I hope you all like it.   Another book – the final book, the last book - is about to come to an end.  Wish me luck with the writing, and I hope I do everybody justice.

xxEllie

PS: Before I start bawling into my beer, I should say that there'll be more frequent updates over the next few months, and I'm currently looking for more YA Crime-related guests to interview.  I've got a few people possibly-maybe lined up, but if you think of anyone you'd like to see quizzed here about the process of writing YA Crime - authors, experts, police, anybody - please give me a holler (ie, write me a comment, or tweet me @elliemarney)

And I'll be doing a residency at Tintern College all next month, plus I'm dropping in at Carey Grammar, but I'm also planning on popping into some bookstores to do signings and say hello, closer to Every Word's release, so keep your ears open for news.

And, the blog tour for Every Word will start at the end of May, so oh my goodness, it's all happening!  I really can't wait to share this book :) 

xE

COVER REVEAL AND RELEASE DATE: Every Word

Okay – cue me, with the flailing hands again.

I swore black and blue that I’d get this up last week, but of course, I was distracted by the actual process of getting the book to the printers (yup, kinda necessary, that).  But now I get to share the shiny cover of Every Word with you.  Yes.

And here it is!

So lovely, right?  Lisa White has done an amazing job.  I can tell you at this point that the covers were designed by her well in advance – back when Every Breath was being designed, before I even had a full manuscript for Every Word ready to go – and the only detail she knew about Every Word was ‘London’.  So she has really been quite psychic about this cover, because it’s a great reflection of what’s inside (see how Mycroft’s looking all angsty?  Well, there’s a reason for that…)

I can also tell you now that Every Word will be officially released on 1 June 2014.  You can pre-order copies through the Allenand Unwin website, if you like, and feel free to drop over to Goodreads and add it to your list, if you have one.

What else has been happening?  SO MANY THINGS.  Oh my god, you know those weeks you have when you feel like the whirlwind has come to you, and everything seems to want to happen all at once?  That has been me, for the past few weeks.  I’ve been working other jobs, and writing grant proposals, and talking to folks in Canada about getting Every Breath released overseas in September, and writing Every Move, and doing copyedits for Every Word, and rewrites for Every Word, and, and…

Oh yes, my house!  It is so messy! (oh, my messy  messy house… *sob*)And my family!  We’ve had a birthday, and a school camp, and parent-teacher nights…all the usual exciting stuff. My head has been just a little full lately.  Last night, I had a dream about a haunted supermarket (say what?), so clearly I have a few too many plates spinning.  Or maybe I’ll use it for a story, at some later point, who knows.

I’ve also got some events coming up.  Lovely folks of Tintern College, I am coming your way on Monday 17 March, and then later again, in May.  I’ll be at Carey Grammar in May too, for the literature festival there, and the Melbourne Writers Festival Schools Program is in August, and I’ll be there!  I even bought some proper lady-clothes for all these things, yes indeed, so you won’t have to deal with the sight of me in my clean-out-the-chookhouse clobber.

In the meantime, I’m gonna keep working on Every Move.  I’m really looking forward to April, when things will be quieter, and I’ll be able to really get into it.  The weather here is cooling now, which is very conducive for working – it’s dark and quiet in the mornings, and not yet freeze-your-fingers-off temperatures, so I’ll be able to get up and make my thermos and sneak out to write into the cool, dim, quiet time before everyone yawns and wakens…

See you in the haunted supermarket J

Xx Ellie

Fanning flames, and the Blog Hop

Summer is kind of a stressful time around here.  It’s not that’s it’s not lovely to have a change from the long and freezing months of winter – it is, totally – but seasonal weather in this part of the country always seem to swerve from one extreme to the other.  Winter is about snow on your car, frozen pipes, sleet in your face and whether you’ve got enough firewood to last until October.  Summer involves heat so intense it could kill you if you sat in your car with the windows up, keeping water supplies up to the animals, monitoring the dam level, and bushfires.

The past month we’ve had three evacuation scares near where we live – one was literally down the road, when a 20 acre grassfire looked like it might threaten us depending on the wind change.  Check out the pic of smoke haze near our washing line – nice, huh?  (I’m being ironic, it’s nerve-wracking)

We’ve high-tailed it to Melbourne twice, when the heat got too crazy for the kids – it’s hard to sleep when your bed feels like it’s baking you.  Most nights have involved a quick moonlight skinny-dip in the dam (watch out for the leeches!) to cool us all down enough to sleep.    We don’t have air-con, so we just swelter, and turn the fans up high, and spray ourselves down with water bottles when it gets too sweaty.

Working in the heat has been difficult, you might say, but I’ve had my head down a lot over the past month, putting the final touches on Every Word.  I’m happy to say that it went to typesetting last week. Phew and yay! The timeline for this second book has been rather tight, but I’ve been in a unique position to release this book quickly, as I wrote Every Word soon after finishing Every Breath.  It was a very pleasant feeling, to be able to hand my editor a complete manuscript for book 2 while the ink was still drying on the pages of book 1.  Of course, I wasn’t doing as much other work then as I am now.  I hope I can stay ahead of deadline for every book I write – it’s a much more comfortable place to be than writing under pressure – but I guess we’ll wait and see…

Lots of you have written to me, asking about the publication date for Every Word.  I’m going to give you an update on that in my next post, which will happen within a few days (a ‘double event’ this week, to coin Jack the Ripper terminology).

In the meantime, I’ve been asked to join in this Writing Process Blog Hop, answering a few questions about process below.  My lovely mate, Kathryn Ledson (Rough Diamond, Monkey Business) is a writer of adult romantic crime fiction, and she tapped me on the shoulder to jump aboard.  Kathryn's up on FB and on Twitter @kathrynledson.  You can read Kathryn’s responses to the same questions here, and before her, the hop started with Jennifer Scoullar here.

So here we go…

1     What am I working on?

Currently multi-tasking – doing final touches for proofread/typeset of the second book in the Every series, Every Word. Also writing the first draft of Every Move, the third book. Also, getting lots of ideas for a new book (working title: The Circle Game) which I’m jotting down when they come - longing to get into that.

2    How does my work differ from others in its genre?

Well, there’s not loads of YA crime out there, although I have a sense it’s picking up.  I guess, in comparison to other local (Australian) YA crime, my work is kind of gritty – I don’t really pull too many punches with descriptions of blood and the processes of autopsy and death. The characters focus on forensic detail during the investigation of the mystery, which I hadn’t really seen done before – forensic procedurals for YA, with a lot of humour and action and romance to balance out the grit!

3    Why do I write what I do?

Um, why do birds fly? The characters start developing personalities and talking, and I just write it down.

I guess…I did make a conscious decision to write YA crime.  I had been looking for it in libraries and bookstores, and I realised it was in short supply.  So I knew there was a niche there. But I already had the characters in my head by then, I think I still would have written it regardless.  I’ve written in other genres, and the process is the same – these weird people start talking in your head, and you begin jotting it down just to shut them up!  They could be part of a crime novel, or a lit fiction piece, or a space opera…the genre and plot and setting begin to take shape as the dialogue emerges.

4    How does my writing process work?

I get up and make a big cup (or thermos) of tea, take it into the study at about 5.30am, and then I just sit there and read through what happened yesterday – or the day before, or whatever – and then I put my fingers on the keyboard and kind of force myself to start typing.  After a little while, I lose the feeling that it’s an effort.  And on good days, I have to force myself to stop, so I can go get everyone ready for school.

But it’s not all dreamy-muse stuff.  Sometimes I HAVE to finish a scene or I’m struggling with something. Then you need to have a stock of the old writer’s remedy that Stephen King heartily recommends – bum glue. Screw your bum to the sticking place and just keep typing until you’ve got something down, and worry about whether it works later.  You can craft it later – the grammar, the poetry of it – but you have to get the material out of your head first.

I keep a series of notebooks, little school exercise books, where I jot down scraps of dialogue, or phrases, or beautiful words – things I try to incorporate during the writing, or later when I edit and pretty things up.  I’m a big fan of rewriting.  Some of my best work comes in the rewriting!

And that's the end of the Blog Hop!  I’m passing the Blog Hop baton to Nansi Kunze, another YA writer and all-round cool chick – check out her responses to the questions on her blog very soon.

Can I say a big thanks, at this point, to everyone who’s encouraged me to keep going with the Every series – all of you who’ve emailed/texted/tweeted/FB’ed me to say how you loved Every Breath, and can’t wait for Every Word.  It’s made working in this heat much more bearable!

Now that the weather is starting to change, things are looking up - keep tuned for Every Word release date info very soon!  Stay cool, and stay safe this summer.

Xx Ellie

Rachel and Mycroft go gangbusters…a post-Christmas post

I know!  I said I would post before Christmas!  And that didn’t happen!

Apologies in advance for Excessive Exclamation Mark Usage, but I’m very excited. I’ve had this secret for weeks, you see, and I haven’t been able to tell.  But now the ink is nearly dry on the paperwork, and my agent Catherine Drayton has given me permission to spill the beans.

So I’m extremely happy to let you all know that Every Breath will be published in Canada and North America by Tundra, an imprint of Random House Canada, in Fall 2014.

Woot!

I can’t tell you how happy this makes me. Rachel and Mycroft are going travelling! I’m thrilled for them, and very proud. They’ll have a new family, and a new bunch of readers to love them. Yes, it makes me all teary just thinking about it! (my babies! *sniff*)

People from Canada have been in touch with me, and it’s all very exciting. Tundra is also the home of one of the sweetest books of all time, in my opinion – Anne of Green Gables, by LM Montgomery.

So it feels like kismet!

Anne, meet Rachel and James.

Rachel and James, meet Anne. (James, put that cigarette out and stop slouching.)

So that is my biggest and most delicious news of late. I’m sorry I didn’t get to put up a final 2013 post – after the interview with Barry Lyga, things got very busy. We went camping over Christmas (camping – we love camping. But some people take camping very seriously. There was a guy near our campsite who raked outside his tent. I kid you not. IT’S A NATIONAL PARK, FRIEND. If you’re bringing the rake, you may as well bring the leaf blower) and we had a lovely time with new friends (hi, Liz and Paul!)

Then two days after we arrived back home, Melbourne sweated through its most severe heatwave in a couple of hundred years – five days over 41 degrees Celsius (that’s ** Fahrenheit, for those of you from other climes). After a few scares with grassfires nearby – as in, down the road from our house – we decided that the bravest course was pragmatic cowardice and escaped to Melbourne with our dog, cockatiel and budgies.

We just returned on Saturday night, and that was when I heard from Catherine that I could tell you all the awesome news about the Canadian/US deal. Now we’re settling back into our last weeks of summer holidays - cleaning the house, washing mounds of laundry, watering all the dead plants… Alas, the garden was decimated in the heat, but our chooks were well-provided for and are still clucking around with their new babies, completely oblivious.

But here’s an abbreviated round-up of all the stuff I wanted to post before Christmas – a post-Christmas post, if you will. For instance, I wanted to tell you about my fave books of 2013. Here they are!

The Curseworker series – Holly Black

The third and final book, Black Heart, was only released here last year, so I reread everything.  Magic and the mob, with a distinct Grifters feel.  Taut, sensual, hypnotic, not to mention smart and political.

The Madness Underneath (Shades of London #2) – Maureen Johnson

A supernatural mystery series of the highest calibre.  Johnson never does the expected thing, and her writing of dialogue and character interaction is so succinct and tight it does my head in.  The ending of this book nearly killed me.

Clockwork Princess – Cassandra Clare

Pretty much a case study in how to end a series, second only to Harry Potter.  I totally blubbered my way through the finale.

The Fault in Our Stars – John Green

The Perks of Being A Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky

I put off reading both these books, intimidated by the subject matter and the reputation of the authors – I should never have waited.

The Rosie Project – Graeme Simsion

Outright entertaining and sweet-hearted.  No schmaltz, just fantastic characters and gorgeous writing.  And Graeme is a lovely guy!

Dark Horse – Honey Brown

A new discovery for me – she has four books out, this is her newest. Adult psychological thrillers and crime, this woman is the queen, for my money. Edgy, sensual, suspenseful – and Australian. Big tick.

Life in Outer Space – Melissa Keil

Geek love. 80’s movies. Boy-nerds and girl-nerds and swoon. World of Warcraft. What, you need more? (Just quietly, I liked this more than Fangirl, by Rainbow Rowell)

Hate List - Jennifer Brown

An older release, and it knocked my socks off.  Uncompromising, shocking, poignant. The ending left me in tears.

The Keepers – Lian Tanner

Middle-grade fantasy adventure AWESOME. Beautiful writing and nuanced characters – my younger boys and I fell in love with these books.

I also wanted to tell you which books I’m most looking forward to reading in 2014 – here they are!

The Boy in the Smoke –Maureen Johnson

(I'm super keen for this)

The Naturals – Jennifer Lyn Barnes

Game – Barry Lyga

The Last Shot – Michael Adams

The Murder Complex – Lindsay Cummings

Dr Sleep – Stephen King

Dead Silent – Sharon Jones

Anything new by Peter Temple

Through The Cracks - Honey Brown

The One - Kiera Cass

Cinnamon Girl - Melissa Keil

Winger - Andrew Smith

Lair of Dreams - Libba Bray

Razorhurst - Justine Larbalestier

The Coldest Girl in Cold Town - Holly Black

‘And here’s what I read over my summer holidays, just for the heck of it!:

Fangirl – Rainbow Rowell

Looking for Alaska – John Green

Paper Towns – John Green

The Left Hand of God – Paul Hoffman

The Good Daughter – Honey Brown

After the Darkness – Honey Brown

Fall for Anything – Courtney Summers

You Don’t Even Know – Sue Lawson

The Waking Dark – Robin Wasserman

White Dog – Peter Temple

Secret - Brigid Kemmerer

That’s it, I’m all book-listed out. Finally, before I go, a quick Every Word update:

Every Word is being copyedited and polished up, and will be going to the printers in March. It will be released in June. I’ll let you know more details as they come to light, but that’s all I can give you right now, except I’m seriously buzzed about showing you this book. I like it a lot. I think you will too.

Fingers crossed.

Xx Ellie

YA Crime Report: GUEST POST – Barry Lyga

The other day I was casting around for suggestions about who we should have to visit on the YA Crime Report, and while a couple of people sprang to mind, I secretly knew who I really wanted to interview.  This is someone whose work I’ve read and admired, and who I think is genuinely pushing the envelope in writing for YA.  Someone whose books gave me serious chills and thrills – think Silence of the Lambs kind – and whose new releases I always keep an eye out for.

I didn’t think I could actually just cold-call this author and ask them for an interview.  But, as Barry Lyga kindly pointed out, I totally could.  This kind of generosity completely blows me away, I have to say, because y’know, authors are busy people.

So I’m rapt to be introducing this week’s blog visitor.  Barry Lyga has a pretty incredible resume of achievements – he graduated from Yale with a degree in English, then worked in the comic book industry for a good long while before throwing it in to write his first YA book The Amazing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl.  Since then he’s published Boy Toy, Hero Type, and the keenly-awaited sequel to Fanboy, Goth Girl Rising, as well as a middle grade series called Arch-Villain.  He’s even ventured back into comic book territory with Wolverine: Worst Day Ever and Manga Man, and released an adult novel, Unsoul’d, as an e-book, and somehow managed to keep putting up heaps of cool stuff on his blog.

So clearly, he’s already the mash-up-genre-and-audience master.  But it’s his books in the Jasper Dent series that have me really excited.  I read I Hunt Killers earlier this year, after hanging out for it for a while (you know how long it takes us to get some books here in the Antipodes…well, grr is all I can say to that).  I Hunt Killers is the first episode in the story of Jasper ‘Jazz’ Dent, who suffers from a serious case of Daddy Issues.  With his haemophiliac best friend, Howie, and kick-arse girlfriend, Connie, in tow, Jazz embarks on a desperate search for a murderer haunting the streets of his hometown, Lobo’s Nod.

But in Jazz’s case, nothing is at it seems.  Because how do you deal with murder if you’re the son of Billy Dent, one of the world’s worst serial killers?

The whole thing is an amazing ride, and an extraordinary hook for a story.  Jazz seems to be always walking a very fine line between determined investigation and creepy obsession, and he spends a lot of time worrying about whether he’s turning into a monster – another version of his old man.  At its most fundamental, Jazz’s story seems to be about what it means to be human, to try to be a good person, against pretty staggering odds. The next part of Jazz’s story has just been revealed, with the recent release of Game, set in New York. 

So I won’t give any more clues away, just ask you to please put your hands together and excuse my fan-girlish squee.  He’s been called a ‘YA rebel author’ by Kirkus Review, but I am just going to call him a cool guy for agreeing to this interview by some random person from a country far away…  I’m stoked to welcome Barry Lyga to the YA Crime Report!!  

(I always think of Kermit doing these introductions, with the wide open mouth and the waving green hands…)

Hi Barry, how’s things going over your neck of the woods?

Busy, busy, and busy! I have a slew of things in the hopper right now, including — of course — the final book in the I HUNT KILLERS trilogy, and my collaboration with Peter Facinelli and Rob DeFranco. And my e-published adults-only novel, UNSOUL’D. And other things that haven’t been announced yet.

Now last time I saw you, you were being interviewed by a toucan plushie, which has to count as a unique experience.  Could you tell us something that nobody knows about Barry Lyga thus far?

Yeah, that interview was…different. I’m not sure what there is about me that people don’t know at this point. I’m pretty boring, really, so there aren’t any amazing hidden stories about me. I mean, my wife recently wrote about our wedding on Huffington Post’s Weddings blog — short of being chased by paparazzi, I feel like I live a fairly public life, certainly more public than I’d like.

Congrats on your wedding!  So do teenagers make good detectives?  And how do you give them agency, and make their involvement believable, in a situation where adults seem to have all the authority?

99.9999% of teenagers probably make shitty detectives. And Jazz isn’t really a detective, per se. He’s more a scattershot profiler and budding crime scene guy. And as the books prove, he’s fairly good at it, but he has a lot to learn.

As to providing agency and making it believable… Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith, the way Kafka says, “Oh, by the way, Gregor Samsa is a cockroach now — just trust me.” But also… Look, if you really read the books, you’ll see that I actually go to great pains to explain how all of this can be happening. I mean, in the first book alone, the cops specifically forbid Jazz from getting involved until the third act, when they’re so desperate that they — shock! horror! — let him look at some files and visit a crime scene. It’s hardly on the level of them deputizing him and giving him a sidearm, right? It’s a move made out of fear and despair, and I think a lot of things are credible in that context.

Can you tell us a little bit about Game, without giving too much away or freaking us the heck out?  And is it a complex thing, creating a criminal investigation from scratch and putting the clues and red herrings and psychology of it all together?

GAME is sort of my way of saying, “Remember how scary and bloody the first book was? Yeah, that was me playing nice.” You have to ramp things up in the second book, otherwise people think you’re going soft on them. :) I wanted to take the characters out of their comfort zones and put them into ever-worsening situations. GAME forces Jazz into a new position, a new city, and in new straits. Connie and Howie get more face-time, but they also learn that just because you caught one serial killer doesn’t make it any easier the second time…

And as to creating the investigation — God, yes, it’s tough! Deciding what order to reveal what facts, figuring out how to pace the revelations… It’s difficult because ideally you don’t want the reader to know anything for sure until the moment he or she reads it. It’s OK if people suspect something, but even then… My preference is for the reader to be completely shocked and caught off-guard at every turn. But that’s a nearly impossible goal, so at the very least you want them uncertain.

Excuse me for getting deep here, but another author – I think it might have been Ian McEwan – once said that ‘Sadism, and the inability to empathize with others, is a failure of the imagination’.  Do you think that’s accurate, in relation to a character like Billy Dent?

You know, I’m not entirely sure. It SOUNDS good, right? If you can’t imagine what it’s like to be someone else, you won’t have much empathy for them and that can easily lead to doing horrible things to them. But it seems — to an armchair philosopher like yours truly — just as reasonable to assume the opposite, that an inability to empathize kills the imaginative process that would allow you to at least PRETEND to care.

Some of the info you use in the series, about mass murderers and their methods, is way creepy – I was both pleased that you didn’t make Jazz’s story ‘serial killer lite’ and amazed you got it past your editor!  Clearly, gore and horror are not as shocking to teenagers as some people might think, but was some of that stuff a hard sell?

Not really. I toned down a couple of things, but honestly, that’s like saying I mopped up a few drops out of a gallon. It’s a bloody, dark, intense, disturbing series and the publisher is behind it all the way.

Do you have a favourite crime author?

There are many I admire, but one of my favorites for so long is the inimitable, late, lamented Ed McBain. Such an amazing writer.

What about when you get brain-strain – how do you recharge your batteries?

When I figure that out, I’ll you know!

Barry, you’ve been an incredibly gracious guest!  Thanks for coming on the YA Crime Report, and all the best for your writing!

If you’d like to catch up with Barry Lyga, which I recommend you do, the best place is at his website here http://barrylyga.com/ , and I urge you to check out both Game and I Hunt Killers – info about both books is available here http://barrylyga.com/novels/ and specifically for Game, here http://barrylyga.com/novels/game/

You can buy the books where all good books are sold, or hit the links for online sales at the bottom of the page here http://barrylyga.com/novels/

Okay, I’m gonna stop squeeing...phew J  Now the next thing I promised was the draw for the giveaway…

So…the Every Breath giveaway prize pack has been won by…………Catherine W from Goodreads!!  Yay – good on you, Catherine!  Please get in touch with me (elliemarney[at]gmail[dot]com) to forward your details so I can send on your book+poster+t-shirt.

I’m also really chuffed to mention that Every Breath won the 2013 People’s Choice award for children’s and YA over at Allen & Unwin – which is a lovely way of saying that my publisher is excited about the book, and that makes me pretty happy.

The copyedits for Every Word, the second book, are happening over the next few months, so that’s really thrilling, to see the book finally start to take shape.  I’m a big fan of editing, and I know this book is going to be gorgeous by the time me and Sophie are finished with it.  Wow, the publication is coming up fast…  I’m doing the Kermit thing again, at the idea of showing it to you J

And the first draft of Every Move is nearly complete!  First draft stage is always kind of amazing and excruciating, but now I’m on the home strait, and I can see what the book is going to be like at the end.  That always spurs you on, that feeling of being so close, and getting a clearer picture of where you’re going to take it all.  Just like everybody else, I often have no idea of where the characters are headed when I first start writing – what, you thought I had a master plan?  Heh heh…well actually, um, no – but now Rachel and Mycroft are really directed.  It always makes the writing easier, when your characters give you some clues about what they’re up to…

Finally, I’d like to say thanks to everybody who sent good wishes for my health after the last post.  The sinusitis is long gone now, thank god, and I’m a whole lot better, but reading peoples’ messages helped lift me out of the gloom.  I sincerely hope you’re all healthy, and not going too crazy with seasonal madness – it’s a busy time, so stay sane! – and good luck with all your holiday plans and Christmas shopping.  I recommend books as presents – books are extremely easy to wrap J

That’s it.  I’ll try to put up one last post before Christmas, with the traditional list of recs, and then I’m going to sign off for a couple of weeks while I go camping with my family – ‘the family that camps together…’ yeah, etcetera!

Take care, all the best for the season, and see you soon.

Xx Ellie

Sandpaper your way to Christmas CHEER

I’m going to give some stuff away today, but first, I have to tell you that I got sick last week.

I got sinusitis.  Have you had this disease?  A friend – a previous sufferer – and me were discussing that it should have a more appropriate name.  Because ‘sinusitis’ seems like a really bland, innocuous name for the thing we both had.

We made a short list of potential names that we could submit to the medical fraternity to replace the harmless-sounding ‘sinusitis’ moniker – names like ‘Imminently Exploding Head Disease’, or ‘My Eyeballs are Hurting Now Career’, or maybe ‘Extreme Facial Agony Syndrome’. 

Yeah, that was what I had.  I confess that, when I finally dragged myself to the doctor, I cried in the doctor’s office.  I was like, ‘Please don’t send me home with nothing!  This can’t be normal!’, which was kind of embarrassing but also fruitful.  I was given strong painkillers and antibiotics, and my husband was surprised that actually, yes, there appeared to be something genuinely wrong with me (because rolling around groaning is not, in our house, sufficient indication that there’s a problem).

So I took the painkillers and antibiotics, and then…  Wow.  Just wow.  I’d been in pain for days, and now it was gone.  I had not experienced that before, outside of childbirth.  I think I laughed a little in the car on the way home, because it felt so amazing, and I was so relieved to be a person again (and the pain killers were a little spacey, yeah?).

I can’t say there are many things that throw writing completely out of my head.  But this was definitely one of them.  And since I got sick, and now in recovery mode, I haven’t had a chance to do any writing.  In fact, that’s okay.  It’s meant I’ve had a whole week of not setting my alarm for an early morning – actually, it’s meant a whole lot of not doing anything at all.  And I am okay with that.  I think, for the moment, recuperating is enough.

Because earlier this year I read a great article by Isobelle Carmody in The Victorian Writer*, about how you have to be quite exposed to write.  Carmody expressed it a great deal more beautifully than me, but basically she said you have to be out of your comfort zone – you have to open yourself up, and be vulnerable.  She described it as ‘having that safe smoothness rubbed off how you live your life’.  She felt that generally people work towards giving themselves a comfortable life, that most of the time we walk around really unconsciously, not really seeing or hearing or experiencing things, especially the every day things.

But you can’t do that if you want to write.  You can’t be unnoticing – or maybe you can be, but you’ll make rather dull writing.  We are all, Carmody said, normally looking for ways to be comfortable, but writers have to seek outside their comfort zone, where ‘everything hurts and everything feels scary’.  She referred to it in terms of letting life sandpaper its way over you, so you’re open and unsafe.  And you have to have a certain amount of mental stamina to do that, to allow yourself to be open like that.

Last week I got sandpapered all to hell.  I’ll remember that, but now it’s time to absorb and recuperate, and then I might be able to draw on that experience when I return to my writing (in a few days – a week is a long time for me not to be working).  I’ll also be able to build myself back up for the next sandpapering, and the next.  If I want to keep writing, and not burn myself out, I need to have that store of mental and emotional stamina.  It’s something I’m constantly striving for – sometimes I feel like I have it, and other times I just feel exhausted.  I just try to take it easy and remember that this is a long haul process.

So – recuperating!  Yay.  Recuperating, at this stage, seems to involve a lot of napping and reading.  I mean, I’m still doing all the usual household things that you do within your family, and to keep the house running, but in between those things I’m napping and reading.  Which is great – that’s a recuperation strategy I can totally get behind, you know?  And Christmas is coming, which I’d almost forgotten about until now, when it’s a month before Christmas and I haven’t bought anything for anybody.  So my plan is to recuperate, prepare for Christmas, and then cheer, because we got through this amazing year.

Would you like an early Christmas pressie?  As I’ve been so slack with preparations this year, on account of books launching and so on, I was surprised to discover that I have actually got a special pressie for those of you who read the blog.

Here it is – it’s the very last of my Every Breath launch packs.  A poster, a t-shirt, and a signed copy of the book.  Voila! (wow, I feel so organised!)

If you’d like to win this prize pack, then put your name in the hat.  I don’t really do the rafflecopter thing, so I’m just going to ask people who would like to enter to either: 1) Comment here on the blog, or 2) Comment on my Facebook page, or 3) send me a Tweet @elliemarney.  That’s it – just do one of those three things, with your name (your first name or Twitterhandle is fine), and then in 2 weeks, when I put up a new blogpost, I’ll draw somebody’s name out of the hat, and you might be the winner!

So – in my weakened state *cough*, that it is for today.  Although it would be remiss of me not to mention that Every Breath features in the December issue of Dolly magazine, and has been getting lots of lovely new reviews…so now I’ve mentioned it.  Next blog post, I’ll draw the winner of the Every Breath prize pack, and also interview a cool new YA Crime author.  Until then, enjoy what’s been (for us) a late start to summer, with plenty of rain and not too many baking-hot days just yet.  Take care, don’t get sinusitis, see you next time J

And now it’s time for my nap.

Xx Ellie

* The article is called ‘Fish Hook in my Heart’ from April 2013 and I recommend you look it up, it’s a ripper.

YA Crime Report: GUEST POST – Sharon Jones

It’s a special event here on the Crime Report, because today we have our first overseas visitor.  Please give a hearty welcome to English author of Dead Jealous, the incredible Sharon Jones!

Sharon has kindly agreed to step up and sit in the hot seat, after we bumped into each other online. We’re still getting to know each other properly, so I’m delighted that she agreed to drop by and indulge in some (completely imaginary) tea and scones.

I know that Sharon has studied politics and theology.  I know she herds poodles.  And I know she has worked in bookshops – which I used to do! – where she discovered her other true love, YA fiction.  Sharon’s first book, Dead Jealous, came out in July this year, and it’s a ripper. 

In Dead Jealous, sixteen-year-old Poppy Sinclair is a scientist and a skeptic, so she’s less than thrilled to be dragged along by her mum to a Neo-Pagan festival in the Lake District.  But when a girl is found dead, Poppy has to fight through a fog of morris dancers and tarot cards to prove what she feels in her gut to be true – that it was murder, not mysticism.   Meanwhile, Poppy’s finding it harder than ever to push down her feelings for her best friend, who’s dating someone else – and the hot older guy giving her the eye at the festival could provide just the distraction she needs…

I read Dead Jealous in one uninterrupted sitting – well, my family tried to interrupt, but I kept telling them to bugger off.  In other words, I loved it.   Now I have questions, ooh yes, so many questions!

I guess the first one would be: when can I get more of Poppy and Michael and the whole of book two, Dead Silent?  The teaser chapter at the end of Dead Jealous left me very keen for more, and I’m excited to see more YA murder mysteries hitting the shelves!

Maybe Sharon can give me some helpful clues…

Hey Sharon, how are things going over your side of the world? Thanks for agreeing to come visit J 

Hi Ellie, thanks for having me over! It’s certainly warmer here than it is at home!

Now I’m not going to ask how it’s been, seeing your first book come out on shelves, because I’m pretty sure I know the answer (crazy, exciting, exhausting!).  What I’d like to ask is – when did you start self-identifying as a writer?

That would be the day my first book came out! Although I’d been writing quite seriously for about 6 years by then, I didn’t dare call myself a writer until the book came out, not even in my head. Writers were other people. I felt like I was just playing at it – a kid at the grown-ups table. I knew writing was my passion, but it felt wrong to call myself ‘a writer’. Still does, really!

I was also wondering if, like me, you still feel a bit like you’re refining your writing process.  Do you feel it’s different now that you know a bit more about publication, and now you’re writing a series?

Definitely! I’m more confident in getting things wrong in the first draft. And I don’t really put meat on the bones of the story until I know the structure is just about right. I find it so much harder to cut a scene that has descriptions that I like, or bits of character development I feel strongly about, but if the scene is really just a sketch of what I think should happen, I’m totally ruthless!  Luckily my editors seem to put up with me adding in lots of description and character development in the final draft.

I loved the idea of a Neo-Pagan festival as the setting for a murder mystery – can you tell us a bit about how the idea came about?

I’ve always been fascinated by religion as one of the building blocks of identity – one that most YA literature completely ignores. Yet when I was a teenager most of my friends had some kind of brush with one religion or another. For some it was part of what formed them, others reacted against it, particularly if it was the religion of their parents. But most people I knew had some kind of spirituality – even if that was humanism. So I was keen to write a character who genuinely struggled with spiritual questions.

Back when I was teaching, I ran a course on the development of neo-pagan religions – so I came to know quite a lot about the various strains of neo-paganism and it struck me that a pagan festival would be a really fun place to set a murder mystery. Remote… full of colourful characters… spooky goings on… And so the John Barleycorn Festival was born!

Do you have a ‘writing cave’ – a special place to call your own?  What do you take in with you while you’re working? (I know I’m rather fond of gallons of strong sweet tea…)

I’ve just moved so I’m still creating my new cave! The truth is, if I’m into what I’m writing I can write anywhere. If I’m feeling distracted I need a special place and routine. Like you, I drink quite a lot of tea! But I will decorate my writing cave with objects or pictures that I hope will inspire me.

People often ask where your ideas come from (I always find that a hard question to answer!), but I was wondering what you feel inspires you and your writing?

My biggest inspiration is myth and folklore – I love everything from ancient legends to urban legends – but quite a lot of the time it’s a place that will inspire me. I set Dead Jealous in the Lake District because I think it’s one of the most mysterious and evocative places I’ve ever visited. Dead Silent is set in Cambridge – a town full of ancient institutions and misty, winding alleyways.

If you had to choose a top five, for a desert island stay, which books would you choose?

Ugh!!! Only five?? So mean!! OK… umm…

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

One of the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr (which one would depend on what mood I was in…)

The Clocks by Agatha Christie (although Miss Marple is my favourite detective, I love the plot of this Poirot story!)

The Magus of Hay by Phil Rickman (because I love the Merrily Watkins series and this one’s due to be published 7^th Nov!)

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert (because I’m part way in and I want to finish it! She writes so beautifully...)

And speaking of desert islands, any plans for a visit to Australia sometime? (We could catch up over a cuppa!)  If not…do you have any idea when Dead Silent will be released in Australia?

My brother lives in Sydney and I have a whole tribe of relatives around Melbourne so you never know!

Dead Silent is out 6^th February.

Sharon, thanks for answering my kooky questions, drop by anytime!

Thanks so much for having me over!!!

If you’d like to look Sharon up, you can find her online at her website here, or on Twitter @PoodlePowered  - Dead Jealous is available in bookstores now.  I’ll be staking out my local bookstore for my copy of Dead Silent next Feb.

An now, a couple of updates:

* I’ll be at Dymocks Camberwell on Thursday night – 21 November – from 6-8pm for their pre-Christmas author event.  Loads of other authors will also be there, and we’ll be signing books and feeling chatty, so if you’re in the vicinity, feel free to drop by.

* Every Breath has been listed in the NZ Listener amongst their top YA picks for 2013, which is pretty thrilling! Thank you to Ann Packer for the shout-out :)

I’ve been rather blown away by all the good press Every Breath has been getting, and I’d like to say a hearty thank you again to everyone who’s read and enjoyed the book, and responded so positively.  Anna Ryan-Punch wrote a fantastic review in Viewpoint (books for Young Adults) through the University of Melbourne, which is available here by subscription.  And if you want to go check out Every Breath on the new Amazon Australia website, it’s up here.

And I was given a chance to recommend one of my favourite books, Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil, over here on the Readings blog.  I love that book to the nth degree, and it was great to be able to give it a good rap.

That’s it for the news.  Meanwhile, life is good, spring seems to be coming on a little late, and I haven’t had hayfever so bad this year.  I’ve had time to plant tomatoes, and read, and I went down to Melbourne to see George RR Martin (Game of Thrones) and Michelle Fairley (Catelyn Stark) speak at a Wheeler Centre gig, which was pretty awesome.

I also received a lovely email from a reader in Germany, who kindly sent me some photos of Every Breath’s travels abroad:  A big thank you to Carina! (if you can read the sign, you’ll notice the pic is actually on the border of Germany and the Netherlands – cool!)

Next post, I’ll be having a giveaway for Christmas, so if you’d like to put your name down for a copy of the book and some swag, drop on by.  Have a lovely week, and see you soon.

Xx Ellie