"Merkiss" Preview!!!!

Andrew:

 

The water feels different here. I can’t put my finger on it. Of course, it’s more polluted but there’s something else. Or maybe it’s just me.

I was sent to find my brother and kill him for abandoning our society. With all the death I had seen over the years, I never was ordered to kill my own blood. My father himself said it. It was the first time he talked of my brother since he ran away many moons ago.

Yes, it’s just me. I’ve never gone on a trip with this much on my mind. I’ve also never disobeyed orders. Though, I find looking for my long lost human friend much more cheerful than killing my brother. He was probably already dead anyway.

There doesn’t seem to be any abandon beaches in this place. Everywhere I look, there are humans. This must be one of those heavily populated places I’ve heard about. How will I get on land without being seen. The humans are very bothered by bare skin. I’ll have to find clothing. I could always take some. I swim some more without finding an empty spot. What was this place? Florida looked like it was infested with every human on the planet. The poor sea life didn’t know what to do. These waters are disturbed. I can see why my kind doesn’t like the humans. With the dying calls of the sea filling my head, I can see why some of my people wish every human dead.

The night approaches and I finally find a calm spot that seems hidden. I rest for the night.

And there you have it readers! The first sneak peek of "Merkiss". This is Andrew's chapter. He's very internal whereas Evangeline is more external(opposites attract right?). This is my first time writing first person with a guy character. What do you think? Does he sound like a guy? This will be the first of many sneak peeks that I'll post on here. If you want to be notified for when I reveal the project on inkpop just comment with your username and I'll add you to the list. For now, I need to prepare for an intense month of editing. TTFN!

Peace&<3,
Angela

Ooops :)

So I kind of forgot that February only lasted 28 days heh. So now I'll be starting my second drafting tomorrow! That's pretty good though because I was starting to feel a bit useless. Why, you may ask? Well, my new book is just starting and I have no idea whether or not it's good. My first book "Energy" is slowly slipping away because of my new book and on top of that, I have to edit "I Know How You Feel" and hopefully get more feedback for the second edit. "I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL" MUST MAKE TOP FIVE BEFORE NEXT SEPTEMBER!!! That's my inkpop goal! Once the second edit is up, I'll be swapping and advertising like crazy. I need a professional editor review!!! So if you could help me on my campaign, I'd love you forever.
Other then those things, my life has been pretty normal these days. I'm actually kind of liking it. I haven't had this kind of normal ever! Though I still feel a bit useless. Maybe I could donate money or something... I don't know. Speaking of money I have a question for you guys. If you were to become rich and famous, what would you do with the money you made? I'll be putting up a preview of "Merkiss" in my next post tonight. Bye for now!

Peace&<3,
Angela

(Actual) Time until next edit: 5 hours

Working on a new project :)

Hi there! So last night I got bored and couldn't fall asleep so I decided to start my new project. I'm not sure if its very good but when I finish the first chapter I'm going to post it on Inkpop. I might do a preview of it on here tomorrow. Would you guys like that? Here's the hook:

Merkiss

     

      He wasn’t just her imaginary friend the fish; he was a real person and a fish.

     

      Evangeline was schizophrenic. Or so she thought. That little boy she saw at the docks everyday was just a figment of her imagination. She knew that for sure; she had gone to therapy because of it. And after her dad died, she thought she was rid of the illusion forever. But what happens when he shows up at her college ten years later as man speaking in the same English accent she had finally lost? How is it that her friends can see him? After a decade of lying to herself, Evangeline had to face the facts. Andrew was real and he was a merman. 

And that's all I've got so far. This story is going to be told from Andrew and Evangeline's point of view. I can't wait to finish chapter one and post it :D Bye for now!

Peace&<3,

Angela

Time until next edit: 3 days

M. I. A. heh.

I'm here guys. I swear! Ha. Sorry for disappearing! After I finished editing, I decided to go shopping and not be a hermit for once so... I suddenly was reaaaally busy. I'm back now though! :) With a few new clothing items including a UK flag stamped tanktop! I'll let you know ahead of time that I have a slight obsession with England. I love the clothes, the authors (J.K. Rowling FTW) and especially the accents! I've been trying to perfect my English accent since I picked it up last summer. I'm learning some English lingo and talking in public. Though slightly phony (and embarrassing), it's pretty fun. I'm hoping to live in England and actually pick up a real accent (and of course some clothes). I definitely want to meet some famous authors over there also.

Okay enough with the England spiel. I realize that now that I'm finished with my book, my trips into bookstores will never be the same. Have you ever walked into a bookstore, looked at a shelf and imagined your book there? If so, then you know where I'm coming from. Whenever I'm in need of inspiration, a bookstore is my sanctuary. It keeps me motivated and hopeful. What inspires you?
I'll try to post daily from now on. Bye for now!

Peace&<3,
Angela

Time until next edit: 4 days

Finished...for now.

Good evening! So I finally finished the grammar and spelling edit for draft one!!! Now onto draft two! I'm not planning on starting until March so I've got some free time. (yea!) I got bored and decided to draft a query letter. Oh wow. It was soooo hard to do! Not only did I have to summarize my story in one paragraph but I also have to make it personal but professional. (I also realized I have no writing credentials heh.) I should have started working on this ages ago! Nonetheless, I have my first draft of it and I'll be making edits to it throughout the next couple of days. Maybe when I get it perfect, I'll share it with you. Then you can tell me what you think if you want(: I'm still having a hard time figuring out who to send my letters to. I need to research a bit more before I write a blog post on this. Still agentquery.com is an awesome place for finding agents and getting help with anything publishing related. My real dream is to get published by HarperCollins Teen but I'm not sure how I can get their attention besides Inkpop. At the moment, my story isn't doing so good on there. I'm hoping once draft two is up, more people will be interested. Only time will tell! Bye for now.

Peace&<3,
Angela

Editing Status
S&G Edit finished with 60,795 words
Draft Two starts in: 7 days

I'm So Happy!

Basically, they sounded like angry Youtube commenters with bombs.

A little quote from my story to start out the post. This one is describing what Olivia (my main character) thinks of the PAV or People Against Vanity.  They're a big terrorist group that Olivia has to join as a spy. Whenever I write parts about them, it freaks me out. They're just really creepy people. *shivers*

Hi there! I'm been a bit of a slacker lately and haven't gotten much editing done these past few days. Also my chapters are getting longer towards the end. On a positive note, I'm in a really good mood! I have no idea why. It could be that I'm choosing what classes I take next year. (SENIOR WOOOOT!) I have so many empty spaces that I could fill with anything! Next year is going to be awesome. :D Every time I think about next school year I think, "I could have my book published by then." It just makes me so excited!!! I've been looking up info on writing proposals and query letters and I'll share some good websites with you in my next blog post. For now I'm off to edit.

Peace&<3,
Angela

 

Don't Give Up!

Hi there! I'm baaack and I've finally found a topic to talk about. After looking over a few topics on Inkpop, I've found this one to show up all the time: "I feel like I'll never finish my book!"

Don't fret my dear writers; I've been in the same exact boat as you and I have your solution! Well they're more like tips but I'm positive they'll work.

Tip Number One: Don't multi-task!
So you're sitting on the computer chatting on Facebook, blasting your music, texting, doing homework and, finally, writing your novel. Yeah, I know you do it. I'm guilty of it too. And I know it's a helpful tool to help you reconnect with your long-lost friends, but--I have too say it--TURN OFF FACEBOOK! Better yet, turn off your internet! You know how I finished my story? A week and a half without any internet service. Yes, it was torture. Yes, I died, saw Dumbledore, and somehow came back to life, BUT I finished my story. You may think this is bull, but try it. You'll be surprised how much you can get done when there's only a document on your screen and complete silence.

Tip Number Two: Make references.
You're onto an epic (Yes, I said epic.) part of your super-villain novel, you get to the scene where the superhero comes in and then you blank. You sit there for thirty minutes wondering, "What is that dang catchphrase?" I strongly advise you to have a convenient little folder that holds all those little details AND a basic outline of your story because if you're like me (a writer with a thousand plot lines in her head) then, trust me, you WILL forget it. And then you have inconsistencies in your story and spend more time editing then actually writing and blahblahblah. Trust me, it gets baaad.

Tip Number Three: Friendly Competition is the best motivator.
Have you ever heard of NaNoWriMo? If not, basically it's where you write a brand-new story starting the beginning of November and then try to get fifty-thousand words by the end of the month. If you haven't tried this, you should. Sign up now at nanowrimo.org and when November rolls around, be ready for a heck of a ride. Until then, I suggest a smaller version of this event. We at Inkpop call them, (Imagine this being said as Wrestling Match announcer guy) "Word Wars." Word Wars are when you get a time limit (it can range from five minutes to an hour) to write as many words as possible. When the time is up, you tell your word count. The person with the highest word count wins. These are a fun and easy way to get your book going again.

Tip Number Four: Make EASY and REALISTIC goals.
I mean it! When you tell yourself you need to write your entire book THIS WEEKEND, then you're setting yourself up for failure. Start small and slowly, but surely, build up. When you reach your small goal, it still feels good and it's much better than being let down by not making it to your big goal. Fulfilling your quota for that week can make you feel amazing and a positive attitude is what makes you keep writing.

Tip Number Five: Don't Worry, Be Happy.
Whatever happens, this is your story. Let people say whatever they want, but the only thing that matters is that you just keep swimming. (Finding Nemo FTW) If someone tells you your writing sucks, ask them why. If they don't have a legit reason, then ignore them. (Haters gon' hate. Or however you say it heh.) If they do, then take it as constructive criticism and work off of it. Most likely that comment could make you a better writer.

So I hope this helps you on your journey. I've got to be off. I'll be back later!

Peace&<3,
Angela

It's Getting Better All the Time(:

'Ello my dear readers! I know it's a bit late, but I've been hard at work on my story. Well... that and Facebook is very distracting ha. As the title says (Yes, that's a Beatles quote if you were wondering.) my day did get a little better. Especially when I got to finish up the rest of the Nutella. That stuff is amazing! I don't know one person who's tried it and hated it. Anyway, editing! I have this weird ritual where, if I don't want to work on my story, I'll listen to music-ehm-Beatles for an hour and then somehow I just feel like jumping write in. What about you? Does a certain type of music get you motivated to do things? Maybe like homework? (I could use some music like that heh.) or just get you up and running in the morning? I'm going to head out before I end up passing out on the keyboard. Bye for now!

Peace&<3,
Angela

Editing Status
(Since I didn't do it this afternoon)
Words: 60,780 

Chapters Edited: 20/24 (Wooot! Four more :D)

Monday Blues

Hey guys...I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one that just doesn't like Mondays. You go back to school, work, whatever. It just plain stinks. Especially when your flashdrve decides its not going to work at the very last minute and you can't edit during free period. Yep, that's me. After waking up late, having a cold shower and a lukewarm cup of hot chocolate, I'm just ready for this day to be over!
Don't mind my venting; I'm just mad because I can't give you guys an editing update. I'm pretty sure I'm on Chapter Nineteen today; or was it Chapter Eighteen? Ahhh, I'm nothing without my flashdrive! Well...you get it. What's something you can't live without?
I'm hoping for a better day. Bye for now!

Peace&<3,
Angela

Let's Preview!

“Olivia, I know,” she said in a low voice.

I know about Misty.

“It’s not your fault. You didn’t mean to,” she continued, “You just weren’t in control and you didn’t know what you were doing. You didn’t kill her. You only damaged her. Maybe a life like what she has now will be good for her. I heard her parents have been trying for another kid since she was little and never got one. Now they have a baby forever.”

As Sam rambled on and on, tears began to run down my face. She didn’t understand. You pain, the guilt, the fear. This curse was taking over me and I couldn’t stop it.

“I could hurt more people. I can’t control it sometimes. My mind just stops being sensible and imagines terrible things. It’s like a monster in the back of my head telling me what to do,” I explained. My voice was raspy and dark.

Sam looked up and frowned. “The voices.”

“I feel like one of these days there actually will be voices. I already know I’m insane but what if my mind goes completely dark and I loose all my emotion? I don’t want to be insane,” I whispered.

“You’re not insane, Olivia. You’re just scared,” she said.

She was right. Fear was driving me these days. Fear of what I am and fear of what I could become.

I wiped my face. “How could I not be scared? I’m seriously all alone.”

“You did that to yourself, Olivia. You pushed everyone away. I would have left too if I didn’t see Misty at the grocery with her mom before the trip started,” she said.

“No! You don’t understand!” I yelled, “I’m the only one! I’m one of a kind.”

Sam tilted her head in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“There isn’t anyone here with me explaining what is happening and why it’s happening. I wake up everyday feeling weird and wonder why. I don’t have anybody I can talk to about that. I can’t talk to people about why people’s thoughts are in my head or why I can hear yours better than anybody’s. I’m just guessing. There’s not real answer, no rule. All my questions remain unanswered. I am alone!” I yelled.

Her face showed understanding and her mouth formed an O. I felt myself cry harder in realization too. I was alone. No one could sympathize with me. No one had the issues I had.

Well, hi! It's me again. I finish editing my quota for Inkpop! So guess what? Now you can read fifteen chapters of my book, I Know How You Feel, free of charge! It's like reading Midnight Sun except for I won't get mad and stop writing it because all my readers got a preview. (Wow I've been making too many Twilight references these past few days >.<). Please feel free to comment on this blog post... or on Inkpop, if your a member, and tell me what you think. Did you love it? Did you hate it? Do you want to throw Olivia in a hole? (I've had those feelings every once in awhile so I wouldn't blame you.) Also, could you see it on a shelf at your local book store? Would you buy it? Sorry, too many questions! ^^'
Anywho, I hope you enjoyed the little sneak peek and that you'll read more on Inkpop. And if not, no hard feelings! I'm just happy you're reading my blog :D

Peace&<3,
Angela

Slacking off on a Sunday

Well hello! I hate to say I got nothing done today but that's kinda what happened heh. Although it seems like I gained a few followers *waves at them* so that's good :) I've also been looking into other blogs to follow. I think I'm following five now? Anyway, I hope I'll get a bit more done this evening so I can share the preview to my story with you. As for the mini-series... I haven't gotten much feedback on that so I'm going to wait awhile before I start it. Also you may notice I've added some culture-ehm-music to the blog. I'm kinda Beatles-obsessed just to warn you. If you don't like it, the pause button is a wonderful thing. If you love them like me then YAY :D What's your favorite song? I love "Helter Skelter". Well I'm going to go for now. I'll probably post later. Bye!

Peace&<3,
Angela

Editing Status
Words: 60,543
Chapters Edited: 12/24 (Halfway Woot!)

Mini-Series Anyone?

“So what brings you to the library?” I asked.

“I am reading famous American fiction,” he said.

“Oh what are you reading?” I asked.

“Twilight.”

Haha, I know I wrote that, but it still makes me laugh. Hello again! I decided to write a little post before I went to bed. I was wondering if any of you would want to read a mini-series on here. I was thinking a little something that was light and funny. My idea is slowly developing but I think I'll just do a little story every week to peek some interest. What do you think? Maybe you guys have an idea for a good series. Or just say hi. Any kind of feedback is fine with me(:

Peace&<3,
Angela

Hello!

So I first I'd like to start out by telling you the reason for this blog. I told myself back in November that if I finished writing one book, I could start an author's blog. So here I am.

My name is Angela T. Marie and I am the proud author of I Know How You Feel. I never thought I could write a book in less than 6 months but I did. It started out as a NaNoWriMo idea and flourished into a full-blown novel. (Sadly I didn't win NaNo but I'm hoping to next year.) I'm hoping to get my novel published. It's crazy, I know. I'm only sixteen and nobody in my family knows anything about getting a book published (that's alive) but I've made it this far so why not go farther? So here's the beginning of my journey! Well, actually the beginning was November 1st, 2010. This is the third part: Editing and Publishing.   For the next couple of months I'll be writing little posts updating you guys on my editing progress. Every now and then I might throw in some writing and editing advice. Just keep your eye out. Oh, and if you plan on following me; prepare for a bumpy ride.

Peace&<3,
Angela

Editing Status
Words:60,544
Chapter Edited: 10/24