In honor of Keridwen’s official launch, I am hosting a giveaway of Keridwen swag. For the next week, send me a picture of your receipt or of you with the book and you will be entered into the Giveaway.
Ways to get more entries:
RT this post = +1
Subscribe to my blog = +1
@me on Twitter promoting Keridwen = +1
Send me your pic with your receipt or book = +1
If you have finished Keridwen, post a review on Amazon = +1
I will announce the winner on June 24. Good luck everyone!!!!!
It’s really an odd feeling having a book officially launching this month via an actual publisher who believes in the work. After ten years of hoping and hundreds of rejections (multiple books), I think a part of me never imagined it actually happening, but here we are and honestly, it’s weird.
This weekend was my daughter’s high school graduation party and family members were stumbling across a stack of Keridwen on my desk. Hind sight, I should have put them away, but I also wasn’t anticipating everyone in my office. My husband began to give copies to those who asked and they asked me to sign them. Weird again. I really had no intention of talking about Keridwen, as the day was about Amber, and not me, but when people started asking me, I felt super weird talking about myself. I’m a teacher. Talking is NOT a problem, but when it came to talking about my book, I was a little unbalanced.
I imagine I’m not the only new author to feel this way. I’m getting better about promoting and now, I am looking forward to what is next (the title of this post).
I’m working on finishing my current WIP NOTES IN THE STONES. I’m so close, but I am procrastinating for reasons unknown to me. I’m entering into #PitMad tomorrow for 5 different manuscripts. I’m working on Creative Writing textbooks. I’m also hoping my publisher picks up the sequel to Keridwen. And I am spending time with my family. This summer is all about them, so whatever I get done, I get done.
Anyway, it’s summer vacation and time to sign off. I need to find something to do….:)
So, what is on all of your plates this summer? Tell me in the comments…
One month ago, tomorrow, my father passed way after battling cancer for five years. We had been estranged for ten years until he was given four months to live. That was five weeks before he died. The myriad of emotions I felt that day is still something I’m grappling with, but somehow, I shifted from saying, “No, I’m not going to see him,” to, “yes, let’s FaceTime today and I will drive down tomorrow” practically overnight. All of which, I’m grateful for. It forced a total 180 in me that needed to happen.
At the same time as Dad dying, I received a publishing contract and began the process. The blend of highs and lows was too much. I can usually manage my life, but this was more than I could handle so I reached out to a therapist for help. This has been the most life changing experience I’ve ever had. Attending weekly meetings has allowed me find an inner peace I haven’t felt in over ten years. I hadn’t realized how angry I was because it had consumed me. Being estranged from my father had affected everything in my life, including my writing. As much as I tried to be positive, there was always some anger hiding in the background.
But now that he is gone and I was able to reconcile with him before his passing, there is this weight off my shoulders I honestly had no idea was there. I feel lighter. I feel more positive. I feel like I am unstoppable and capable of achieving my dreams. I am putting more good into the world that I already was. I am taking better care of me.
I’m an empath. I feel deeply for all. I spend most of time, as a teacher, during the day caring for teenagers. At night, I’m caring for my family. Now, I can start to care for myself and I’m so grateful.
Writing has always been there for me, but now I feel as though I can create again. It’s been some time since I could think of new ideas. There was something blocking that for me. Sure I’ve been writing consistently for the past twenty years, but it’s always felt like I was pushing aside a screen for momentary glimpses into my imagination. Then the anger would pull the screen closed. Now, I feel different. I feel like something is happening inside of me that is unleashing that suppressed imagination.
I’m going to embrace this as a new chapter in my life. The anger is leaving and I want to feel peace. Look out because I know I am unstoppable.
I learned a new term in this publication process – “Imposter Syndrome”. I wasn’t sure what it meant to I looked it up. There was a fantastic 4 minute Ted Talk about this.
As a writer, I feel this so deeply, especially now that I have a publisher representing my book, Keridwen. It’s a weird thing to describe without sounding like I’m fishing for compliments, but the reality is that I’ve been writing for 20+ years. Keridwen is the first novel I’ve had chosen for publication. I think a part of me thought it would never happen because my writing wasn’t good enough. The truth, though, is that I know my writing isn’t bad. I’ve had enough people (not family and friends) read it and like it that I do know I can write. That being said, I still wonder if I’m capable of being “successful” in sales. After all, everything is driven by statistics and those statistics determine the public’s idea of success in a business. Publishing is a business. I know all of this.
I also know that the idea that I’ve written 7 full length novels is no small feat. Even though it feels like everyone online has written novels, the majority of the population has not. It’s an accomplishment in its own right. I often find myself telling my creative writing students this very thing, while silently I have to remind myself as well.
So why do I have Imposter Syndrome? Why don’t I feel worthy of success in writing? Will it ever stop?
I don’t know.
What I do know is that I hope for nothing but the best. I continue working with the goal of one day being able to write fulltime. It’s never too late for that to happen.
In the meantime, I guess we will see after Keridwen’s official launch on June 16th. I’m crossing my fingers and toes from under the table I’m hiding.
Keridwen is now available for pre-order on Amazon Kindle. It will officially be released on June 16, 2021, which I am beyond excited for. It’s gorgeous!
I’m planning on getting swag made for those who purchase, so if you purchase, comment with a pic and I’ll send you postcard, bookmark, or other swag I pick up. I can’t wait!
Well, I’m back after a long break. But I come with amazing news. Keridwen was picked up by Darkstroke Publishing and it’s coming out June 16! This has been such a long time in the making. 10 years to be exact. 🙂
It all started with #Pitmad when Darkstroke liked my pitch on March 4, 2021. I sent them my sample chapters, they requested more which I gladly sent, they liked it, and the rest is history. I can’t even begin to share my elation. After my first meeting with them, I knew it was the right fit from the start. They’re such kind and amazing people, and they all have accents! (anyone who knows me knows I’m a total anglophile).
Anyway, we’re currently in the cover making process, which I should be able to reveal soon, so hold tight because it is BEAUTIFUL!
I hope you all have a wonderful day, and subscribe so you can keep up to date with me and this journey of becoming a published author.
Well, 2020 wasn’t only bad for everyone, but it also forced me to take a year off of writing. It’s kind of crazy to think I haven’t written anything for that long, but now that I am starting again, it feels good. I guess I just needed a break. So what does this mean? It means that now I’m going to start querying again, finishing my current work in progress, and finding faith in myself again. I have hope it’s going to be a better year and I have new feelings to share.
Good luck to all you writers!
Kids often ask why we need to read Shakespeare in the classroom, and my answer is simple. His writings are the foundations for most of what we read and write today. He followed a five act structure that is now what we teach as a plot diagram (Fraytag). This archetype is time tested and proven to work. He also told stories with motifs that apply today. Greed. Love. Lust. Jealousy. Envy. Gluttony. Wrath. Pride. Sloth. Other than love, these are the seven deadly sins that drive humanity. He fights them with the seven heavenly virtues – chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility. These qualities have been around since the beginning of time, and Shakespeare definitely understood how to utilize them in his storytelling. This is something we can all learn from.
Through his teachings, I’m drawn to pass his messages along through retelling his stories in a way teenagers can directly relate. This is what inspired me to retell Julius Caesar, and the truth is that I absolutely love that play. I taught it for over ten years five times a day to tenth graders. I imagined getting bored, but the writing and story are masterful. For a long time, I said, “I want to write a modern Caesar.” And last year I did. BACKSTABBER is the story of Brit Junius and Jules Chamberlain at Rome High School. Jules is thirsty to become ASB President, no matter who she destroys. Brit is her best friend and loves her, but she loves Rome more. She wants all of the students at Rome to have the best high school experience ever. Seduced by Cassidy, Brit decides to conspire against her best friend to take her down. None of it works out the way anyone planned. They all end up losing in the end. I loved the process of turning this into a female led story and including the online pressures kids have today. It was incredible once I was able to incorporate cyber bullying, depression, suicide, manipulation, lies, etc. into this story.
Now, I’m starting a modern Othello, also set in a high school with cheerleaders. I, once again, love the process of figuring out how to apply a classic to a new story. I’m excited to teach the play this fall, so my thought process, moving into this project, is that if I can retell the story, I can teach the original that much better.
After Othello I want to do some more…like Macbeth, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Taming of the Shrew, and Much Ado About Nothing. My hopes/dreams are that one day my books could be used as accompaniments in the classroom. This would be amazing, but first I must find representation for Backstabber.
I know this is going to take patience, but I hope to find someone who loves my work as much as I do. I know there is so much more work ahead of me, but I’m ready. Bring it on!
I see so many posts about why we as writers write. This got me thinking. There are so many reasons I write, and many of them I share with my creative writing class, but the biggest reason is control.
When I write I am able to control situations I would otherwise I have no control. When I was younger, as in in college, I would write about dysfunctional relationships. But now, at 42, I write about my high school life. I write about the mean girls who tormented me and the boys who toyed with my emotions. I write on behalf of my students who are going through the same thing. I write to process my emotions.
As an adult, and a YA writer, much of my writing helps me process the 1000s of emotions I went through as a kid and now I’m trying to sort through them. I would imagine many writers are like me.
In the big picture, I’m regaining control of my life that happened 20+ years ago and want to give hope to my many students going through the same thing.
So why do I write? Because I want to lead a healthy adult life. Because I want to make sense of the bullshit that had gotten me here. And because as much as I’m an adult the teen behavior surrounds me everyday. Writing allows me to make sense of it and be the best adult I can.
I’ve been writing and querying for about ten years, and that time I’ve learned a few things about being a writer.
This leads me to the topic that really started this blog post. Today, an agent was talking about whether or not relating with the character is a viable reason to reject a manuscript. I read through the posts, happy to see this being discussed in the open. It was refreshing that others were saying or thinking the same thing. Yet, at the same time, other agents used terms like code or meaning. People talked about not wanting to hurt feelings, but any rejection hurts. It’s a reality.
Then, ironically, one of my writing friends received a rejection that said “and though I love certain elements, others aren’t quite working for me…I welcome you to query me with more projects.” I received this same rejection last week, with the same wording. The use of love touched me when I received it. I found hope and wondered what I did well. The invitation to query again led me to believe the agent saw something special in my writing, but when I saw the exact same letter to another writer, I was crushed. It was all false hope. It was simply generic niceties that were meant to not hurt my feelings. But the truth is that now I feel like a girl who has been led on by the boy of my dreams. The same one I will never get.
As a querying writer I wish we could just receive the truth, no matter how bad. Tell me I suck at writing. Tell me you just didn’t like it. Tell me something other than a generic message that everyone else gets. As much as I understand there isn’t time enough in the world to personally respond to every query, I don’t know what the solution is. Some agents don’t respond at all, which is worse than a kind response. Honestly, I don’t know what is the best way to deal with queries, but I, personally, just want honesty and not to be led on.
Ok, so everything I just wrote may be taboo and I may have just shot myself in the foot, but I feel like I want/need to bring comfort to others. I don’t know if I’ll ever get published. I hope I do. What I do know is I’m not giving up. I will continue to write and query until the day I die. I will either be published or not, and both are on. I write for me. I write for my children. I write for my family. That’s all I can do.
Please comment, like, follow. I’d love your thoughts as well.
Jamie Handling 