I’ll Cover You

1 Comment

In high school I was the drama girl. I wasn’t planning on that life, but after signing up for Drama 1 freshman year, I was kind of hooked. It was within that crowd that I met some of my best friends (fun fact: 2 of which were my test readers for TNWSY!), and became, well, me. I loved the people, and I loved the ability to turn into someone else completely just by reading a few lines.

I wasn’t a terrific actress but I was okay enough to score a monologue for district/state competition, and get a few decent roles throughout my four years. (favorite: Simba in The Lion King. Because…sure, I can be a lion cub.) But my singing? My singing was atrocious. And I’m not saying that in a “please don’t make me sing” Kristin Wiig character sort of way, but more so in a I was called back for the role of Baby Louise in Gypsy solely because of my terrible singing voice kind of way. Seriously.

Anyway, drama helped me open up a bit more and towards my senior year I became more comfortable within myself. One day in the drama room, with a few people still milling around despite the fact that the school day ended an hour prior (we had a tendency to just stick around), a friend (note: my first gay best friend, of which I’ve had many) started singing “I’ll Cover You” from RENT. He took the Angel part, swung me around, and demanded I be his Collins.

But, yeah, remember my voice? Right.

But in that moment, with him twirling me around, I just couldn’t help it. So I took a leap, and bubbled out the lyrics. (Because, let’s be honest, I love that song.) People were around, but they didn’t notice. He was there, and didn’t care about my voice. And for a second, I just lost myself in lyrics and melody and laughter. Because we were having so much fun, and ability didn’t even factor into it. Why hadn’t I thought of that sooner?

I can’t say I became a dedicated singer after that. In fact, I don’t think I’ve really sung in public since (with the exception of karaoke nights and shouting out lyrics with my friends in cars – who doesn’t do that?), but that one moment was exciting and – as it turned out – memorable.

I think my writing is a bit like that. I kept it private, untouched for so long. But once I finally braved an audience and put it out there, I felt great. Sometimes you just need a little push to do something that’s frightening. Or, I guess, a twirl.

All Together Now

4 Comments

After I started sending TNWSY out to agents, I immediately started Book 2. I was told it was the smart thing to do – concentrate on on my second attempt to distract me from rejections. And it worked! Here’s the thing, though – aside from writing and editing my query letter, I didn’t do any additional work on TNWSY. It’s been a while since I’ve been in that story.

So I was a bit worried when I had to jump into TNWSY edits for my agent. What if I couldn’t find the voice again? What if I didn’t like something? What if she didn’t like something?

But a funny thing happened when I opened the Word file – I felt at home. I felt like I was revisiting old friends, ones who never really left me. While I was still worried that my edits weren’t perfect enough, I gave myself into them and had fun. It was really quite cool. The edits let me explore my characters more, and discover new aspects of them. And I loved that. Each edit in the past added in that way, too, but for some reason this one felt different. Perhaps absence does make the heart grow fonder.

It’s really weird now going back and forth between stories, between characters and voices, but I like it. Because I love TNWSY, and I don’t mind saying hi to it again every once in a while. See how its been doing. Ask if it has any advice for Book 2. You know, I think they’d get along  quite well.

Have you ever worked on two stories at once? How did you deal with it? 

A Contest!

8 Comments

I have survived my first week at the library. And you know what? I love it! I’ve had some ridiculously awesome reference questions (“Can you help me find a book about the Holocaust and puppets?”), and seen some ridiculously adorable children talking about dinosaurs (we have a dino display). I’m so happy with the job, it’s almost frightening.

And because of that, I want to celebrate by giving stuff away! Like most libraries, we have a mini store that sells donated books. I’ve decided that periodically, whenever a book I love is dropped off, I’m going to purchase it and give it away on my blog. Because I love you all. And I love supporting libraries. And I love books. So here’s my first giveaway!

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

I adore Dessen’s books. They’re so rich and beautiful and engaging. This is one of my favorites. So when I saw it on the shelf, I had to adopt it. Like I said, it’s a used book so it has some wear (bent pages), but otherwise it’s perfectly fine.

Want the Dessen book? Comment below! Tell me your favorite dinosaur, and you’ll be entered to win it. Deadline March 22nd. Good luck!

Librarian Lauren

6 Comments

As it turns out, Mad Men me looks an awful lot like Librarian me. Go figure?

I started my new library job today, which was really exciting. One of my assignments was to announce  my Harry Potter house, so clearly I fit right in. (Hufflepuff, according to Pottermore, by the by. You?)

High Five for Friday

1 Comment

Writing news:

Sent in my first revised manuscript to Agent. Crazy, right? I’m both nervous and excited. Nervous because…what if she doesn’t like my changes? Excited because…what if she does? It’s a weird profession, it really is.

Personal news:

As of last week my mom’s been cancer free for a full year. A full year! I wrote about her struggle with breast cancer when she was first diagnosed, but since then she’s recovered remarkably well. All of her surgeries were successful, including the reconstruction. And now it’s all totally gone. I’ve always believed in the possibility of miracles, but now I also believe in medicine.

Dinosaur news:

Saw this guy on my way to Sarasota. I’m 99% sure he waved to me.