Not All 17-year-old Young Adult Characters Have Superpowers!

Okay, yeah, I know this isn't earth-shattering news. But it's a way Raven Reviews opens an interview with me.* I quote:

"Lately, it seems all young adult novels involve a seventeen year old who either have a supernatural secret or find out he or she is a supernatural. Then I came across this next book where the teen was being raised by a black man and a white man and no mother. And they are always on the move. It seems strange, right? Then, the main character falls in love with her track coach. Seems like a lot of stuff going on here. I decided to take a closer look at the book and the author."

If you care to read the interview, head on over to Raven Reviews and find out what inspired Portrait of a Girl Running. There is also a link to an excerpt of the first chapter.

* I did warn you I'd be doing some promotion of this book, didn't I?" 

Pushing the Limits of Absurdity

I suppose I ought to post something now that it’s the beginning of a new year—and I thought I’d provide an update on what I’ve been up to, writing-wise. Blind Sighted was slow starting, but now I’m nearly 20k words into the story;  the characters and plot are beginning to take shape. I still have a lot of research to do in the following categories:

• Sino-Russian relations during the cold war
• The Berlin Wall
• The Russian ballet and costumes
• Delusional Disorder
• Narcissistic Personality Disorder
• Asperger’s Syndrome
• Common Russian expressions
• Being a professional seamstress in an upper-class, small New England community—Oh, wait, I don’t have to research that—I already have personal experience!

Hopefully this gives you a hint about what this story entails, and yeah, I will be pushing the envelope of absurdity—I mean, the main POV character’s name is Juliet, and her brother’s name is Romeo. Seriously. What kind of a mother names her children Rome and Juliet, especially with a last name Glitch!? And let’s not forget Kim (the poor guy whose delusional mother believes he’s blind). When a girl’s life already pushes the boundaries of absurdity, it’s easy for someone else’s absurd life to draw her in—dangerously easy.

I’ve also decided to do a little book promotion for Portrait of a Girl Running, and its sequel Portrait of a Protégé. I’ve been reading up on marketing books in this ever-evolving world of publishing, and it seems that slow and steady has more of an impact on long-term marketing than the old model of creating a huge bang at a book’s release (yeah, I’ve been reading Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s blog). That said, now, a couple of months after the release of my Portraits novels, you will see me doing what I didn’t think I’d ever get up the gumption to do—promote my books (with the help of publicist Paula Margulies, because you know I wouldn’t do it on my own!).

That said, I should plug my networking stuff, so, if you'd like to follow me on Twitter or Facebook, that would be okay with me! My books are also on Goodreads ... in case you were wondering ....

Meanwhile, here’s an absurd song I wish I could use as my theme music for Blind Sighted—sort of.