Deconstructing the Artist

Reflections on a Book the Night Before its Release

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It’s going to sound cheesy but tomorrow, one of my life long dreams comes true. I’ve wanted to write novels since before I learned to write. Back then I used to draw my stories (which were always about horses living on islands for some reason).

I wrote the first draft of Celebrity Spin Doctor in early 2013. I’d had a pep talk with myself that went something like”Celia, if you want to write books, you actually need to write a book.” So I did. It took me four months and the end result was awful. Mostly because I’d written the thing while listening to the Twilight soundtracks and it came out all serious and moody.

I let it sit. Then I let it sit some more. I tried to go to grad school for creative writing so I pulled out the first three chapters and polished them to within an inch of their life.

I didn’t get into grad school. Not a single one of the ten I applied to. Best thing that ever happened to me. And probably to Celebrity Spin Doctor.

But it still hurt to get that much rejection. Somewhere within and after the pain of all that, I decided I was going to rewrite this book and actually try to get it published. I started sending it out in the spring/summer of 2016. By the fall I had a publishing contract!

It was not to be. For reasons beyond their control, the publisher closed up shop when the book was still in the early editing stages. That was the winter of 2017.

I tried again. And again. By the end of the year I was thoroughly discouraged. So I made myself a deal – I would send the book to every romance publisher I could find at the beginning of 2018. If everyone said no, I would move on to another book.

Well, as you can see, it didn’t come to that. InkSpell Publishing snatched it up right out of the gate and here we are! Celebrity Spin Doctor comes out tomorrow and I still have to keep reminding myself it’s not a dream. It’s not, right?

Lots of News

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September came before I knew it and now we’re only 16 days away from my first ever book release! I don’t even know what to think.

But luckily I do remember all the things that I should have shared and haven’t yet:

For all you bloggers, reviewers, and librarians out there, Celebrity Spin Doctor can now be requested on NetGalley! If you haven’t used NetGalley before but you review books on Goodreads, Amazon, a personal blog, a professional blog, etc., check it out! It’s free to join. You can request pre-pub copies of books from a variety of publishers. I’ve been using it for almost two years and have found some great stuff to buy for the library, even if I don’t always remember to send my reviews back to the publishers…

Second, my sister Tara is giving away 10 pre-pub copies of Celebrity Spin Doctor on her Facebook! Look for Tara Mulder and tell her what the last book you loved was. Last I checked there were still a few left. If you’re not on Facebook, comment on this post and I’ll pass it along to her.

I’m also participating in the Genre Party over on Facebook. Every day for the month of September, different authors in all subgenres of romance will be hanging out in the Facebook group, doing giveaways and chatting about their books. I’ll be there from 4-5pm EST on September 9th and from 6-7pm EST on September 28th. I will have exclusive giveaways just for the party!

And don’t worry friends who aren’t on Facebook, I’ll on Instagram too and you can enter there as well.

If you haven’t done so yet, there’s still plenty of time to enter my pre-order giveaway. Remember to send me a copy of your order confirmation, so I know to enter you!

 

The Latest News

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After the excitement of last Friday’s pre-order launch/cover reveal, things have settled down and I haven’t posted as much. During the week I have to make a choice whether to post or to work on my current book writing project. Since I’m general uncomfortable marketing myself and try to write daily to maintain my sanity, I tend to opt for the current project. Which, conveniently, is the sequel to Celebrity Spin Doctor. So my head is very much in the same world, just with different characters and another absurd plot.

Luckily I have some fabulous friends and family who are promoting my book every chance they get. Right now my sister Tara is doing a giveaway on her Facebook. All you have to do is comment on her post (which I’ve linked to) telling her what the last book you loved was and she’ll pre-order you a copy!

You might be asking, what’s the big rush to pre-order when the book doesn’t even come out until September 20th? Well I’m trying to get this book into print and in order to do that, I’ve got to sell 150 copies of the e-book. Once it’s in print, I can send out signed copies, get it into libraries, and fulfill the dream of seeing my name on a book on my bookcase.

Well that’s my sell for the day. If you do decide to buy it, don’t forget to tell me so I can enter you into my giveaway!

Early Reviews

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The early reviews are in!

“It’s great.” – my friend Kris

“I read it in one day.” – my sister Hannah

“This is the worst piece of crap ever written.” – my inner critic

No but for real – if you’re a reviewer, whether you have your own blog (or review journal 😉 or are just really good at remembering to review on Goodreads, hit me up! I’m looking to trade ARCs in exchange for honest reviews.

Book News: Celebrity Spin Doctor

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Yes, it is true – my first novel comes out this September! I keep assuming it’s some fever dream that I’ll wake up from. But now that I have the ebook copy actually in my inbox, it seems like it may be real.

When is this paragon of English literature coming to an online bookseller near you? Well get ready because here are some important dates to remember:

August 17th: Cover reveal & pre-order available through Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

September 3rd: The book will be up on NetGalley. If you are a reviewer/librarian/bookseller and want to get an early copy (also want to help me out by reviewing it ;), head over there and request an ARC.

September 20th: RELEASE DAY!!!

Some things that will be happening on release day:

  • frequent blogging by me
  • a Facebook live event on my author page (Celia Mulder)
  • SO many Instagram posts
  • and if you’re local to me, a party at my house!

I’m not saying that you have to get my book… but all the cool kids are doing it…

Plot Bunnies

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I am in this great and terrifying space where it’s time to work on a new project. If you’re not in the writing world, you may not have heard the term “plot bunny.” Plot bunnies are those little snippets of inspiration that can hit you anywhere, at anytime. It can be as small as a character name or as big as an entire plot line. Not all of them are winners but some are. The winners are the ones that stick around, that burrow in and multiply into characters, settings, conflicts, romances, and dialogue fragments. And the time plot bunnies are most likely to strike? Right after you’ve decided what you’re going to work on next.

I had my mind and creative energy all set to work on a particular story that’s been brewing for some time. Then two days ago I was hit with a plot bunny. Last night another one hit me. The two merged and became twice as persistent. As I sat down to begin the plotted story, I found myself instead making an inspiration playlist for the mutated plot bunnies. Where do I go from here? Do I follow my plan and write the book whose sheen has dulled a little? Or do I follow this shiny new idea and see where it leads? The shiny idea that is multiplying so quickly it almost a full fledged outline.

Meanwhile there are all the other ideas I’ve been holding onto for years. All of these partial stories hanging out on my computer, waiting for my return. Some of them have a few chapters, some are over a third of the way written. Now that I know the time and investment writing a book entails I am lost on where to go next. What will be the next thing I pour my creative energy into? What story can I stand to work on for the next few months or years?

I don’t expect an answer. There aren’t absolutes and facts in the writing process. It’s all about taking risks, jumping and hoping there’s a parachute. Sometimes there is, sometimes there isn’t. But like the masochists we are, we jump anyway.

Truths

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Here’s the truth – writing a book is hard.

To quote The Princess Bride, “Life is pain. Anyone who says differently is selling something.”

The same can said for writing a book. Writing a book is pain, anyone who says differently is probably trying to sell you a sure fire formula to writing a novel in a week or some other nonsense like that.

But here’s the other truth, writing a novel is one of the most amazing, incredible, fulfilling things you can do. So yeah, I’ll keep writing. Even when I’m pretty sure I’ll delete the whole thing later.

Otherwise how will I get all these characters out of my head?

Thank god for readers and editors, one of whom pointed out that I accidentally renamed one of my characters Bret Michaels instead of Brett Jacobs part way through the manuscript. How embarrassing would that have been? Also definitely the wrong vibe for our lovable hero.

Romantic Notions

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Sometimes I feel closely akin to the Romantic poets and writers of old. The melancholy, the heartbreak, the overwhelming feelings. I could pontificate on the state of the human heart for hours in these moods but, for your sake, I will not. The attention span of audiences is not what it used to be. Including my own.

What has brought on such a state of unmitigated woe? A book. A mere physical piece of paper and ink. I am reaching the end of a trilogy, one that has engaged me heart and soul. I don’t see a happy ending in sight without one or the other character sacrificing all they have worked for. Can I respect a character who has given up their purpose in pursuit of a happy ending? Could you?

There in lies, stems, inhabits the dilemma.

Where Did You Go?

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The simplest answer? NaNoWriMo.

The most complex answer involves me taking on too many activities and jobs and overthinking everything and generally feeling like I’m in over my head.

But really it’s NaNo. I’m dedicating all of my writing hours to putting in words on my new, untitled novel. I just pass 27,000 words today and so far the ideas just keep coming. It’s more personal than my first book. That one I wrote because I wanted to see if I could. This one I’m writing because I can’t get it out of my head.

Some may call it distraction or multi-tasking or being non-committal to have two novels going. I just call it following my creative impulse.

What It’s All About

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In an effort to improve my blogging, particularly my posting consistency, I have signed up for Blogging University‘s class “Blogging 101.” First assignment? Post who I am and why I’m here. Since I’ve had this blog going for a bit, I hope my stalwart followers (Anna) know that this blog is about writing, books, and life. As for the why:

I started this blog as a place for me to share my writing successes, stagnations, and failures. I’d created this website for my author self but I needed a way to connect it with my day to day progress. Thus the blog.

I started it as a place to share what I’ve been reading since I love nothing more than to talk about books!

I started it as a place to write down all the weird dreams and experiences that happen to me, both as a writer and as a human being moving through life.

I’m here to tell stories and share my experiences. I’m here to comment on life and society and the process of growing up. Mostly I’m here to talk about books. Lots of lots of books.