All the Things About Last Week

Holy wow, you will not believe how much crazy fun I’ve had since DESCENDANT was released on May 1^st.

First, a flight to Utah for the release party here.

 

The King's English Book Shop

Lots of people came—the chairs filled and…

the line went out the door.

My publishers, Rhett and Emmaline Hoffmeister came.
And also my publishing sisters Donna K. Weaver and Michelle Davidson Argyle.

Next, a beautiful few days spent networking and a little bit of family visiting,

Cooking lessons with my oldest.

Dinner with these FABulous ladies! (Minus Raylene.)

Launch party pics still--I'm horrible about remembering to snap pics sometimes. But I spent time with all these people! 

And these people too.

And my good friend Windy.

and then this fabulous conference, where I presented.

Lots of catching up with my writing family.

A little visiting with each of these ladies.

Partying with Authors Incognito.

 

Photo courtesy of Heather Zahn Gardner
Reunion with my Utah critique group.

Photographer Heather Zahn Gardner and me,courtesy of well, Heather. 

Some eating on the job.

Fantastic looking group, yes?

Breakfast and lucky pie with Elana J.

Some silliness and book signing.

Some more catching up.

Debbie Davis and me.

Shopping and late nights with FAB #3. (Yes, this is an old pic too.)

And then Mother’s Day with my oldest son and both my mothers (bio and step) before heading back to Texas to the rest of my family, where I was greeted with these.

Lots of stuff in one week, yes? But so much amazing, my brain is still spinning. And now to get back to writing!

Don’t forget to stop by the Descendant blog tour stops for exclusive information, interviews, playlists, and excerpts—also for multiple chances to enter the MASSIVE contest. Don’t miss out! 

Snippets of Writerly Wisdom (part 1) Snippets of Writerly Wisdom (part 1) Snippets of Writerly Wisdom, Part 1

I’ve decided that writers and artists are possibly the smartest people on the planet. We may not actually be building rockets and flying through space, or curing cancer, or even the flu, but we are open to any and all possibilities—even when the odds are stacked against us. (And dudes, we totally WRITE about all those things.)

I have heard some of life’s best wisdom from the mouths of authors/artists who are talking off the cuff. Panels, as you will often find at symposiums and conferences where writerly-types gather, are a great place to find valuable little snippets that make you think.

This week, I thought I’d share some of the snippets I picked up at my most recent symposium foray. Today is writing Wednesday, therefore, the following quotes will pertain mostly to writing. (And on Friday, I’ll share some that apply to life for everyone, not just artists, yeah? Okay.)

“You can’t create a villain just to fight the hero. The villain should never be evil just because your hero is good.” ~ (Sorry, I don’t know the name of the person who said this, but I thought it was good.)

“A good place to start is to decide to finish. “ ~Jess Smart Smiley, author of Upside Down, a Vampire Tale

“Art is making lines on paper and choosing where they go.” ~James A. Owen.

“Suspense and tension are not the same thing. Every book doesn’t need suspense, but they all need tension.” ~James Dashner, author of The Mazerunner series.

“Any time your character faces a choice between two goods or two bads, they are choosing who they’re going to be.” ~Clint Johnson

“Your goal is not to create reality, but the illusion of reality.” ~J. Scott Savage author of Farworld

“Creativity is about what is calling to you, what you think about a lot, what you want to talk about a lot.” ~Sandra Tayler

“Get into a rhythm where you finish one book, then set it aside for a bit and work on something else. It’s how you grow. “ ~Brodi Ashton author of Everneath

Lots of good stuff, right? I’m sure I’ll be blogging more about some of it in weeks to come. But for now, I hope you saw one thing that reached out and grabbed you.

World's Most Rockin Writer's Conference & a Contest! (Last day to enter)

Did you get that part? Last day to enter! That means you have until midnight on February 28th to get this done, so pay attention.

What?

First, register for the LDStorymakers Writer's Conference. (To do this, click here.)

Second, check out this blog, where you'll find information about a contest in which you can earn a 30 page manuscript critique from esteemed agent Sara Megibow, and/or a seat at a table with other highly respected agents, editors, and bestselling authors. I don't need to tell you what a fab opportunity this is. So go, register, enter. Quick! It may be the last minute, but it's still not too late--yet.

Hurry, hurry, hurry!

That is all. Carry on.

Write On Con--Epic Free Conference

**I'm featured today on the LDS Women's Book Review blog, where they're giving away lots of fabulous prizes. Come enter!**

Dude, you guys! Elana Johnson, Casey McCormick, Lisa and Laura Roecker, Shannon Messenger, and Jamie Harrington are so at it again. Watch the following vlog for information about a totally epic online writers conference that is...FREEEEEEE! (Did ya get that?)



Pay it forward, peeps. Oh, and if you want to win free stuff, check out these ladies blogs.

Elana
Casey
Lisa and Laura
Shannon
Jamie

Things I Learned at Storymakers 2010

By Nichole Giles

I spent last weekend at the conference of awesomeness—the LDStorymakers 2010. This is my very favorite conference of all time, for several different reasons, but mainly because after six years of attendance (or is that seven?) I feel like these people are my second family, and the conference is a giant reunion.

As much as I’d love to share all my notes, the classes are copyrighted. And truthfully, you kind of had to be there to get the fullness of everything. But what I can share with you are some thoughts and quotes from the classes I attended, and those incredible authors who taught them.

These are the things that affected me enough to stick in my mind, but not necessarily in any particular order:

“Anything that gets people to read is a wonderful thing.” ~Laura Rennert, Andrea Brown Literary Agency

“Writing a query is hard, but you can do hard things.” ~Elana Johnson author of From the Query to the Call.

“Writing is work, even when it’s fun.” ~Aprilynne Pike, author of Wings

“Believe in yourself, and find others who believe in you too.” ~ Laura Rennert (I went to two of her classes.)

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” ~Dave Wolverton (aka David Farland) author of the Runelords series, In the Company of Angels, and so many other books I can’t possibly list them all.

And finally, a thought given by Dave Wolverton at the Whitney Awards ceremony. (I didn’t write it down, so this is as I remember it. Definitely not verbatim.)

“Doctors spend years going to medical school, but for some reason, writers expect to be published right out of the gate…the difference between learning to be a doctor and learning to write is that medical school has teachers and instructors and college texts to teach them medicine and writers are all on their own.”

And.

“You can make a living as a writer.”

Do you need more than that? Yeah, I didn’t think so.

My advice for the week? If you want to be a writer, go out of your way to attend conferences as often as possible. Consider it medical school for writers, and justify it by reminding yourself that you need all the training you can get, whenever you can get it.

Oh, and check out my totally awesome friends. Our writer's group has certainly grown this year! This is only some of us. I love these people!

Worth The Cost

Over the past month, I’ve had several people ask me why I chose to go all the way to Phoenix for the ANWA conference this past weekend. It’s not a huge conference, and several of the speakers are authors who will also be teaching at the upcoming LDStorymakers conference in April here in Utah. The conference itself wasn’t expensive, but if I add up the cost of hotel and transportation, it did cost me a bit more that I’m usually willing to pay. But I did it anyway, because I wanted to go, and because I felt like I was supposed to be there for one reason or another.

Did I get my money’s worth? Yeah, I did. I had several important ah-ha moments, got some great advice, and heard words that felt custom designed for me. And yes, I’d do it again; even though I won’t even try to pinpoint the “reason” I was supposed to go. At least, not yet. I think sometimes we just get to know that we got something important from following that spiritual direction, even if we’re not able to give a name to the blessings that come from it.

That said, I will tell you a little about my favorite classes. J. Scott Savage gave the keynote address, during which he talked about the importance of setting proper expectations for ourselves. We made a list of things we can control versus those which we can’t. For instance, we can’t control what an agent wants, but we can do our best work and send it out there. We can’t control what’s “in” in the market or being in the right time and place, but we can polish our query and submit often. We can’t control how long an agent takes to get back to us, but we can send our query and then get right to work on the next project.

He also touched on several other subjects, like the folly of comparing ourselves to other authors—since we’re all individual and shouldn’t even WANT to be the same as someone else. He gave us tips on overcoming writers block and reminded us that it’s always darkest before the dawn. Which translates to, the journey’s always hardest right before you stumble into success. I loved that part, but my favorite piece of advice is that we break through the barriers to reach our potential.

Amen and nuff said. Thanks for that, Jeff. (He also had a class about finding an agent, which was also crammed with excellent advice.)

Later in the day, Aprilynne Pike talked about the life cycle of a writer and all the highs and lows we go through, even after we’ve signed with an agent and /or publisher. I loved her analogies, and though I didn’t get the exact steps written down, left the class with one thing to remember: I am a capable writer with an original story to tell. I think I’ll print that one and put it on my bathroom mirror as a reminder. Thanks, Aprilynne.

Helen Blair then spoke to us about tapping our subconscious minds, and helping our conscious and subconscious minds to play nicely together in order to reach our potential for creativity. She taught us how each part works, and why we sometimes suffer the effects of writers block. This class really spoke to me because I’m a big, big believer in this kind of thinking, and I found the whole lesson fascinating. Again, a whole class of takeaway for me, but during this session, I had a sudden epiphany of an important paragraph that needs to go in the beginning of one of my books. Yes, I wrote it down. And yes, it was a very important realization. Say it with me: Ah-ha!

There were several other classes I could tell you about, and other things I learned. But seriously, I need to get back to work on my book. I will say, though, that the ANWA ladies did a great job of putting this conference together, and for all the people who are wondering if it was worth it, the answer is yes. Yes it was.

Now, before I forget, there are lots of fun things happening on my blog this month. Check back on Friday for another big giveaway being held in conjunction with a book launch for my good friend Rachelle Christensen, who’s book Wrong Number is now available online and in stores. During this promotion, I’ll be giving away one copy of my new book, The Sharp Edge of a Knife, which is now available online, and should be in stores very soon. Following that, I’m launching my book (see title above) with a blog tour and more giveaways. I’m also planning a physical launch party, so watch for that announcement as well. (Still working on location—sorry for the delay.) Also, keep an eye on my event list on the sidebar to see where you can come meet me in person. Lots of fun events happening in March!

And now, I’m really getting back to work. Have a great day and write on.

Cool Book to Watch For and Fun Signing News

Okay, I've blogged every day this week. Not always here, mind you, but we're talking serious bloggage going on. And I had no intention of blogging again today, because, you know, I have writing to do. Plus, I'd hate to make you sick of me.

But...I have cool news I want to share. Cindy and I are officially scheduled to sign copies of Mormon Mishaps and Mischief at the BYU bookstore during the sci-fi / fantasy conference, Life, the Universe, and Everything. Our signing date is Thursday, Feb. 11th, from 11:45-1:30. Yes, during lunch.

I realize that the time seems a bit odd, and that it will cut into the conference classes, including both lectures by my favorite artist, James Christensen. BUT this is a good thing because I can catch a little of both lectures, and still sign for the lunch crowd. So come by and say hi, and if you haven't already, pick up your copy of Mormon Mishaps and Mischief. If you already have one, it makes a great gift for your Valentine, and also Mother's and Father's Days. Just sayin.

And since I'm sharing anyway, my friend Rachelle just released a trailer for her book, Wrong Number. It's being released in a few weeks, and I'm totally excited for it. I've read this book, and it's so, so good. So, here it is. Enjoy!



That's it for this week, kids. Have a great weekend!

Nichole

Cool Conferences and a Contest Winner

I think I'm on a roll! I've blogged so much this week, it's almost like I'm not getting any writing done. Shoot. I'm not. But I have a good excuse, and blogging isn't it.

Remember? I sent my book to press last week. So. There. Got something big and important done. Oh, and I also ordered more bookmarks for Mishaps since we'll be appearing to sign at some bookstores and conferences in upcoming weeks.

Speaking of conferences, February is a good month for them. I will be attending two, and am totally psyched for both of them. I could tell you all about both of them, but instead I've decided to paste the information below. With links in case you have questions. Come. Learn. Visit with me. It'll be so fun!

Except before I forget, I had a contest last week. Actually, it was two weeks ago and no one won, so I ran it again. Do you remember? Yep, my first name to which I will never answer, sign, or otherwise use except as an initial.

Contrary to popular belief, the reason for this is not because I hate my first name, but rather because I've never in my life actually used it. Ever. Except on my wedding invitations. Which was a mistake. The proof of this is burned into the cover of our family hymnbook. A gift from the groom's extended family, obviously. I digress. And the winner is...

Chelsea!  *clapclapclapclapcheerjump-up-and-down-clapclapclapcheer* Chelsea doesn't know me in person, but she guessed the name Debra. Which, according to my birth certificate, is correct.

Chelsea has won this really awesome wooden bookmark from Hawaii. Cute, huh? Chelsea, please email your mailing information to me at nickigiles at gmail dot com, and I'll get this sent this week.

Now, back to the conferences. The first conference is called Life, The Universe and Everything and is held at BYU in the Wilkenson Center. Here are the important dets:

Shoot. It won't paste in. Let me try this again.

Okay, I'll type it. Feb 11-13 at BYU.
Attendance is FREE! (yes, I said free, so you have no excuse not to come.)
Click here to find out more, since it won't paste in. But here are the guests of honor:

Guests

of Honor:

Brandon Sanderson

(author of the Mistborn Trilogy, the Alcatraz books

and the new Wheel of Time books)

Marty Brenneis

(Special Effects Wizard)

Formerly with ILM, now with Kerner Studios.

James C. Christensen

(Thursday Only)

(Yes. we jave pme, but we’re finalizng a few details)

Did you catch that? James C. Christensen. The artist whose work I LOVE. I wonder if he'll draw me a fairy? If he does, maybe I'll get it tatooed somewhere. But don't tell him that. =) 

Okay, the next totally awesome and way fun conference is in Arizona. But inexpensive enough to warrant me buying a plane ticket to get there. Yahoo! 

This one will paste so here it is:

All local writers are invited to this year's ANWA Writer's Conference. It’s one of the best in the west, with some very big names in the business.  The cost is about a third of most other writer's conferences.

The 2010 ANWA Writer’s Conference

“Start Write Now”

Saturday, February 27, 2010

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Dobson Ranch Inn,

1666 South Dobson Road

Mesa, Arizona 85202-5699

Open to all writers on this or any other planet

 Register at

http://anwa-lds.com/conference.html

Discounted Hotel reservations available on the above registration site or by calling Dobson Ranch Inn directly at 480-831-7000 or 1-800-528-1356 http://www.dobsonranchinn.com/

Keynote Speaker

 J. Scott Savage

Author of the "Farworld" Series

Aprilynne Pike

New York Times best-selling Author of “Wings”

Doug Johnston

Publicist Extraordinaire

 

Nancy E. Turner

Author of “These is My Words”

Dr. Pamela Goodfellow

Writing Coach, Editor

and Owner of Goodfellow Publishing Services

Sara Fujimura

Author and Magazine Writer

Helen Bair

Counselor and Author of

“Finding the Healer in Me”

Marsha Ward

Author of the “Owen Family” Series

Book signings at end of conference

Early Registration 

General Public:  $75 before February 7, 2010

ANWA Members $60

After Feb. 7 add $5

Cost includes Catered Lunch

For questions contact, the ANWA 2010 Conference Chair Person, Cindy R. Williams at cindywilliams@q.com or Conference Registrar, Krista Darrach at kristadarrach@yah

I hope to see you there! I have a signing table, so come buy my books or just introduce yourself and let's be friends.

Work or Recreation?

By Nichole Giles (Well, who else would it be by?)

This weekend I had the privilege and opportunity to attend another writer’s conference. This one was for the League of Utah Writers. I try to go to as many conferences as I can (you know, if time and budget both allow) because I am of the opinion that I need to learn all I can, and network, and all that good stuff. Plus, it’s fun.

It was held in Midway, Utah, which—if you’ve never been there—is a tiny mountain town, surrounded by trees, and grass, and gorgeous mountains. The view was absolutely stunning with the colors beginning to change and the sky going from clear, to cloudy, to rainy, and then clear again. But the most awesome part—aside from the uber-informative classes that will definitely help me hone my writing skills—was hanging out with so many awesome, incredibly talented authors.

Anyway, as a group of us were hanging out, we got into a discussion about movies, and the merits of watching them to see how the plots progress, and to notice dialogue and things. I have to admit, most of the movies that came up for discussions I either never saw or saw so long ago that I have about zero recollection of details. But the point is that we made the conclusion (or at least, James Dashner did, and then convinced us all to subscribe to his way of thinking) that seeing movies is as important a part of our job as reading books.

(In the picture: Taffy Lovell, Me, Richard Paul Evans, Connie Hall.)

Seriously, after the discussion, I decided James is absolutely right. I should totally see more movies. In fact, I should make a point to watch old movies when I can, too. (Remind me to ask my accountant if there’s any way I can deduct the price of movie tickets…)

(In the picture: James Dashner, Clint Johnson.)

What other people do in their off time for entertainment is actually part of what we do as artists and writers. I love that thought! And you know what else? Going to conferences where we can sit (or stand) around having intelligent conversations about the merits of this movie or that, or this book or that and why this worked but that didn’t is also part of our job. (I did know that, by the way.)

(In this picture: Rachelle Christensen, Connie Hall, Me.)

The problem I’m having is that it just doesn’t feel like work. Not that writing always does either, but at least that requires my butt being in a chair and my computer on (or notebook open) and concentrating for blocks of time. Hanging out chatting with friends (who also happen to be authors/agents/editors) feels more like recreation, just like seeing movies.

So the question begs to be asked: Can there be a more rewarding, fulfilling, awesome career on the planet?

Hm. I’m thinking no. No way, no how. I’ll take my rejections and run with them (and by the way, I’m accumulating quite the collection) because this is definitely where I want to be, what I want to be doing. It’s my dream career. How ever did I—lowly housewife and mother—get so lucky?

(In this picture: Heather Moore and Richard Paul Evans.)

For your enjoyment, a few pictures of some of my author friends at this conference. (Somehow, I failed to get a picture of all of us together, and didn’t get one of Eric Swedin, and a few others who were also our conference buddies. My bad, and now I’m sorry. Catch you all next time, guys! And just for clarification--I don't personally know Richard Paul Evans, but I did meet him and can testify that he is genuine, kind, and extremely smart.)

Amazing People, Amazing Conference

By Nichole Giles

I spent the weekend at the LDStorymakers writer’s conference, and boy, what an inspiration. Every year, this is the conference to which I most look forward all year. The one where I know so many people and where I have always been made to feel like a part of things.

Those who know me will understand when I say I’ve come a long way since my first conference in 2005. That year, it took every ounce of courage I had in me to even admit I wanted to write. And I didn’t say much to anyone, didn’t make loud comments, and was not outgoing in striking up a conversation. I was at a low point in my life, and trying to claw my way back up.

This year, I stood up on stage in front of the entire audience and participated in a skit to encourage new attendees to join our online writer’s group. And there’s more. During the skit, I actually took the microphone and sang. Solo for two whole lines until the rest of the participants joined in. Something I haven’t done since high school (ahem, many years ago.)

In case you’re wondering what has gotten into me, I’ll tell you. Confidence. Self respect. Self-assurance. Self value.

And while you may be thinking that’s something I should have had before I started writing, I didn’t. Or at least hadn’t for years. Very often, when women get married young, dedicating themselves to having children and being good wives, they are in danger of losing their self identity, and in the process all of the things I mentioned above. That was me. And I could go into a long story here about myself and how I happened to go in search of something that was mine—something I never knew I always wanted—but that would make for a really long—and probably boring—blog.

Suffice it to say, when I knew—really truly knew—I wanted to write, I spent a lot of time praying that God would point me in the right direction. That He would help me know how to go about doing what I wanted so badly to do. And then I happened on a flier for the LDStorymakers conference—which just so happened to be a week away. I called the number and talked to Tristi Pinkston—who is now a very dear friend—and signed up. She told me I could pay at the door, and the next week, I showed up with no idea what to expect.

And what I got there was priceless. Invaluable. More than I could ever pay for in this lifetime or the next. The killer is, I get the same treatment, lessons, and more, every year I attend. These people are more than teachers and instructors. They truly care about every person at the conference, and they want to see us succeed. And because of them, so many of us will.

(Picture of a small portion of our writer's group.)

This year’s conference was truly amazing. And to be honest, I spent all of Sunday being sad that it was over. But that’s not completely true. It isn’t over. Not in the least. I have a whole year—and an amazing online group put together from attendees—to look forward to next year’s conference. In the meantime, I aim to show my utter and complete gratitude to the Storymakers by making the most of what I’ve been taught.

How? By getting published.

Duh!

Songwriter on the Interstate

By Nichole Giles

The other day I got stuck in traffic. I’m not talking about a little bit of rush hour traffic in which you slow down to thirty or forty miles an hour, but good-old-fashioned-road-construction traffic in which you come to a complete stop and then inch forward slowly as traffic ten miles ahead of you bottlenecks into one lane. It’s a good thing I wasn’t in a hurry.

I was on my way to a conference, where I was staying the night—by myself so I could get some writing done—and the sun was out and my convertible top down, so I was in a pretty good mood. I popped in my Nickelback CD and cranked up the volume to deafening, hoping I wasn’t disturbing the people in the cars around me.

I was singing along, tapping to the beat on my steering wheel, and basically rocking out, when something ahead of me caught my eye. I couldn’t tell for sure at first glance, but it looked like someone had the neck of a guitar sticking out the driver’s window—which was down. I sped up, hoping to get closer because, well, I was curious. As I got closer, an arm came out, and fingers pressed the strings.

“Hm,” I said to myself. “Is that guy really playing the guitar while he’s driving?”

As luck would have it, the traffic in my lane moved forward at a little faster pace than the traffic in his lane, and eventually I caught up to the European compact with the guitar/hand sticking out. So, I turned off my music—for a minute—to see if I could hear.

Not only was the guy playing as he drove, but he was also singing at the top of his lungs. No exaggeration. He was two lanes over, and I could make out faint chords of an unfamiliar tune. It sounded sort of Vaudeville-ish, but I might have been partially deaf thanks to Nickelback. Anyway, being that I was on my way to a writer’s conference, I had writing at the front of my brain, so it occurred to me that the guy might be a songwriter. After all, I had a piece of paper anchored under my leg and a pen in my empty cup holder in case I needed to quickly jot down a great idea. So, I couldn’t fault him for writing a song as he was stuck in traffic.

But, just to be safe—knowing how involved writing can be when the mood is right—I sped ahead until I couldn’t see him in my rearview anymore. Because even though I understand how important it is to get that epiphany down on paper the moment it hits, I didn’t want to be in that guy’s path when he hit the gas to keep up with traffic.

I might have ended up Vaudeville toast, with a side of squished Mustang on the side.