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Writing three books at once is not a good idea

Writing three books at once is not a good idea

by | Jun 7, 2015 | Atticus Quimby, Shirley Link & The Party Poopers, The Camelot Kids, Writing | 4 comments

Something has to give. I’m just not sure what yet.

I’m in New York City for the next two months, teaching a marketing course at School of Visual Arts. While I’m here, I’m writing the next Shirley Link. The final draft will be done by the end of the day! I’m excited by that in ways I’ve never felt before. This Shirley adventure has been the toughest one to craft yet. By far. Part of it is that I’ve had the idea for the mystery for a long time. That meant wrestling with age-old preconceptions about how the clues would be set up, how the players would respond to them and how they’d be revealed. But once I sat down to write the book, well, none of those ideas lasted a single draft. Still, with the help of my beta readers, I’ve worked through it and I think this may be my new favorite Shirley Link book! Stay tuned for launch dates and peeks at artwork soon ;-)

Then there’s The Camelot Kids: Book Two. I found myself at 40k words before I knew it, so I know the book is primed and ready to emerge. I’ve been getting up at 5:30am every morning to work on it and that’s worked well on a number of fronts. There’s something about writing Fantasy (that’s heavy in magic) at the start of the day when the world is quiet. Magic is more present when our lives are still. But to tap it means pushing aside all concerns. It means assuring The Stress that it can come out in a little bit and do its thing. It means gently nudging strong insecurities back into whatever caves they spring from. While the story is all over the place right now, I’m excited to release the ending to a story that’s been dancing around my head for ten years.

And then there’s Atticus. The book died last night. I mean it was dead. Flatlined. It had frustrated me one too many times. I went to sleep in despair. My good idea had no legs. It had nowhere to go. It gasped for oxygen and I tried to give it some but it wasn’t enough.  Then, this morning, its eyes popped open and it breathed in a lungful of air of its own making. So, on its own, it’s showed me a way forward. Now I’m more excited than ever about the story, though I also see that it’s bigger than I initially assumed.

Excited. Terrified. Tired. Pounding on three books will do that to a guy. So wish me luck. I’m headed into the final pass on Shirley Link & The Party Poopers and then I’ll be outlining the next Shirley! Yeah, you know that title I gave this post? The one that advises against writing three books at once? Well, I may be addicted to the feeling so, uh, do as I say, not as I do…

Creating a book cover: Shirley Link & The Black Cat sketches by Robin Hoffman

Creating a book cover: Shirley Link & The Black Cat sketches by Robin Hoffman

by | Jan 15, 2014 | Writing | 2 comments

Shirley Link The Black Cat

 

 

 

Creating a book cover is a bit like mixing potions. There are definitely tried-and-true characteristics of a good cover, but there are also a thousand different types of covers that look great.

And, of course, a million ways to create a book cover that looks awful.

How does Robin Hoffman manage to make such great covers for the Shirley link series? It starts with her love of the character, which has been clear since she read the first draft of the first book in the middle school reading series, Shirley Link & The Safe Case. But, really, it all comes from her working her butt off!

Here’s a peek into the process she goes through every single time a new Shirley cover is needed. Creating a book cover ain’t easy. But it sure is fun to watch happen. Step-by-step.

Click on the images to see ’em get blown up!