About Me...
Diana Paz writes books about magic, adventure, and romance. She
was born in Costa Rica, grew up on Miami Beach, moved to Los Angeles in
high school, and went to college in San Diego. Basically, she’s a beach
bum. Diana graduated from California State University, San Marcos with a
Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts. She loves old movies, epic fantasy,
all kinds of music, and heading to the beach with a good book.
Preferably sipping a highly sweetened iced coffee.
Where to find her?
On Facebook: facebook.com/dianapazbooks
On Instagram: instagram.com/dianapazwrites
On Twitter: @dianapazwrites
At her blog:dianapazwrites.blogspot.com
At her website: dianapaz.com
...and find her again on Facebook talking about
anime, cosplay, and all things nerdy at facebook.com/dianimepop
More About Me...
For my 100th blog post, I held a Q & A for anyone to ask ANYTHING about me. This was in March of 2010.
Some things haven’t changed since then… I still love Star Wars more than Star Trek, and thankfully, my most embarrassing moment remains the same. Unfortunately, the hairless fairy still hasn’t visited me to grant me permanent hairlessness from the neck down!! I haven’t given up on her, though!
Other things have changed, though. The book I mentioned in my answers, (which was a WIP at the time), isn’t titled FATED anymore, it's now TIMESPELL, and it has a sequel! There have been great big life changes too, which have thankfully been positive. And teeny tiny changes... I'm not using a Blackberry anymore, for one thing! Reading back to that made me laugh. This Q & A is like a time capsule!
And now, the recipients and questions:
Amalia T. asked…
My question for you is: Who is your favorite Star Wars character and why?
also: Favorite Mythological figure? and why!
(am I allowed to ask two? Are they potentially the same question? ONLY YOU CAN DECIDE!)
P.S. why was I not following you before now on Twitter?
Diana’s response…
Am I not following you on Twitter either? I will have to check!
Now, to answer your first question: My favorite Star Wars character… how to choose? They could all be favorites in different ways. Favorite character to hang out with? (Chewbaca) To battle the Sith with? (Obie Wan Kenobe) To grab by the face and kiss? (Han Solo). I think, if you’re backing me into a corner here, my absolute favorite character, the one that makes me happiest to see, is R2D2.
The second question is MUCH easier to answer. My favorite mythological figure is known as the goddess of the hunt, the moon, the light, chastity/purity; she’s a daughter to Zeus, a sister to Apollo; Diana in Roman mythology and my namesake in Greek: Artemis.
Shannon O’Donnell asked…
So…which is better – Star Wars or Star Trek?!
Diana’s response…
Ha! I like your question, and the answer is STAR WARS!!!
Julie Dao asked…
If you could be in ANY musical, what would it be, what character would you play, and why?
Diana’s response…
I LOVE musicals!!! (Exclamation abuse!) It’s a close call, because I love so many. Forced to choose… I think… Phantom of the Opera. I’d play Christine (naturally), and the reasons are: the gorgeous costumes, being in Paris, the beautiful music, and the entire Masquerade dance sequence. (This was SUCH a tough question. It took me forever to narrow it down! Les Mis, anyone?)
Amber Tidd Murphy asked…
Here’s my question, and it’s a two-parter.
Have you always lived in Cali? If not, where are you from?
Diana’s response…
I haven’t always lived in Cali. I grew up on Miami Beach, South Beach actually. We moved to L.A. the summer before tenth grade. I love both places for different reasons, but one thing I missed about South Beach, growing up, is the fact that it was totally fine NOT having a car. There was so much to do within walking distance, and public transportation was a snap. Not so true of being a teen in L.A.
Natalie Murphy asked…
Hmm, a question…Is there a song, image, book, movie, etc… that inspires you more than all the others? Do you have one of each that has your Muse all excited
Diana’s response…
Good question! I’m definitely inspired by other creativity, be it music, movies, novels– art in general, really. Big, epic movies with adventure and romance definitely get me thinking of my own work; art inspires my imagination for sure. Music fires up my muse probably more than anything else. I’m all over the map with music, but deep, meaningful songs like In the End (Linkin Park), You Found Me (The Fray), Apologize (OneRepublic) tend to make me think of my wip’s male protagonist. Fun songs like I’m Yours (Jason Mraz) and love songs like I Will Be (by Leona Lewis) have me thinking of the female protag. There are tons more songs but I am terrible with song titles and names!!
Sara McClung ♥ asked…
What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you while traveling? (hehe wicked me)
Diana’s response…
Ah! The MOST embarrassing? How do I choose from so many embarrassing moments? Okay, “while traveling” narrows it down… I think it would be the time I was with my high school boyfriend, my brother, and some friends jumping waves at the beach when one of them got me– and I mean GOOD. I tumbled over and over until the sea spit me out on the sand. I couldn’t even see straight from the craziness of my hair wrapped around my face, and when I stood up I didn’t know why my brother was laughing like a maniac. Yeah yeah, my one-piece bathing suit was down around my waist. It had a low back, and somehow both straps came completely off in the tumble. But everyone on the beach thought it was grrrrreat. I still blush thinking about it. Awesome.
Erica asked…
Hmmm. What’s the best idea you’ve ever came up with, but haven’t written yet?
*throws confetti* *realizes she has no idea how many posts she’s had on her own blog*
)
Diana’s response…
Wow, you really want me to give away the farm? Okay, here’s one I think is good, and I haven’t sat down to start it: A sixteen year old girl who can’t look people in the eyes without seeing their pasts accidentally looks into the eyes of a girl being chased by a supernatural force (which I’m leaving vague here on purpose, heehee).
pauling asked…
Congrats! And, my questions is – what has been your lowest moment and your highest moment when writing?
Diana’s response…
My lowest and highest moments– when writing– hmm. When writing I’m deep in my characters’ minds, so their lowest and highest moments are mine. If you mean, as a writer, my lowest moment was when I gave up. I thought I was such a rock-hard awesome writer, I’d been in critique groups and taken creative writing in college, but I’d never sought publication. And doing so made me feel small and insignificant. There were so many people trying for the same goal, and being a writer for publication is completely different than being a writer for a creative writing class. The truth is, I AM small and insignificant, but it’s up to me to grow and make myself relevant. When I figured that out, and got over myself, that’s when I was ready to come back. That was a high point, because it was like my mind opened up on a door that had been there all along: rejection is a tool for growth. To be honest, my highest moment was my first full request. Every full sent out is intense, because that is the closest point to getting The Call that an aspiring author typically can be.
Voidwalker asked…
My question, is, IF you had to be stuck in an elevator for 4 hours with any 3 of your blogger friends, who would you chose to be stuck with. (I know I’m in there, but besides me, who would you choose lol)
Diana’s response…
Well of course you’d be there Void, that’s a given
So I’d be stuck for four hours? And I’m supposed to bring along three
additional blogger friends for this little trip? Wow, I’d have to do a
drawing, truly. I mean Wendy and GwOE for sure, they’re my critique
buddies, but as for the third I don’t know if I could narrow it down! (BUT, you must answer!!!)
Okay okay, I will then!! I’d take an agent-blogger, and hopefully
he/she would be charmed by us by the end of this bonding session and
offer to look at our manuscripts!
Angie asked…
What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Diana’s response…
Another impossible question to answer!! Again, forced to choose one, I’d say Coldstone’s Cookie Doughn’t You Want Some in a chocolate-dipped waffle cone, yuummmmmm!!
Elana Johnson asked…
My question: Your sidebar has six novels you’ve written or are working on. How long have you been writing? Have you queried before? Basically, what’s your journey been like to this 100th post?
Diana’s response…
Hee hee, she wants The Journey. First I’ll give you the short answers: Writing stories since junior high (around the time I started reading steamy historical romance novels). I should, technically take two of those stories off my sidebar, since one will never be written and the other is a short story I don’t plan on making into a novel anymore. And yes, I have queried before.
And now… The Journey…. get comfy and bring some snacks, I only know the long way around.
Okay, so from the above you can surmise that I’m the kind of writer that has always written. I HATED writing for school, but I wrote stories for myself. Mostly out of boredom after finishing reading the romance and fantasy novels I was addicted to. I pretended to take notes in class, but really I wrote and wrote and wrote. It was extremely cheesy stuff; VERY damsel-in-distress.
Fast forward to college. My senior year I took creative writing because I needed three more units for my full financial aid. My stories had become more “real” to me by then, and I had started thinking more and more about maybe-someday going for publication. So, the class was great. I loved it! I didn’t say anything to the professor about my secret ambitions, but she stopped me after class one day and told me, well, she said a bunch of things every writer hopes to hear, and encouraged me to focus on novel-writing (everything before this had been short stories).
You can imagine what this did to my head. I went through what a lot of writers probably go through, and I thought I was the most talented author to ever set her fingers to a keyboard. I was freakin’ awesome!!!! EVERYONE said so. My mom, my friends, my professor, of COURSE I would be published. Such a given. So I graduated and became serious about working on my masterpiece, a medieval romance novel. It took me about a year to finish it. I became involved with RWA, found a critique group, and six months later sent out queries.
It took another six months to realize the thing wasn’t any good. I reworked and reworked, cried at harsh critiques (even though I asked for them), cried at the rejections (even though I was the one putting myself “out there”), started other stories, came back to the first novel, and spent altogether… probably two or three years querying and reworking it. Meanwhile life went on, I taught 3rd grade, had kids, wrote some short stories, started and stopped a few other novel ideas (including a YA), and still nothing was happening with my romance novel.
I finally got it through my skull that the story itself might never be good enough. I shelved it. Then took it out a few months later. I saw it for what it really was. Not good.
I had gotten a nibble from a magazine on short story called A Christmas Treasure by this point. That story is on my sidebar because it was my first (and only) “Yes, we’ll publish this!!” even though the magazine went out of business before the Christmas issue came out. I was prideful back then (okay, I still am, but not as much!), and this acceptance had been validation. The Am-I-Crazies subsided and I decided to focus on another novel, the Castaway one over there. And I made a stupid move. A big one. So dumb!
I queried Castaway before it was finished! Yup, that’s like, third or fourth in the Query Commandments, right under Thou Shalt Not Call Agents/Editors and Thou Shalt Never Send Rude Correspondences. I can’t claim ignorance. I’d gone to enough conferences and been learning from agent/editor interviews for too long for that kind of bonehead move. But I had wasted so many years on the first novel and I felt like I needed to catch up or something. But anywayyyyy, where was I? Oh yes, the dark moment.
The dark moment happened after I was rejected again and again for Castaway, the unfinished novel I shouldn’t have been querying. The validation from my college professor and Arabella Magazine were distant memories. I decided I was a fool. A hack. I couldn’t do it. I stopped writing completely, which was weird. I even stopped reading. Weirder. I tried, reeeeeeeally hard, not to be a writer. I distanced myself from everything writer and book-related. I didn’t want to be reminded.
This lasted over a year. My then-husband, now parenting partner extraordinaire, noticed me becoming more and more sparkless, and apparently he understood the connection of me not reading or writing, even though I never made a formal announcement to him or anything. One day out of the blue he dropped me off at Barnes and Nobles and told me to go nuts, he’d be back whenever I called him to pick me up. It was right after Christmas. I still remember all the holiday books stacked at the front of the store. After more than a year away from reading ANYTHING, it is not an exaggeration to say this was a life-changing moment for me. I gravitated toward fantasy and romance, as usual, and picked up a fantasy novel and was instantly transported. Soon I was back to my readerly ways, gobbling up book after book, and it wasn’t long before I turned my eye to my own writing.
I had started a few YA stories long ago. I opened one up, which at the time was called Sanctuary. It’s now Sinister Charms (Sinister on my sidebar), and I think it took me only four months to finish. I queried Sinister to fifteen agents, in batches of three. I received five form rejections, five non-responses, a few partial requests and one full request, which all ended in rejections. The requests were definitely cool, but I didn’t let them go to my head this time. And after fifteen queries, I stopped. I can’t say why, but something told me (tells me) that Sinister isn’t the right novel to query. Fifteen may not seem like a lot, but I remembered the years and years of rejections on the medieval novel, and I don’t want to do that again. If it isn’t good enough, I want to move forward.
I wrote Wishmaker during Sinister’s query period, but have never revised or queried that novel. I think it’s a sweet story, but I KNOW it isn’t strong enough. While deciding whether to revise and make it stronger– or not, and let it be another learning experience– I came up with another idea for a new story. I think this one will be strong enough to be the novel I WANT to query with. And that is my current WIP, which I call Fated.
There’s the journey. So far. I hope you’re not sorry you asked!
jdcoughlin asked…
And since I’m posting after Elana, I have to echo her questions. Sum of the journey for us. What would be The Word if you could only use one?
Diana’s response…
I hope I summed up the journey well enough for you!! The Word? Hmm, don’t know if I’m sure of what you mean, but I’ll take a stab: success.
Carolina Valdez Miller asked…
1. If you had it to do over again, would you go with an iphone? NEVER!! Blackberry or death!
2. If forced–I’m talking, threat of needles in your eyeballs and lobster claws on your nose–to choose one of your WIPs as your #1 favorite, which one would it be, and why? Fated. It’s scary how cool this story is turning out.
3. Have you ever forced your child to eat something that you yourself hated as a child? Ugh, I wish I could say no!! I make my son take a bite of his salad every time we have it. I hated salad as a kid, and so does he.
4. What is one thing you said you would never do and ended up doing in the end? I said I’d never send my work to cyber-buddies that I haven’t “met” in real life. I’m really glad I decided to do this!
5. What is the biggest writing/publishing mistake you’ve made? Ha! Only one? Querying an unfinished novel, definitely.
6. Favorite type of cheese and what do you eat/drink with it? Unspicy nacho cheese! I eat it with popcorn, chips, crackers, on broccoli, baked potatoes… the better question is, what DON’T I eat it with?
7. What is one thing you would sacrifice for hairlessness from the neck down for the rest of your life? Oh. My. Gosh. You know me SO WELL! I would sacrifice T.V., but that seems too easy because I don’t watch that many shows. Oh!! I would turn in my Disnelyland annual pass forever, and never go to Disneyland/Disney World again. That is an enormous sacrifice for a Disney freak like me. Still not enough?? I would sleep on my back instead of curled up on my side, I would build Transformers for an hour a day, I would do math! (I hope the hairless fairy is listening!!)
8. Be honest. Do you like your 103rd blog post better than your 100th? On that note, what is your favorite blog post ever? My 100th post was the Valentine’s Day Lovefest post!! I like that one better As for my favorite blog post ever… I think it’s This One.
9. If nobody were watching, what is one thing you would eat with your hands that you would normally otherwise eat with utensils? Pie, lol. Actually, most desserts. But with pie pick at it with my fingers, right out of the tin. I convince myself that I’m only having a taste and not a whole slice, but come on, right? I eat like, three slices-worth of pickings!
Carolina Valdez Miller asked…
Does this mean I get to claim your awesome award 9 times? Hmmm???
Diana’s response…
Yup! “Now announcing, nine-time Awesome Award winner, CAROLINA!!!!”
Janelle asked…
Would you like to buy a box of girl scout cookies?? Yes, I’ve bought too many already!!
hehe
okay… here’s my question:
Peeta or Gale? Peeta!!!
wait, I know the answer to that too…
let me try again…
If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go?
I think I already know, but you may surprise me.
Diana’s response…
Oh, good one!! I bet you think I’m going to say Disney World or Hawaii, but you said “anywhere,” which implies that cost is not an issue, so in that case I would do a grand tour of Europe, starting with Paris
~ ~ ~
Thanks for “interviewing” me everyone, I hope you had fun I’ll end with the 100th Post Questionnaire I gave Tina on her big day:
1. Coke or Pepsi? Coke
2. Star Wars or Star Trek? Star Wars
3. Elvis or The Beatles? Beatles
4. Edward or Jacob? Doh. Why did I ask her this? For Bella: Edward. For me: Jacob.
5. TV or internet? Internet
6. Fame or fortune? Fame
7. Lip gloss or lipstick? Lip gloss
8. Beach or mountains? Beach
9. Jet plane or cruise ship? Jet plane
10. Hugs or kisses? Kisses
Where to find her?
On Facebook: facebook.com/dianapazbooks
On Instagram: instagram.com/dianapazwrites
On Twitter: @dianapazwrites
At her blog:dianapazwrites.blogspot.com
At her website: dianapaz.com
...and find her again on Facebook talking about
anime, cosplay, and all things nerdy at facebook.com/dianimepop
More About Me...
For my 100th blog post, I held a Q & A for anyone to ask ANYTHING about me. This was in March of 2010.
Some things haven’t changed since then… I still love Star Wars more than Star Trek, and thankfully, my most embarrassing moment remains the same. Unfortunately, the hairless fairy still hasn’t visited me to grant me permanent hairlessness from the neck down!! I haven’t given up on her, though!
Other things have changed, though. The book I mentioned in my answers, (which was a WIP at the time), isn’t titled FATED anymore, it's now TIMESPELL, and it has a sequel! There have been great big life changes too, which have thankfully been positive. And teeny tiny changes... I'm not using a Blackberry anymore, for one thing! Reading back to that made me laugh. This Q & A is like a time capsule!
For the record, a LOT of people asked questions, and I answered each and every one of them. In other words… this is long!!
~ ~ ~
March 3, 2010
Thank you to everyone who gave me questions to answer for my
100th(ish) Post Celebration Q & A, you guys are awesome. Below are
listed the questions, answers, and award recipients of The Official
Awesome Award!And now, the recipients and questions:
Amalia T. asked…
My question for you is: Who is your favorite Star Wars character and why?
also: Favorite Mythological figure? and why!
(am I allowed to ask two? Are they potentially the same question? ONLY YOU CAN DECIDE!)
P.S. why was I not following you before now on Twitter?
Diana’s response…
Am I not following you on Twitter either? I will have to check!
Now, to answer your first question: My favorite Star Wars character… how to choose? They could all be favorites in different ways. Favorite character to hang out with? (Chewbaca) To battle the Sith with? (Obie Wan Kenobe) To grab by the face and kiss? (Han Solo). I think, if you’re backing me into a corner here, my absolute favorite character, the one that makes me happiest to see, is R2D2.
The second question is MUCH easier to answer. My favorite mythological figure is known as the goddess of the hunt, the moon, the light, chastity/purity; she’s a daughter to Zeus, a sister to Apollo; Diana in Roman mythology and my namesake in Greek: Artemis.
Shannon O’Donnell asked…
So…which is better – Star Wars or Star Trek?!
Diana’s response…
Ha! I like your question, and the answer is STAR WARS!!!
Julie Dao asked…
If you could be in ANY musical, what would it be, what character would you play, and why?
Diana’s response…
I LOVE musicals!!! (Exclamation abuse!) It’s a close call, because I love so many. Forced to choose… I think… Phantom of the Opera. I’d play Christine (naturally), and the reasons are: the gorgeous costumes, being in Paris, the beautiful music, and the entire Masquerade dance sequence. (This was SUCH a tough question. It took me forever to narrow it down! Les Mis, anyone?)
Amber Tidd Murphy asked…
Here’s my question, and it’s a two-parter.
Have you always lived in Cali? If not, where are you from?
Diana’s response…
I haven’t always lived in Cali. I grew up on Miami Beach, South Beach actually. We moved to L.A. the summer before tenth grade. I love both places for different reasons, but one thing I missed about South Beach, growing up, is the fact that it was totally fine NOT having a car. There was so much to do within walking distance, and public transportation was a snap. Not so true of being a teen in L.A.
Natalie Murphy asked…
Hmm, a question…Is there a song, image, book, movie, etc… that inspires you more than all the others? Do you have one of each that has your Muse all excited
Diana’s response…
Good question! I’m definitely inspired by other creativity, be it music, movies, novels– art in general, really. Big, epic movies with adventure and romance definitely get me thinking of my own work; art inspires my imagination for sure. Music fires up my muse probably more than anything else. I’m all over the map with music, but deep, meaningful songs like In the End (Linkin Park), You Found Me (The Fray), Apologize (OneRepublic) tend to make me think of my wip’s male protagonist. Fun songs like I’m Yours (Jason Mraz) and love songs like I Will Be (by Leona Lewis) have me thinking of the female protag. There are tons more songs but I am terrible with song titles and names!!
Sara McClung ♥ asked…
What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you while traveling? (hehe wicked me)
Diana’s response…
Ah! The MOST embarrassing? How do I choose from so many embarrassing moments? Okay, “while traveling” narrows it down… I think it would be the time I was with my high school boyfriend, my brother, and some friends jumping waves at the beach when one of them got me– and I mean GOOD. I tumbled over and over until the sea spit me out on the sand. I couldn’t even see straight from the craziness of my hair wrapped around my face, and when I stood up I didn’t know why my brother was laughing like a maniac. Yeah yeah, my one-piece bathing suit was down around my waist. It had a low back, and somehow both straps came completely off in the tumble. But everyone on the beach thought it was grrrrreat. I still blush thinking about it. Awesome.
Erica asked…
Hmmm. What’s the best idea you’ve ever came up with, but haven’t written yet?
*throws confetti* *realizes she has no idea how many posts she’s had on her own blog*
)Diana’s response…
Wow, you really want me to give away the farm? Okay, here’s one I think is good, and I haven’t sat down to start it: A sixteen year old girl who can’t look people in the eyes without seeing their pasts accidentally looks into the eyes of a girl being chased by a supernatural force (which I’m leaving vague here on purpose, heehee).
pauling asked…
Congrats! And, my questions is – what has been your lowest moment and your highest moment when writing?
Diana’s response…
My lowest and highest moments– when writing– hmm. When writing I’m deep in my characters’ minds, so their lowest and highest moments are mine. If you mean, as a writer, my lowest moment was when I gave up. I thought I was such a rock-hard awesome writer, I’d been in critique groups and taken creative writing in college, but I’d never sought publication. And doing so made me feel small and insignificant. There were so many people trying for the same goal, and being a writer for publication is completely different than being a writer for a creative writing class. The truth is, I AM small and insignificant, but it’s up to me to grow and make myself relevant. When I figured that out, and got over myself, that’s when I was ready to come back. That was a high point, because it was like my mind opened up on a door that had been there all along: rejection is a tool for growth. To be honest, my highest moment was my first full request. Every full sent out is intense, because that is the closest point to getting The Call that an aspiring author typically can be.
Voidwalker asked…
My question, is, IF you had to be stuck in an elevator for 4 hours with any 3 of your blogger friends, who would you chose to be stuck with. (I know I’m in there, but besides me, who would you choose lol)
Diana’s response…
Well of course you’d be there Void, that’s a given
So I’d be stuck for four hours? And I’m supposed to bring along three
additional blogger friends for this little trip? Wow, I’d have to do a
drawing, truly. I mean Wendy and GwOE for sure, they’re my critique
buddies, but as for the third I don’t know if I could narrow it down! (BUT, you must answer!!!)
Okay okay, I will then!! I’d take an agent-blogger, and hopefully
he/she would be charmed by us by the end of this bonding session and
offer to look at our manuscripts!Angie asked…
What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Diana’s response…
Another impossible question to answer!! Again, forced to choose one, I’d say Coldstone’s Cookie Doughn’t You Want Some in a chocolate-dipped waffle cone, yuummmmmm!!
Elana Johnson asked…
My question: Your sidebar has six novels you’ve written or are working on. How long have you been writing? Have you queried before? Basically, what’s your journey been like to this 100th post?
Diana’s response…
Hee hee, she wants The Journey. First I’ll give you the short answers: Writing stories since junior high (around the time I started reading steamy historical romance novels). I should, technically take two of those stories off my sidebar, since one will never be written and the other is a short story I don’t plan on making into a novel anymore. And yes, I have queried before.
And now… The Journey…. get comfy and bring some snacks, I only know the long way around.
Okay, so from the above you can surmise that I’m the kind of writer that has always written. I HATED writing for school, but I wrote stories for myself. Mostly out of boredom after finishing reading the romance and fantasy novels I was addicted to. I pretended to take notes in class, but really I wrote and wrote and wrote. It was extremely cheesy stuff; VERY damsel-in-distress.
Fast forward to college. My senior year I took creative writing because I needed three more units for my full financial aid. My stories had become more “real” to me by then, and I had started thinking more and more about maybe-someday going for publication. So, the class was great. I loved it! I didn’t say anything to the professor about my secret ambitions, but she stopped me after class one day and told me, well, she said a bunch of things every writer hopes to hear, and encouraged me to focus on novel-writing (everything before this had been short stories).
You can imagine what this did to my head. I went through what a lot of writers probably go through, and I thought I was the most talented author to ever set her fingers to a keyboard. I was freakin’ awesome!!!! EVERYONE said so. My mom, my friends, my professor, of COURSE I would be published. Such a given. So I graduated and became serious about working on my masterpiece, a medieval romance novel. It took me about a year to finish it. I became involved with RWA, found a critique group, and six months later sent out queries.
It took another six months to realize the thing wasn’t any good. I reworked and reworked, cried at harsh critiques (even though I asked for them), cried at the rejections (even though I was the one putting myself “out there”), started other stories, came back to the first novel, and spent altogether… probably two or three years querying and reworking it. Meanwhile life went on, I taught 3rd grade, had kids, wrote some short stories, started and stopped a few other novel ideas (including a YA), and still nothing was happening with my romance novel.
I finally got it through my skull that the story itself might never be good enough. I shelved it. Then took it out a few months later. I saw it for what it really was. Not good.
I had gotten a nibble from a magazine on short story called A Christmas Treasure by this point. That story is on my sidebar because it was my first (and only) “Yes, we’ll publish this!!” even though the magazine went out of business before the Christmas issue came out. I was prideful back then (okay, I still am, but not as much!), and this acceptance had been validation. The Am-I-Crazies subsided and I decided to focus on another novel, the Castaway one over there. And I made a stupid move. A big one. So dumb!
I queried Castaway before it was finished! Yup, that’s like, third or fourth in the Query Commandments, right under Thou Shalt Not Call Agents/Editors and Thou Shalt Never Send Rude Correspondences. I can’t claim ignorance. I’d gone to enough conferences and been learning from agent/editor interviews for too long for that kind of bonehead move. But I had wasted so many years on the first novel and I felt like I needed to catch up or something. But anywayyyyy, where was I? Oh yes, the dark moment.
The dark moment happened after I was rejected again and again for Castaway, the unfinished novel I shouldn’t have been querying. The validation from my college professor and Arabella Magazine were distant memories. I decided I was a fool. A hack. I couldn’t do it. I stopped writing completely, which was weird. I even stopped reading. Weirder. I tried, reeeeeeeally hard, not to be a writer. I distanced myself from everything writer and book-related. I didn’t want to be reminded.
This lasted over a year. My then-husband, now parenting partner extraordinaire, noticed me becoming more and more sparkless, and apparently he understood the connection of me not reading or writing, even though I never made a formal announcement to him or anything. One day out of the blue he dropped me off at Barnes and Nobles and told me to go nuts, he’d be back whenever I called him to pick me up. It was right after Christmas. I still remember all the holiday books stacked at the front of the store. After more than a year away from reading ANYTHING, it is not an exaggeration to say this was a life-changing moment for me. I gravitated toward fantasy and romance, as usual, and picked up a fantasy novel and was instantly transported. Soon I was back to my readerly ways, gobbling up book after book, and it wasn’t long before I turned my eye to my own writing.
I had started a few YA stories long ago. I opened one up, which at the time was called Sanctuary. It’s now Sinister Charms (Sinister on my sidebar), and I think it took me only four months to finish. I queried Sinister to fifteen agents, in batches of three. I received five form rejections, five non-responses, a few partial requests and one full request, which all ended in rejections. The requests were definitely cool, but I didn’t let them go to my head this time. And after fifteen queries, I stopped. I can’t say why, but something told me (tells me) that Sinister isn’t the right novel to query. Fifteen may not seem like a lot, but I remembered the years and years of rejections on the medieval novel, and I don’t want to do that again. If it isn’t good enough, I want to move forward.
I wrote Wishmaker during Sinister’s query period, but have never revised or queried that novel. I think it’s a sweet story, but I KNOW it isn’t strong enough. While deciding whether to revise and make it stronger– or not, and let it be another learning experience– I came up with another idea for a new story. I think this one will be strong enough to be the novel I WANT to query with. And that is my current WIP, which I call Fated.
There’s the journey. So far. I hope you’re not sorry you asked!
jdcoughlin asked…
And since I’m posting after Elana, I have to echo her questions. Sum of the journey for us. What would be The Word if you could only use one?
Diana’s response…
I hope I summed up the journey well enough for you!! The Word? Hmm, don’t know if I’m sure of what you mean, but I’ll take a stab: success.
Carolina Valdez Miller asked…
1. If you had it to do over again, would you go with an iphone? NEVER!! Blackberry or death!
2. If forced–I’m talking, threat of needles in your eyeballs and lobster claws on your nose–to choose one of your WIPs as your #1 favorite, which one would it be, and why? Fated. It’s scary how cool this story is turning out.
3. Have you ever forced your child to eat something that you yourself hated as a child? Ugh, I wish I could say no!! I make my son take a bite of his salad every time we have it. I hated salad as a kid, and so does he.
4. What is one thing you said you would never do and ended up doing in the end? I said I’d never send my work to cyber-buddies that I haven’t “met” in real life. I’m really glad I decided to do this!
5. What is the biggest writing/publishing mistake you’ve made? Ha! Only one? Querying an unfinished novel, definitely.
6. Favorite type of cheese and what do you eat/drink with it? Unspicy nacho cheese! I eat it with popcorn, chips, crackers, on broccoli, baked potatoes… the better question is, what DON’T I eat it with?
7. What is one thing you would sacrifice for hairlessness from the neck down for the rest of your life? Oh. My. Gosh. You know me SO WELL! I would sacrifice T.V., but that seems too easy because I don’t watch that many shows. Oh!! I would turn in my Disnelyland annual pass forever, and never go to Disneyland/Disney World again. That is an enormous sacrifice for a Disney freak like me. Still not enough?? I would sleep on my back instead of curled up on my side, I would build Transformers for an hour a day, I would do math! (I hope the hairless fairy is listening!!)
8. Be honest. Do you like your 103rd blog post better than your 100th? On that note, what is your favorite blog post ever? My 100th post was the Valentine’s Day Lovefest post!! I like that one better
As for my favorite blog post ever… I think it’s This One.9. If nobody were watching, what is one thing you would eat with your hands that you would normally otherwise eat with utensils? Pie, lol. Actually, most desserts. But with pie pick at it with my fingers, right out of the tin. I convince myself that I’m only having a taste and not a whole slice, but come on, right? I eat like, three slices-worth of pickings!
Carolina Valdez Miller asked…
Does this mean I get to claim your awesome award 9 times? Hmmm???
Diana’s response…
Yup! “Now announcing, nine-time Awesome Award winner, CAROLINA!!!!”
Janelle asked…
Would you like to buy a box of girl scout cookies?? Yes, I’ve bought too many already!!
hehe
okay… here’s my question:
Peeta or Gale? Peeta!!!
wait, I know the answer to that too…
let me try again…
If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go?
I think I already know, but you may surprise me.
Diana’s response…
Oh, good one!! I bet you think I’m going to say Disney World or Hawaii, but you said “anywhere,” which implies that cost is not an issue, so in that case I would do a grand tour of Europe, starting with Paris
~ ~ ~
Thanks for “interviewing” me everyone, I hope you had fun
I’ll end with the 100th Post Questionnaire I gave Tina on her big day:1. Coke or Pepsi? Coke
2. Star Wars or Star Trek? Star Wars
3. Elvis or The Beatles? Beatles
4. Edward or Jacob? Doh. Why did I ask her this? For Bella: Edward. For me: Jacob.
5. TV or internet? Internet
6. Fame or fortune? Fame
7. Lip gloss or lipstick? Lip gloss
8. Beach or mountains? Beach
9. Jet plane or cruise ship? Jet plane
10. Hugs or kisses? Kisses
