wish me monsters

just a newly published author trying to see who she can reach.

[wmmonsters]

It’s really happening!!!

[wmmonsters]

How do you title a book though?

This has been THE single most challenging part of the writing process. I finished the book that is due to be published in December back in 2011. I’ve gone back and edited it over and over throughout the years. I know the characters, I know the plot, I know the twists and turns and the quotes... and yet I can’t come up with a snappy title that will make people want to read it.

There are some amazing titles for young adult novels! I love titles like, “Everything, Everything”, “The Unexpected Everything”, “All the Rage”, “My Heart and Other Black Holes”, “The Fault in Our Stars”, “I’ll Give You the Sun”. Those titles make you want to know what that book is about. They draw you in and when you have the moment where you recognize where the title came from, as a reader you get to go, “Ah-ha!” And I want that!

Does anyone have any tips? How do you title your book?

[promptsforthesoul]

[kiramartinauthor]

[br-e-a-t-h-e]

[wmmonsters]

Remember what I was saying about social media?

Tumblr counts, apparently. I completely dropped off all social media while I’ve been buried in grad school for the past (almost) year. There have been some seriously ugly times.

BUT, it’s time to show my face again (arguably past time?). My title is on its way. We’re looking at December for a release date.

AND I AM SO EXCITED.

Stay tuned. :)

[wmmonsters]

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

There’s a lot of stress around the holidays. I hope all of yours are pleasant and worry-free as possible. <3

[fictionalboy]

Someone can say that they don’t really enjoy YA. They don’t enjoy that character age. But… (x)

[wmmonsters]

I am so on board with this!!

[wmmonsters]

Social Media and Writing

I go in cycles, like probably most writers (I imagine - I haven’t met too many). I’ll be totally uninterested and uninspired for a few months, and suddenly something will hit me in the face and I’ll be like, “OH! That’s a cool idea. I like that idea a lot. Time to put this into words.” *Disappears for 6 months*

When I’m working on a novel, I really minimize my connection to the real world. I don’t typically see my friends, or people in general, aside from coworkers, and that’s only because I (sadly) need money for food. I have to find a good balance between the world I’m creating and the one I have to live in myself (again, sadly). I used to disable my Facebook when it was time to write a novel, just so I wouldn’t be tempted to talk to real-world people.

Well, coincidentally, I recently disabled my Facebook for a completely different reason. I just was getting tired of it and realized how little I care about everyone’s problems (again, feelings - I can’t afford to have them). If someone wants to talk to me about something, they can talk directly to me. I don’t need to read it broadcast all over social media. 

Anyway, it’s funny, because I hadn’t thought about the connection until the last week or so, when I’ve been super inspired to work on this new novel idea. I also have a tendency to want to escape into the writing world when I’m really stressed by the real world, and with the holidays looming it could be just the motivation I needed. But I do wonder just how much the constant connection of social media and cell phones squashes our creativity. How can we disconnect from reality and connect to our imaginations if we have constant reminders that reality is right there, all big and ugly and stupid? (I guess it’s not always that bad, but it seems that way when people start plastering their opinions all over social media). 

Has anyone else experienced this correlation? Talk to me. I’d love to hear your thoughts (I mean it!) 

[wmmonsters]

What I’m Reading Now

I didn’t think I’d have time to read much in grad school, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how online classes affect time management! It’s way easier to find some me-time when I can do the work on my own schedule and get it out of the way. Not that I’m swimming in free time, but I definitely have been able to squeeze in a chapter here and there!

That being said, I finished the Peter and the Starcatchers series (*mournful tear*), and I’ve moved on to re-reading the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. I read these a while back, before the movies were even a twinkle in Chris Columbus’s eye, and absolutely adored them. But my gym buddy was talking about them and I realized I didn’t remember half of the things he was talking about, so in the spirit of sticking with stories about young boys having crazy adventures, I decided to revisit them.

I’m currently on the third book, The Titan’s Curse. I finished The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters in about two weeks – not too shabby, between two official jobs, side work, and two grad school classes, if I do say so myself!

To be fair, though, they’re also pretty quick reads. Riordan’s writing is so delightfully colloquial. He captures Percy’s spirit with vigor, dives right into the action, and doesn’t stop until literally the very last sentence (sometimes he doesn’t even end there and the poor souls who were reading these books as they were published would have had a suspenseful wait until the follow-up came out). All of the characters are fantastic (my favorite is Annabeth – #surprisethefeministlikesthefeminist), the mythological parallels are well thought-out and as believable as fantasy can be, and the story arcs are action-packed and fast moving, but never hard to follow.

This is absolutely a series that makes it into my top ten favorites of all time. They’re so much fun, and I’d recommend them to anyone, whether you’re a fan of Greek mythology or not (seriously, I’m not, and I’m so into them anyway). If you’ve seen the movies and were totally underwhelmed, take heart – this is definitely (sadly) a case where the film fell completely short of all the fabulousness delivered between the pages. Give them a shot!

[wmmonsters]

My Favorite of Someone Else’s

The most powerful poem that has ever struck me is by Brett Elizabeth Jenkins. I don’t really have words to talk about how I feel about it. That’s how amazing it is.

today my professor told me every cell in our entire body is destroyed and replaced every seven years.

how comforting it is to know one day i will have a body you will have never touched.

[wmmonsters]

What I’m Reading

So... I’m totally not one of those people who can read multiple books at once. I have to plug along, one at a time, or else I’ll get confused and emotionally distressed as I try to keep up with six thousand and four characters all running through different story lines. 

Right now, I’m reading The Bridge to Neverland, which is the companion to Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson’s Peter and the Starcatchers series. I only just discovered these after moving to a position in the Youth Services department. Typically, I like Young Adult books, but Juvenile books are still better than adults, so when I saw the Starcatchers books, I decided to give them a try. I have such a soft spot for Peter Pan. The whole desperately searching for a mother figure, never wanting to grow up and take responsibility because it would be great if someone could just take care of you like you wanted when you were a kid? That’s all over my writing. #psychanalysis

Anyway, for those of you who aren’t familiar, Peter and the Starcatchers is a four-book series that are basically prequels and re-imaginings of the traditional Peter Pan story. The Bridge to Neverland is a modern-day story about what happens when two kids find out that all those books are actually real stories. They’re all fast-paced, hysterical, and full of adventure and absolutely amazing characters. Barry and Pearson are a formidable team. I tore through all five of these books in two months, which is saying something because I work two jobs and am in grad school. And they’re all about 500 pages. 

But they’re fantastic. I’m literally slowing down my reading pace now because I don’t want it to be over. I can’t bear to say goodbye to Peter, Tink, Hook, and the rest of the spectacular cast. I can’t praise or recommend them enough!

[wmmonsters]

My favorite of Mine

The first question I got when Verse came out was from my friend Shannon, who asked me what my favorite poem was. I had to think about it, because obviously they all come from this really deep place inside me that’s this enormous, ugly, tangled spider web of interconnecting hate and rage and grief and joy.

But I digress.

Since then, I’ve been asked the same question a few more times. I also have had to select a poem to read for a promotional video, for the release party, and for open mic nights. One poem has made it into all three categories, and also wound up being my answer for Shannon: “Look at Me Now.”

I like it because it’s strong. So many of my poems are about being in pain, about loss, about grief, or feeling weak. Not this one. This is about revisiting a pseudo-relationship with a manipulative, narcissistic control freak, and the realization of how much growth happened in just a few years. It’s about placing the blame where it ought to be instead of turning the aggression inward, getting some personal, independent closure, and it’s a big fuck you to that turd nugget.

 Look at Me Now

When I drive past this road, every nerve inside me twists And I can still feel those nights when it was your hands at the wheel Hips glued together with sweat and commands And you taught me how to forget who I was I might have spun some wicked webs, But I was only just a little girl Still you took my hand and showed me all the places you wanted me to touch You told me what I was really thinking, And I smiled every time it hurt Your pretty words made me believe I was so special to you, one of a kind And I was too weak to make decisions And I needed this, I needed you How much of it did you think was true? How much was a fabricated lyric? Do you know how long those lies Were burned in my mind, you fuck? I grew up thinking I was supposed to say yes That no was a sentence of isolation I grew up on a stage, performing for many Connecting with none but your memory Oh darling, darling, darling, Walk a while with me Watch my steps now, I don’t tiptoe I own this ground beneath me today Because I finally learned to know better Than to let shits like you under my skin You and I are playback in my mind A fierce power chord, a crash and a ride There will never be another Barely seventeen piece of trash like you So when you see me, keep walking And I hope your regret chokes you When you wish you had me back

[wmmonsters]

Feelings

I’m terrified of them. 

No, seriously. I spend most of my time on total Ice Queen emotional lockdown. Ask my boyfriend. He can tell you. 

But eventually, that stuff just bubbles up. Skin is only meant to hold in blood and organs, not feelings. And then it bursts out of your body as a big, sizzling disaster of molten crazy. Which, incidentally, can actually burn the people around you. Who knew?

I manage it by writing. Poetry, screenplays, novels, short stories... I’ve tried my hand at everything. Not too long ago, a really fantastic publishing company by the name of Hibernian (http://www.hibernianpublishing.com/) decided they liked my poetry, so they stuck it in a compilation called Verse (http://www.amazon.com/Verse-Collective-New-Voices-Volume/dp/0692342737) alongside several very talented authors. (Seriously, though... shameless plug aside, there is some spectacular stuff in there.) 

Despite my better efforts, I had some feelings about it. That is, I jumped around the room the first time I got to hold it and squealed like I had just gotten to shake Bruce Dickinson’s hand. (More on that later, I’m sure...)

Now we are testing my feelings even more, because the incredible folks at Hibernian Publishing are going to publish one of my novels. 

Seriously. My novel. Will be a book. Like, an actual thing that people can hold. And read. Hopefully read.

I hope to not do that molten crazy thing. Really, it’s great material for some poetry, but I think it would go badly if I ever actually blow up someday. So I’m here, listening to metal and writing to you, whoever you may turn out to be! Hi! My name is Katherine Kehoe. I’m so happy you’re here. :)