So I lied again...

I like this better than the LJ blog, so I'm sticking with it. ;^)

-Mary

Ok, I lied...

So I'm leaving this as a project blog, and transferring my personal blog to an LJ, which will be viewable here. See ya!

-Mary

So...

I'm continuing this blog, I guess, and if you'll note from the title, it's no longer a project blog. I'll write about my writing, as well as some other book stuff, but since I'm starting college soon, I'm sure to have other stuff to blog about.

Speaking of college, I move into Elon University tomorrow. Although my classes don't start until September 2nd, I get to go ahead and move-in for band camp (I'm a member of the colorguard). I really should be packing right now, but I'm not, and my mom will probably start yelling at me any time now.

Elon University! --->

Anyways, to update on Licentious Child, I'm going to attempt to write some more on it, making it longer now that I'm free of a deadline. The reason I say "attempt" is because, a) I'm starting college (which means very little free time, or so I'm told), and b) I have other stories in my brain scrambling to get out. Also, I really have to get my summer reading done (I know, I'm a horrible procrastinator). I have two books (Shame of the Nation and Letters to a First Year Teacher by Jonathan Kozol) to read by the end of the month. Can I do it? I don't know. Luckily there are Spark Notes. However, I just got the latest issue of Shojo Beat this morning, so I can't guarantee that anything besides that will get read over the next week.

-Mary

Next Time on MBwtUaCOLT: College Stuff!

The last officially necessary post (my, I certainly do have a penchant for long titles)...

WOOT!!!

I have a BOOK.

PUBLISHED.

Ok, so it's self-published, but still- IT'S SO PRETTY!!!!! I was squealing as I opened the packaging. Anyway, before I become too "unprofessional", here is the last officially necessary entry for this blog. See the picture at the top? That's my proof of product. Mission accomplished. And by the way, what I mean by "officially necessary" is that though this is the last entry that I'm required to post, that doesn't mean that I may not post anything else. I rather like blogging. In fact, I like writing in general. If I didn't, I wouldn't have been so stupid as to choose to write a novella for my product.

So as promised in the "Next time.." section, I shall address why I chose to write what I wrote about. To be honest, I'm a fantasy junky. I absolutely ADORE fiction. One of my pet peeves is when book critics review works of fiction as being "far-fetched"- it's fiction- who CARES if it's not realistic? That's the whole point! And even it was supposed to be realistic, it would be categorized as "realistic fiction", therefore it is ridiculous to criticize a book as "far-fetched" when it was never intended to be otherwise. Just because a book is set in our reality, doesn't automatically qualify it to be realistic fiction. Stupid left-brainers...

Ok, rant over.

Back to the point.

So yeah, I love fantasy, but I love history as well (I do intend to become a history teacher, after all). You stick those two loves together and voilà- you get my product. And although the Victorian Era is one of my most favorites to study, I actually had to do quite a bit of research for it, as anyone who's writing a work of historical fiction is required to do. Last fall, when I was thinking about what I wanted to do for my product (I had already decided on writing a novella, but I didn't yet know what it would be about), I attended the Novello book festival that's held at the Imaginon in Charlotte every year. My main objective in going was to meet Libba Bray, a favorite author of mine (her blog's in the sidebar- it's HILARIOUS).



The trilogy of books that she has written (The Gemma Doyle Trilogy- anyone heard of A Great and Terrible Beauty?) is set in Victorian England, as is my book. I was so excited when I got to meet her and have her autograph my book. What was really great, was when I told her about a book that I was planning to write (as in Licentious Child) and she was more than glad to share some research tips, as well as some great Victorian websites (she wrote them down on some sticky notes that are still attached to the inside cover of my copy of her book).

I really didn't mind the research all that much. A lot of it already knew, but there were just a few details of the time period that I needed to solidify. I'm not going to write much more on that topic, because to be honest, I could probably write TONS on the subject of the Victorian Era, but I doubt that would interest you. As to where I actually got the idea to write the whole werewolf thing, I half to delve into that particular time in history just a little farther. But first, a short popular literature interlude:

Have any of you heard of the Twilight series? Well that's a stupid question- I know for a fact that a number of you have (Olivia, you still have my book, by the way). Anyway, it's a popular series right now that has a plot centering around vampires. The vampire is a favorite mythological creature of mine (the favorite is the phoenix- GO ELON!!!), and there's actually quite a few (ok, I'll admit it- more than a few) other vampire-centric books that I've thoroughly enjoyed. I'm also a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but that doesn't really have much to do with this...

Now what's the whole point of this, you ask? Well, anyone who is knowledgeable about vampire lore should be able to tell you that the age-old rival of the vampire is the werewolf. Do you see where I'm going with this now? As I've read these many vampire books, I began to realize that there weren't many books from the werewolf point of view. That's hardly fair. Naturally, I felt the need to rectify this injustice.

Back to the whole Victorian thing, a main characteristic of that culture is the repressed-ness (is that a word?) that was encouraged. To give you some point of comparison, kissing between two unmarried people would have been totally scandalous, like if a girl came to school pregnant. It was that bad, which brings me to the definition of "licentious". I actually put a definition of the word at the front of my book to avoid any confusion:

li•cen•tious
–adjective
1. sexually unrestrained; lascivious; libertine; lewd.
2. unrestrained by law or general morality; lawless; immoral.
3. going beyond customary or proper bounds or limits; disregarding rules.

See, most people (if they're actually familiar with word) think of the first definition when they hear the word "licentious". Actually, my book mainly deals with the second and third definitions, but touches on the first as well. Not that there's anything explicit in my book- just some kissing- but you have to keep in mind Victorian ideals as you read it. Things that in today's desensitized society are perfectly acceptable would be social suicide in that day and age.

Why, you may wonder, is this relevant? Going more in depth with my plot, the main character, Dahlia, is this proper Victorian lady. She's eighteen and has her whole life ahead of her, when suddenly, she's attacked by a werewolf. This completely changes her within. She now begins to feel wild, not so much by our standards, but totally out-of-line by Victorian ones. She gets stronger and is able to beat the boys at things (scandalous!). She begins to have passionate feelings for a young man in a way that certainly wouldn't have been appropriate for woman to feel at that time.

Let me explain...

In that era, the belief was that women didn't have feelings of desire. That was the reasoning behind the whole double-standard that men could have extra-marital affairs, whereas it was unacceptable for women to do the same. This ties in to my research paper, in that women were considered to be this shining symbol of virtue. As one poet put it, they were to be an "Angel in the House". Virginia Woolf described the Angel as being "intensely sympathetic. She was immensely charming. She was utterly unselfish. She excelled in the difficult arts of family life. She sacrificed herself daily. Above all—I need not say it—–she was pure. Her purity was supposed to be her chief beauty—her blushes, her great grace.”

The fact that Dahlia was wanting to do more than just sit around the house sewing, taking care of children, and in general sacrificing her life for the benefit of others made her feel horrible. To us, wanting to not be limited to just those things is more than just acceptable, but is now the accepted norm. Women today are actually looked down upon if they wish to be no more than a housewife, so though the urges that Dahlia feels are perfectly normal to us, to her, they made her a monster. The werewolf thing is really just a metaphor for the feeling that she experiences. If you're really a history geek (or a hard-core feminist, or even if you paid attention in your U.S. history class), you might be able to link my book to The Feminine Mystique, written by Betty Friedan and is considered to be the spark of the feminist movement of the 1960s. Ms. Friedan interviewed women who had graduated from college only to become housewives (think "Happy Days" and "Leave it to Beaver") and the book discussed how they had this feeling of being unfulfilled.

Looping back to the first definition of "licentious", I mean that though her and her love interest, Thomas, don't do anything inappropriate (there's kissing, but that's it), that desire was still considered wrong. So her whole relationship with him feels tainted and sinful (despite that it would have been perfectly innocent in our present) and well...

I really can't say more or else it will give away the ending. So read it if you'd like and hopefully I haven't bored you with this obscenely long entry.

-Mary

Next Time on MPBwtUaCOLT: I have no idea. Pot luck!

SOOOOOOO CLOOOOOOOOOOSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, my gosh. Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygooooooooooooooosh! I am so close to being finished with my project that it's crazy! I just had my LAST meeting with mentor and I have FINISHED my book! Indeed, I am FINISHED.

If you would like to order a copy of my book, you can click on the buttons below and in the sidebar. To buy a print copy, click on the book button. To download a copy (in pdf ebook form), click on the headphone button. This is consolidated in my storefront located at the bottom of the page as well. A paperback copy is $6.23, and you can also download a copy for free. I will not receive any profit (the cost is for production), but if you'd like a copy to read, feel free to make a purchase.



OH MY GOSH, I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please excuse my outburst, but it's the truth. So um... that's pretty much all I have to say right now, because I'm too hyperactive at the present to make myself write anything relevant to what I promised to post.

Oh! Here's the back cover, which took me FOREVER to finally decide upon.


You can also see a lovely preview here as well, which shows the dedication and a summary that includes another excerpt from later on in the book. By the way, I actually dedicated the book to Tizon. His death came around the same time that I was getting much of it written, and it seemed like the right thing to do.

Ok, I'm sad now. *sigh*

-Mary

Next time on MPBwtUaCOLT: Why... (really, this time)

I like music...

I like it a lot, in fact. I like it so much that I make playlists for just about everything that I write, and Licentious Child is no exception. This list, I'll warn you, is kind of... varied. I would link the songs so you all could listen to them, but since that would open up the possibility of downloading, I can't. That would be ILLEGAL. Speaking of which, I issue the disclaimer that I have no ownership over the folowing bands and their songs whatsoever.

1. "All Around Me" -Flyleaf
2. "Crawling" -Linkin Park
3. "Page Avenue" -Story of the Year
4. "Things I’ll Never Say" -Avril Lavigne
5. "Papercut" -Linkin Park
6. "Be Our Guest" -Beauty and the Beast OST
7. "La Tortura" -Shakira
8. "Temptation Waits" -Garbage
9. "That's What You Get" -Paramore
10. "Now Comes the Night" -Rob Thomas
11. "Listen to Your Heart" -DHT
12. "Vindicated" -Dashboard Confessional

If you happen to actually have access to these songs, then good for you. If not, then tough luck. Maybe if you're nice, I'll let you listen to my mp3 player.

Anyway, "Hello, Dolly!" was great, and I hope that you got to go see it. The Charlotte Observer came and did an article and took pictures at one of our dress rehearsals. They used a few in the paper (I was in one of them), but the rest can be seen here, which can also be found on my link list in the sidebar. There's a great picture (#5, I think) of me working with the guys, filling in for Cera ("Dolly"). See, there's this part where they pick her up and I didn't think that they were actually going to do that to me. Well they did, and I look totally surprised. Because I was. Understandably. Good grief, those short guys are strong.

The good news is that I now have time to actually write. Woot! I have like two days to finish my book. Speaking of which, I've got to go sleep so that I'll write instead of nap tomorrow.

-Mary

Next time on MPBwtUaCOLT: Why...

COME SEE "HELLO, DOLLY!" Oh, and more about my product, I suppose...

COME SEE IT!!!!!

APRIL 24, 25, AND 26 AT 7:00 PM
APRIL 27 AT 2:00 PM
TICKETS ARE $5.00 AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR OR BY REQUEST FROM HelloDollyCCHS@yahoo.com
LOCATED IN THE M.L. BARNES THEATRE AT CENTRAL CABARRUS HIGH SCHOOL

Now that I'm through advertising, I guess I'll further elaborate on the plot of my novella. And to clarify what exactly "Hello, Dolly!" has to do with my product, I happen to be the dance captain for said production and to be honest, Dolly is eating my book (YES, CERA, YOU ATE IT! Ignore this if you're not Cera... ^^). In fact, even right now I should be working on it, but I'm not (obviously) and I need to get like ten pages written before the end of the month. Just shoot me- PLEASE.

Anyway, I hate writing summaries... *sigh* I shall give it a try:

[insert mysterious voice-over, perhaps with a British accent]

Miss. Dahlia Cress was normal. Her family was well-off and respectable, and she was young and beautiful. One might even go so far as to call her the ideal Victorian woman, raised from birth to be an "Angel in the House".

Unfortunately, things change.

Her life took a turn for the worse (or so she thought) one night when she was attacked by a monstrous beast. Every full moon hence, she would turn into a monster herself, but as Dahlia feels like she's losing her humanity, she realizes that never before had she felt so free.

"So did the world around me shift, or just my perception of it?"

Alright, that's all you're gonna get from me. Honestly, I hate writing summaries with a passion, so this will have to suffice. Also, if you'd like to know (not that you really get a choice if you're reading this), here are a few (possible) future entries. Keep in mind that everything's tentative.

• MUSIC! (See the bottom of this entry)
• why the heck I decided to write, of all things, for my senior project
• how one goes about writing a book
• a crash course in publishing
• whatever else I feel like blogging about (that relates to my project, of course^^)
  
  -Mary
  
  Next time on MPBwtUaCOLT: One word- PLAYLIST!!! Or is that two...?

My marvelous mentor, Maureen (isn't alliteration fun?)...

I have an awesome mentor- seriously. We both have like super crazy schedules due to her career and my participation in "Hello, Dolly!" (which you should come see, by the way), but she works with me to find time to meet. "Mary, what it exactly does your mentor do?" you might be wondering, or "Who the heck is your mentor, exactly?" Allow me to clarify.

Her name is Maureen Ryan Griffin and she gives creative writing workshops. She is a published poet as well and lives in Charlotte- I highly suggest visiting her website, WordPlay, which will give you more information about the services she offers and her books.

Now that I've gotten the advertisement out of the way, I'll tell you what we actually work on together.

Well... we edit. And plan. And then edit some more.

Really, that's it. I mean, I've attended one of her workshops, which was pretty cool, but then afterwards, we editted. That's about all I can really do with a mentor in regards to my particular product.

But anyways, Maureen's really cool and has been a BIG help with the editting process, which is irksome and tedious- definately the worst part of writng.



-Mary

Next time on MPBwtUaCOLT: Perhaps I shall elaborate...

I kind of miss DisneyWorld... *sigh*

So as promised, here's the first chapter of my novella. I don't plan on posting any more than that, you know in case some creep tries to steal my story before I can get copyright. I would LOVE to be published one day, so I'd like to keep the story mostly to myself.

Licentious Child: Chapter 1

I hope that you'll enjoy it, and if you don't, well then I can't please everyone. Anyway, in honor of my friends on Grad Night, here's some pictures of me working on my product. These were taken for my project portfolio while I was on my own trip to the "Happiest Place on Earth". See, I went during Spring Break with marching band because not only was it like $50 cheaper, we got to stay almost a whole day longer.


So here's me in the British section of EPCOT, being "inspired". This is actually the park that I got to march in, which was pretty cool. And yeah, I know that there weren't any phone booths in Victorian England, but it's British, so close enough. Anyway, it's better than seven photos of me just typing.


This is my best friend (Jessi Barr), my sister (who was tired of walking by this point), and myself in front of Cinderella's castle. This one isn't going into my portfolio, but if it HAS to relate to my product for this blog, then, uh... Cinderella is fantasy and so is my story. They both have romance as well. It's um... More inspiration. Yeah, I'll go with that.


This is me typing during the TEN HOUR bus ride home. For all their comfort to the hind-quarters, charter buses are quite uncomfortable to sleep in (we left late and drove all night). Don't you just love my snazzy Class of 2008 Mickey ears?

-Mary

Next Time on MPBwtUaCOLT: Mentor Meet and Greet!

So... Here's some stuff...

So welcome, hi, blah, blah, blah...

I'm going to just go ahead and skip straight to the point- this is my blog for my graduation project at Central Cabarrus High School. I'm required to do this to display the product I have to create, and I suppose that you'll want to know what my product is. Don't worry- I'll get to that in just a sec.

First, I had better explain my project topic. I chose to do my project on the evolution of women's literature, and naturally, that was what the research paper part of my project was about. For the related product, I decided to write a novella. I'm a woman, I'm writing it, therefore it is women's lit.

So I've been working on my novella for a while now (since February), and it's entitled Licentious Child. Now don't laugh if this isn't your particular cup o' tea, but it takes place in Victorian England and is about a werewolf. Later, I'll post the first chapter of it, but for now I'll just leave you all with the cover I made for it. See, I'm going to self-publish a copy to show to the judges and I love to photoshop, so that's how I ended up making the cover.

It was actually two separate pictures entirely and I put them together.

-Mary

Next Time on MPBwtUaCOLT: First Chapter + DisneyWorld!