Mini-Reviews: Scandinavian Murderousness in Novel and TV-show Form

So if you've been reading this blog for at least the past month, you will know that I'm living in Denmark for the semester. It's awesome! It's adventurous! It's cold! (But I'm a Chicagoan I can handle this)

Because I am practically Scandinavian now, obviously, I've been reading a lot of Scandinavian fiction. (The English translations of course - I'm not THAT Scandinavian yet.) And because Scandinavia has some of the lowest crime rates in the world, of course their authors like to write about DEATH AND MURDER AND GORE. You know, to bring in some excitement.

Also, have you seen Norwegian forests? Icelandic mountains? Danish foggy roads? Those places are just ASKING to be crime scenes in novels. 

But yes, Scandinavia is known for it's crime fiction for a reason. They have some of the best crime novels and TV shows in the world, and I'm taking a class where we read the best. So I thought for today's mini-reviews I'd share three that I've read so far. (And down at the bottom are some bonus TV-show recommendations because I want to get you addicted.)

(Warning, this is a long post. But I'm really into this stuff now.)

The Snowman by Jo Nesbo - Norwegian

 Oslo in November. The first snow of the season has fallen. A boy named Jonas wakes in the night to find his mother gone. Out his window, in the cold moonlight, he sees the snowman that inexplicably appeared in the yard earlier in the day. Around its neck is his mother’s pink scarf. 

Hole suspects a link between a menacing letter he’s received and the disappearance of Jonas’s mother—and of perhaps a dozen other women, all of whom went missing on the day of a first snowfall. As his investigation deepens, something else emerges: he is becoming a pawn in an increasingly terrifying game whose rules are devised—and constantly revised—by the killer.

This one was the first Scandinavian novel I ever read, and whoa was it a good introduction. Let's talk about this magnificent whirlwind of a plot first: it just kept going in so many directions, with so many unanswered questions, and so many red herrings,* but it was never confusing or overwhelming. Masterfully done.

*Red herrings are sadly not a delicious Swedish dish, but instead misleading clues that actually lead to nothing.

When I finished reading it, I was in love, I was sure I would give it at least four stars (not five, because the writing was good but not great - maybe it was a translation issue, but I never like the sharp, constantly short sentences of adult contemporary thrillers). But then we had class discussions, and class discussions, I now realize, can change your opinion of a book a lot.

I pondered the novel beyond it's grabby and fantastic and truly excellently crafted plot, and found: disappointing female characters. It's not that the book was blatantly sexist, just slightly, unobtrusively, dare-I-say normally so. (I wrote an essay on it, so I'm not going to expound here.) Basically, the lady characters that you THOUGHT were going to become epic and strong and good and feminist ended up becoming tropes.

But that totally didn't detract from my enjoyment of the novel. I loved reading it, it was just my post-reading-analysis wasn't as satisfying as it might have been. And I still totally recommend you read it (and according to my Danish host mom, his other novels in the series have the ladies playing a less one-dimentional role, so maybe it was a one-time-thing). So if you want a good eerie Scandinavian read? The Snowman is a good place to start.

I give it 4.01 snowy stars.

Jar City by Arnaldur Indridason - Icelandic

When a lonely old man is found murdered in his Reykjavík flat, the only clues are a cryptic note left by the killer and a photograph of a young girl’s grave. Inspector Erlendur, who heads the investigation team, discovers that many years ago the victim was accused, though not convicted, of an unsolved crime. Did the old man’s past come back to haunt him?

As the team of detectives reopen this very cold case, Inspector Erlendur uncovers secrets that are much larger than the murder of one old man--secrets that have been carefully guarded by many people for many years. 
So if The Snowman ruled in plot and fell apart with characters, Jar City ruled with characters, which made up for it's fine, but not 100% gripping plot. It also won with its empathy and understanding towards the plight of women rape survivors having to report the rape to the police, and how they can be dismissed as attention-seeking or confused or hormonal, and just disbelieved in general. You want a feminist male writer? Indridason is your guy. (I also wrote an essay on this, by the way, and my final paper is going to be comparing Jar City with The Snowman and their perspectives on the female character. Do you understand now why I adore this class?)

But even though I said the plot didn't wholly grasp my attention, and even though the writing was satisfactory but not fabulous (maybe translation issues again?), Jar City still had a worthily crafted plot with enough eeriness and intrigue to keep me happy. And the characters made up for what the plot lacked. Here are things you cannot find in this book: (1) Sexy ladies being sexy just because they're ladies. (2) A police department without a super-smart lady in a top investigation position. (3) Misogynists who are not portrayed as anything other than extraordinarily disgusting. Here are things that you can find in this book: (1) A fascinating and eventually satisfying relationship of a father and his adult daughter. (2) A victim who is actually a villain. (3) Minor characters who have full well-developed personalities.

If that is something that appeals to you (which is should), I highly recommend you read this book.

I give it 4.12 stars.

My Soul to Take by Yrsa Sigurdardóttir - Icelandic

A grisly murder is committed at a health resort situated in a recently renovated farmhouse, which turns out to be notorious for being haunted. Attorney Thora Gudmundsdottir is called upon by the owner of the resort - the prime suspect in the case - to represent him. Her investigations uncover some very disturbing occurrences.

This one is my favorite so far, as you can see by the rating. And I think it was because of the writing. Finally, a thriller novel with pretty writing! And it had humor too - lots of snark between our main character Thora and her boyfriend/investigation partner Matthew. Their relationship was so perfect.

She pointed at a little brown mound of dirt close to them. "What's this?" she asked, going to look at it. 

"Is there no end to your powers of detection?" said Matthew. "Look, you found some dirt."

I mean, aren't they SO CUTE and the PERFECT DETECTIVE TEAM? I love them.

Really, considering that the ending came as a bit of a shocker (in perhaps a not so good, didn't really see the plausibility of it, way), and that the plot was much tamer than the two books above, perhaps I shouldn't have rated it so highly. But THE WRITING and the ICELANDIC EERINESS and the CONVOLUTED FAMILY HISTORY (incest? child murder? neo-nazis?) made me amp up my rating a bit. Because despite what my class consensus was, I loved this book so much and I want to read more of her stuff.

I give this book 4.53 eerie Iclandic night sky stars.

And now, we move on to...

My professor for Scandinavian Crime Fiction is Danish, and yet she insists that Danish crime novels fall short when compared with other Scandinavian writers. BUT, in terms of crime shows - the Danes are unarguably at the top of the game. 

(Also it's lovely when you get to watch TV shows for homework.)

Forbrudelsen (The Killing)

Do you want proof of how good this show is? BBC aired it with English subtitles and it became SO POPULAR in England and the Brits were so proud that they were addicted to a foreign show. It's that good. 

The unique things about Danish crime shows is that it's not one case per episode, but one case per season instead. Imagine 20 episodes of the same case! Every episode ends with a cliffhanger, there are so many side stories to explore, and all the characters are fully fleshed out and so real. 

Also, Scandinavian equality means super badass female lead. She wears jeans and sweaters and ponytails; never is her appearance discussed in a derogatory way; I think she's gorgeous, but that's never the point. There's romance, but not between her and her co-detective, they both have their separate family lives. If I compared her complexity to that of Sherlock Holmes, it would be a worthy comparison (though she's not really sociopathic - she's just rather tunnel-visioned). Oh, if for nothing else, watch it for her. 

(Also, a note: Watch the original, not the US remake which is not as good stay away stay away)

The Bridge

This one is super cool because it is actually half Danish and half Swedish. It involves a body being found on the bridge between Denmark and Sweden - exactly half is in one country, and half is in the other. Who gets the case? Turns out that the two amicably rival countries have to work together. It's a study in cultures on top of a murder mystery. They actually speak both languages! (In the poster, the Swedish detective is on the left and the Danish detective is on the right,) 

This idea is so fascinating that it's had two different remakes - one between US and Mexico, and one (called The Tunnel) between the UK and France. I haven't seen those, but I want to!

The Swedish detective in this one is also a super good female character. It's also implied she has some form of Asperger's, but never actually specified. I just love how these shows make every character so well-rounded and realistic - I CANT GET OVER IT.

But where can I watch these things? You ask. I am not in Scandinavia! 

Well, I'm 99% sure UK Netflix has the first season of the original Danish The Killing available. I... don't know where to find them in the US.  (And, weirdly, Danish netflix does not have Danish The Killing, only the US remake. Why?)

If I find out where to get them in the US (because my addictions must be satisfied even after I leave Denmark), I will let you know! 

I also found this useful post that may help you.

Go and watch and be addicted! 
Also, tell me what is the eeriest crime novel you've ever read... 

Guest Post: Not a Poet

As a nod to April being National Poetry Month, I invited Michael Taeger to talk about his adventures as a prose writer reading (and writing) poetry. Enjoy!

While I’m not a poet, I am a writer. And as a writer, whenever I hear advice about writing that sounds plausible, even if it’s outside of my comfort zone or nominal area of interest, I pay attention. So when Andre Dubus III, author of The House of Sand and Fog, gave a reading and Q&A in the summer of ‘14, I listened to what he had to say, hoping for insight. After his good-not-great reading, someone in the crowd asked him what he read. Normally a boring question with boring answers, he said, “Every night before I go to sleep, I read from a book of poetry.”

Well, I thought. That’s unexpected.

He went on to explain that while he isn’t a poet, he reads poetry because it engages dormany areas of his brain; that poets string words and phrases together in ways that make him pause and think about the universe; that his creativity, sparked by poetry, continues into his prose-writing. While he never neglects his other reading, poetry is his reset button.

A couple months later, Abigail Thomas (author of Safekeeping) gave a lecture and reading that I attended. again, an audience member asked for her reading habits. She said, “I always keep poetry on my nightstand.” She went on to echo many of Dubus’ words, about creativity and imagery and soft reset.

When Pulitzer-Prize winning novelist Michael Chabon gave a lecture to my MFA program in early 2015, I raised my own hand. “I’ve been hearing that a lot of prose writers read poetry regularly. Do you keep that practice?”

I probably don’t have to write down his answer. He reads poems for the same reasons that Dubus and Thomas do; because poetry operates on a different level than prose. It is sentence-level writing, devoted to nothing but imagery, ideas and sounds. Reading good poetry is weight-lifting for the brain.

Maybe I should give it a try.

Since then, I’ve made a conscious effort to read more poetry: 10 (or so) complete books since April. It’s been a success, one that’s made me excited to continue. Traci Brimhall’s book of post-apocalyptic poetry, Our Lady of the Water, made me second-guess what poetry can do and and former Poet Laureate Ted Kooser’s Splitting an Order, made me cry through painfully honest, deceptively simple language. I can’t remember the last time a book evoked tears or reconstructed my entire perception.

In addition, I discovered that apart from personal gleanings, poetry affected my writing as well. Now, I’m not suddenly an entirely different writer, but I pay more attention to imagery and structure than I ever did before. I am more attuned to, and value more, interesting phrasing and unusual metaphors.

It’s obvious that other authors do the same. Go back and read All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy or One Hundred Years of Solitude by Marquez. The cadences and sentence structure of those brilliant novels is poetry. The prose lilts and elevates and turns around and around, forcing the reader to keep up with the journey. Besides telling a story, those novels are devoted to and in love with words.

On my nightstand right now are half a dozen books of poetry, carefully interspersed with works of prose. I’m currently reading Scarecrone by Melissa Broder, Anna Slesinski’s book of erasure poems Eating the Sun, and Bruce Wayne Sullivan’s bartender poems, Reflections from the Other Side, along with my normal fare of classic literature, graphic novels and sci fi/fantasy. And I have a stack of others up to my knees that just hasn’t made it to the table yet.

I’m still not a poet, but I’m more complete as a writer. And maybe I’ll be a poet someday. It’s always possible. 

Michael B. Tager is a writer. He is the author of the fiction collection "Always Tomorrow" and "Pop Culture Poems," a poetry chapbook (Mason Jar Press). He is currently writing a book of memoir told through essays about video games. He likes Buffy and the Baltimore Orioles. Find more of his work online at michaelbtager.com.

(Also, if you are interested in having Michael guest post for your own blog, connect with him on twitter @ideosinkrasee)

Top Ten Tuesday: My Favorite Bookish Twitterers!

I'm linking up with Top Ten Tuesday, which I realize I haven't done in a while. Well, we're back! And the topic this week is 10 bookish people to follow on twitter!

I am on twitter a lot. Like an unhealthy amount. But it's for a good reason - there are SO many awesome bookish people who also spend a probably unhealthy amount of time on there too! So I thought I'd share with you some of my favorite twitterers (tweeters?) so that you can join in the awesomeness. The first three are authors who just rule the twitter game, and the rest are bloggers.

(Of course, I have way more than 10 awesome twitter favorites. If we've chatted on twitter, you are probably one of them! But because of the limits of being human, I could not make a list to infinity, so I just had to settle with ten.)

1. Lauren DeStefano @LaurenDeStefano

Okay, I confess, I haven't read her books yet. But her tweets are just so GOOOOOOD, that means her books must be too, right? She tweets about the struggles of writing, the glory of cats, and general bookishness. I LOVE IT SO MUCH.

2. Maggie Stiefvater @mstiefvater

Okay obviously Maggie Stiefvater is the queen of authorly twitter because she is the queen of everything. Just go follow her. Don't ask questions.

3. Shannon Hale @haleshannon

Shannon Hale tweets about writerly life and her family and adorable kids - but also a lot about sexism in the publishing world, and what we can do to combat it.

4. Whitney @whittynovels

So this girl makes me laugh out loud sometimes. But she's not just on Twitter, she's on tumblr and Vine and YouTube too and on ALL of them she is JUST AS FUNNY. HOW IS SOMEONE THIS GOOD AT SOCIAL MEDIA.

5. Cait @PaperFury

Okay but Cait is just fantabulous and if you don't know that already, what are you doing with your life? (Her instagram is superb too, if you were wondering.)

6. Faye @Writerology

Only recently have I discovered the magical thing that is #storycrafter chats, hosted by the lovely Faye. Every Sunday (at 2pm CST? I think?) writers gather to discuss some aspect of writing. My first one was a role playing one which was SO FUN and I was hooked.

7. Kat @Kat_thebooknerd

Kat is lovely and fun and just so nice and I like her lots. Also she's doing Camp NaNo and has recruited me as her personal encourager, so if you follow her maybe she'll be encouraged? :-P

8. Katie @SherwoodWriter

So Katie might have been possibly my first writer-friend on Twitter and she is just splendid. Also if you want to talk about anything dragon-related, she's your girl.

9. Cassie @CassietheWeird

Just looking at that twitter avatar, you know that Cassie is absolutely hilarious and fun. She is always great to chat with and has a fabulous sense of humor. 

10. Annie @annie_hawthorne

Annie is quite possibly the absolute sweetest little cinnamon roll I have ever met on the internet. :-) (I hope you don't mind me calling you that...? I mean it as a 100% compliment!) Also she shares excellent writing snippets. 




Now it's your turn! Tell me in the comments what other epic accounts I should follow on twitter! And go follow the lovely people I mentioned, if you haven't done that yet :-)

March // Amsterdam + Barcelona + Copenhagen

Do you like my little alphabetically ordered title? Those are the cities I've spent my March in, mostly Copenhagen, obviously, though I spent a GLORIOUS Easter in Barcelona, and a weekend earlier in the month with my friend who lives in Amsterdam. 

Amsterdam!

Barcelona!

Because of my crazy travels (and multiple exams! study abroad is actually real school!), I didn't get to post a lot here. Though I DID post a TON on my travel blog, which you can check out here at Seeking Souls. Usually when I'm not here, I'm over there. And travel is NEARLY as good as books.

So because I've had such a lively, un-book-bloggly month, this recap is going to be scandalously short. In book life, I've been reading a lot of Scandinavian Crime Fiction for my class (lots of reviews to come!), and running around flailing in terror at the awfully high prices of books in Denmark. 

In writing life, I've been writing a kind of Draft 0.5 of #SlavicNovel - I realized that since I didn't have the ending plotted out, I couldn't just push through with a Draft 1. But I had so much written already, so it's not a Draft 0. But starting at a certain point, I started writing in a Draft 0 style, with lots of {insert magic item here} and [somehow they escape... with the bone? or without it?]. So that's why I'm calling it a Draft 0.5. It's almost done! 

Because of this, I'm not doing the April Camp NaNoWriMo. Maybe I'll join in the next round? We shall see. Good luck to all participating in April! 

Ummm... so that's literally all I have for you this month. I was super uninvolved in the internet world, which was actually good because that means I was super involved in my real world travels. 

Tell me about your month! Are you doing Camp NaNo? If so - tell me about your project! I will cheer you on from the sidelines - wooooo woooo wooooo

Beautiful People #16: Damla

Guess what? It's time to talk about Damla from #SlavicNovel because she is possibly my favorite character from that WIP right now. I didn't realize who she was at first, or how awesome she would be.


So today, you get to meet Damla. Prepare for epicness.

1. What first inspired this character? Is there a person/actor you based them off?

A scene popped into my head that had nothing to do with the novel I was writing. I wasn't sure how it would fit into SlavicNovel, or even if it belonged in SlavicNovel at all. Maybe it was it's own story?

So the scene was of a thief-girl (Damla) running into another thief during a major heist, where they are both impressed with the other person's fighting skills. The mystery thief corners our thief-girl, rips the scarf off her face, and and is pleasantly shocked to find it's a girl because our mystery thief is a girl too (early version of Oriana!). They then have to run for their lives because their fighting has caused too much noise, and become friends.

That was what popped into my head one night, and somehow made it's way into SlavicNovel after all. It's a little different ("become friends" isn't exactly how it ends - more like "become unwilling partners"), but is just as badass-ly awesome as I envisioned it in the beginning.

2. Describe their daily routine.

Damla lives with her father, a once-rich once-famous nobleman who squandered all his money (and thus his childrens' inheritance). But what does he care? He has two daughters which basically means DOWRY. But Damla's sister Ziya (who can't walk) has gone off and married a supernice but superpoor musician (such dishonor!) named Melik, which means she's been disowned from the family. Now Damla is her father's only hope.

With that preface, Damla's (rather irregular) routine: In the daytime, she does noblewoman duties with her father, who likes to pretend he's not poor. They visit richer noblemen and go to parties and try to earn favors and Damla hates it. This is also when Damla's father tries to get various rich men interested in her without revealing their financial situation. They're mostly perverts or old or old perverts.

The only reason why she doesn't rebel is because while she chats up these rich fellows, she finds out about where they keep their precious gems and other things of that sort. She learns the layout of their houses when she goes to parties they host. And then, she and Melik plan their next burglary.

Melik and Damla meet up at his place where Damla says hi to her sister and then debriefs Melik on the plan for the night. They have a system - Melik stands guard, while Damla sneaks into the houses. The spoils of the burglary don't go to Damla's dad, obviously - they all go to Melik and Ziya.

3. If they joined your local high school, what clique would they fit into?

I'm not sure if Damla would be a part of a clique. She may be the person that's kind of able to be friends with everyone, observes from the sidelines, and is just generally liked.

She definitely wouldn't be the popular girl, though she COULD be if she wanted to.

4. Write a list of things they merely tolerate. Ex. certain people, foods, circumstances in their lives...

First off, jerk dad and creepy suitors, because right now she needs them to make a living.
But also:

• Shoes
• Melik's jokes
• Oriana (Well, that comes later in the story.)

5. How do they react in awkward silences?

She'll smile pleasantly at the other people and wait for the conversation to continue. She believes silences are only awkward if you decide they are.

6. Can they swim? If so, how did they learn?

Damla lives in Karakhra, which is a port town, so she has beaches to practice on. However, most of her neighbors actually cannot swim because they've never had to. She just made it a point to learn because the water looked so beautiful and treacherous and she wanted to know she had the power to defend herself against it if she ever had to. Also creeping off to beaches at night felt super rebellious, even though her dad didn't know about it. She kind of wished he did. 

7. What is one major event that helped shape who they are?

(Technically spoiler? But I don't know if people care about me spoiling a novel that's literally in Draft 0.5.)

When the eldest prince from the neighboring country (Tania and Oriana and Baba Yaga's currently unnamed country) came as an ambassador five-ish years ago to Karakhra, Damla and he had a kind of fling. Well, at that point, neither of them thought it was a fling, but they were both young and stupid (and Damla was younger and stupider and this was her first love). Like, duh, the crown prince of the country that your country is not exactly friends with is not going to marry some foreign girl who, though a noble, isn't exactly royal, and who has a dad who's going bankrupt.

Anyway, though Damla is super sensible, she kind of went all Great Gatsby and spent five years idolizing Prince Luka and creating this perfect man in her head that maybe would come back eventually? For her? Even though by now she 99% knows he won't?

8. What things do they value most in life?

Her sister Ziya, no question. And, close after, her brother-in-law Melik, who's a super decent guy (and a super decent street musician and partner-in-crime). 

9. Do they believe in giving other people second chances? Do they have any trust issues?

Yes, Damla definitely believes in second chances. Maybe third? But definitely not more. (Ahem, looking at you, dad.) Damla has some trust issues (mostly when it comes to romance? See the spoiler bit about Prince Luka above), but not enough to affect her a lot. She's at a nice balance between naive and suspicious - she's cautious and has street smarts.

10. Your character is having a rough day... What things to they do to make them happy again? Is there anyone they talk/interact with to get in a better mood?

She would never admit it, but Damla sometimes retreats into Luka-memories. It doesn't necessarily make her happy, but it does make her forget the present.

More effectively, she visits Ziya and Melik and always leaves full of tea and crackers and smiles and bad jokes.

That's Damla! Tell me about your writing projects. Are you doing Camp NaNo in April? (I'm not, because #SlavicNovel requires my attention.)

Guest Post: Yes and No

I'm always interested to hear about other fledgling writers' experiences with pre-agent adventures, especially with what got them writing in the first place. Today, I have  TM Hayes sharing her story.

While listening to Year of Yes of by Shonda Rhimes, I’ve been struck by the fact that a string of cathartic moments in her life in 2014 led her to say yes more, while the ones in my life the same year caused the exact opposite reaction. I said no, and I said it a lot. I’ve always been a yes person, a die-hard people pleaser, even when it meant taking less care of myself and spending less time with family and friends. Unsurprisingly, all the yeses left me feeling empty and alone. I couldn’t feel joy even though I was succeeding professionally and raising three healthy girls with my husband.

Miserable and lethargic, I felt guilty for feeling so disconnected from my life. I hit rock bottom at the end of 2013. I promised myself that 2014 would be my Year of No, and yes I called it that before I ever heard the title of Shonda Rhimes’ memoir. It was my mantra, my guiding principle. It was terrifying. Initially my noes were timid and uttered question-like. But like anything else with practice it became easier. And I didn’t only say no at work. I said it at home. I even said it to my kids.

It was excruciating but I intuitively knew what was on the line—me. It felt alien to be self-indulgent, but I learned to speak to myself kindly. It was okay to protect time for myself sometimes. It seems so obvious, but it still sends a shiver of guilt through me. Taking care of myself emotionally and physically resulted in immediate rewards—more energy, more engagement both at home and at work.

Something was still lacking. I knew what it was, but I didn’t want to admit it to myself at that point. I was afraid—afraid of failure, afraid of rejection, and just plain afraid of trying. The turning point came in July 2014 when we received the devastating news that my cousin, who was only 6 months my elder, died of a massive heart attack. She was healthy one day, raising two beautiful children with her loving husband, and then gone within hours. Her loss fractured our family both immediate and distant. It was a shockwave that reverberated through us all, and not one of us has emerged the same.

In the midst of grief and shock, I finally woke up. How often do we hear it said that life is short? I assist surgeons on cancer operations, I literally face death on a daily basis. But it finally sank in. None of us knows how much time we’ll be given in these precious lives of ours. Time isn’t on any of our sides. But it’s never too late to start. Yup, some clichés exist for a reason.

It was time to put the story that had been swirling in my head on paper. I started writing my first novel at the end of July 2014. I had a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, but aside from that, zero experience writing. I wrote anyway. No outline, no character sketches, other than the ones that had flitted in and out of mind for the months preceding. I’d newly joined Twitter (yes, I’m old and late to the party), and found that I could follow and interact with many of my favorite writers. These writers often doled out pearls of writing wisdom.

At exactly this time, one of the authors I greatly admired, E. Lockhart, tweeted along the lines of “Sit down and write a little every day, 135 words a day will equal a 50,000 word novel in a year”—an easily achievable goal. I downloaded Scrivener, set my target to 135 words, and promised to write daily. I did for a couple of weeks, but then life got in the way. Still, I didn’t stop. I adjusted course. If I worked a twelve-plus-hour day at work, I would aim for 300 words the next day. I made the commitment, allowing myself to make the time to write.

I stumbled, I wrote garbage, but I kept going. As I wrote more, it became easier. I even surprised myself with a couple of 4,000 word days. I finished draft one in less than a year. Rewrites ensued. Then I did what most impatient, naïve new writers do, I submitted to contests. The feedback after the first contest was pretty harsh. I gave myself ten minutes to cry it out, and then hit the keyboard again. I took the advice and rewrote the first five pages. I rewrote those five pages dozens of times. I submitted to another contest. I cringe at the thought of it, but this time something good came of my inexperience.

One of the judges gave me some encouraging feedback, and offered her editing services. We exchanged emails, and I knew I’d found a kindred spirit. I sent her an early draft of my novel, and she gave me my first overall manuscript critique. She perfectly balanced constructive criticism with encouragement, and I agreed with most of the changes she recommended. I rewrote again. I lost chapters, panicked at the dip in word count, but it cleared the path for a better story to emerge. Now fevered with writing, I watched the clock impatiently at work, eager to return to my laptop. My children and husband have been remarkably supportive of my writing time, and I could never thank them enough.

My editor fielded my concerned emails whenever I hit an impasse. She helped reason through the best next step. It was such a great experience working with her. I highly recommend investing in a professional editor. When the revision was finally completed, I sent it to her, and held my breath. Once again her fixes were fair and helped the heart of my story shine through. By October 2015, I officially had a final draft of my first novel. I did what I always do at the achievement of a major milestone in my life, I cried.

I closed the file, and took a two weeks off. In November 2015, I started my second novel for NaNoWriMo. I’d learned a lot, but was still a novice. I completed 50,000 words on November 29th, 2015. I had a very rough draft of a second novel, and again I cried.

Through the process of writing both novels, I have made incredible connections online. There is a vibrant, supportive network of writers of all stages on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, etc. I consider these people I’ve never met in person my closest friends in some regards. I share the highs and lows of writing with them. They understand this crazy journey in a different way than family and friends do. They offer invaluable advice. And I try to return the favor, whatever I learn, I share.

In December 2015, I forayed into querying my first novel—a frightening and overwhelming experience. Writing a query letter, synopsis, or any number of shorthand forms of your novel that an agent may request is like learning a new language. Thankfully agents also abound on Twitter, and they’re always offering advice. I take it all to heart, and try to implement the common principles. I’ve had some positive responses, many negative responses, and some non-responses as well. I’m trying not to let the process dishearten me. Writing is an exercise in perseverance, and now that I’ve said no to everyone else, I have nothing but time.

TM Hayes works as a Surgical Physician Assistant in Robotic Surgery when she isn't busy writing or s-mothering her three daughters and husband. An avid reader of many genres, she can almost always be found with her nose buried deeply in a book with tears streaming down her face. Follow her on twitter @hayes_tm or on her blog www.notsoyoungadult.com

What about you? What got you writing? What have been your experiences in the querying world? Share it all in the comments!

February // Travels + Birthdays + Blog Buttons

What a month! And March is promising to be even busier! I've officially been in Denmark for a month and a half, and I've explored SO MUCH. I love the program, the city, the people, I LOVE IT ALL.

This means I haven't had lots of time to read or write because I've been traveling so much. This past week I went to Berlin and Poznan (Poland) and earlier this month I went to two smaller towns in western Denmark (Odense and Kolding). As always, if you want to hear more about my adventures, you can check out my other blog, seeking souls.

I did go on a fine little trip to the bookstore to find Illuminae since I put it to a twitter vote which book to buy and that one won. And then - THEY WERE OUT OF COPIES. These are the problems of living in a country where the main language isn't English. The guy at the counter said they'd have a new shipment in TWO WEEKS. I'm going back on Monday because that is two weeks and the BETTER HAVE IT.

Thanks to my Scandinavian Crime Fiction class, I haven't been entirely deprived of literature. Jar City, which I'm currently reading, is super good, and we'll be watching the movie adaptation soon.

And how could I have forgotten? I turned 20 years old on the 5th, which means... I am no longer a teenager. But in honor of this I ate Thai food and wrote a post about 20 things you (possibly) may not know about me. 

OH ALSO IN BLOG NEWS - I updated my blog design (squeeee I'm so proud of it) and made myself a SHINY OFFICIAL BUTTON

Go ahead. Take it. I know you want to.

<div class="Ravens-and-Writing-Desks-button" style="width: 250px; margin: 0;"> <a href="http://ravens-and-writingdesks.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow"> <img src="http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f49/sophia0596/button%201_zpsmatp4puw.png" alt="Ravens and Writing Desks" width="250" height="250" /> </a> </div>

(photos link to instagram)

Jess @ Jess Hearts Books asks why it's so hard to find a YA book where the heroine has no love interest.

Cait @ Paper Fury explains with convincing logic (like I ever needed convincing) why all books need maps.

Guest Post: Why Wren Doesn't Reread

{I reread ALWAYS. Why would people not reread? Wren explains.)

Illusive by Emily Lloyd-Jones // superpowers! spies! slight dissappointment!
{The heists were good - the characters were not}

Beautiful People #15: Oriana and Misha
{In honor of Valentine's Day, I present a couple who would scorn it.}

How was your February? Read anything exciting?