Virtual Blog Tour ~ Cinderella Boy by Kristina Meister (Guest Post + Giveaway)
About Cinderella Boy
Being perfect isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Sixteen-year-old Declan is the perfect son . . . except for one tiny issue. When his sister Delia comes home to find him trying on her clothes, he fears her judgment, but she only fears his fashion choices. One quick makeover later, Declan is transformed into Delia’s mysterious cousin Layla and dragged to the party of the year, hosted by Carter, the most popular boy in school.
When Carter meets Layla, he fumbles to charm her. He adores her sense of humor and her poise. But when she vanishes in the middle of the night, he’s left confused and determined to solve the mystery of who she is.
As their school year begins, their high school embraces a policy of intolerance, and both Declan and Carter know they must stand up. Carter is tired of being a coward and wants to prove he can be a knight in shining armor. Declan is sick of being bullied and wants desperately to be himself. If they team up, it could be a fairy-tale ending, or a very unhappy ever after.
My “process” isn’t really as scientific as that makes it sound. It’s actually more like…barely organized chaos? There are those people who sit down in blank rooms and write exactly 2500 words a day and then—I dunno—toss back the last dregs of a cold cup of chamomile and say “Ah, what a good day’s work I’ve done! Huzzah!” but I’m not one of them. No disrespecting that, it’s just not my can of RedBull.
I can’t just sit down and write 2500 words a day. I don’t know where the story is going all the time. Sometimes I do, but mostly I begin with a good idea of where it will end up, but make allowances that it will wander, and I’ll find new things I need to say while I’m writing it. Once I have everything collected and an idea in mind, I start walking.
Yes, walking. I walk. A lot. Like a lot. Eight miles? Cool. I have a treadmill now, which is great, because before I’d disappear for two days and regret not carrying a canteen (I’m kidding. That only happened once). I put my headphones on and I listen to my music and I think about the scene. I watch it in my head like I’m watching a movie. I think about what the characters say, how the reader needs to view it, what imagery will be important or provide clues or whatever. I even think about smells and sensations.
When I’m finished walking, I take a shower. I mean, yeah, it’s good for hygiene, but it also helps me sort of fine tune the scene. There are reasons why. Frequently, this shower features what my friend likes to call “a shower beer”—which is a beer…that you drink…in the shower—and is had in complete darkness.
How do I shower in the dark? I’m legally blind. Go gouge out your eyes and you’ll figure it out. Point is, it’s womb-like and it helps me refine my thoughts. Incidentally, this is also a good way to deal with anger or stress.Then the next day (or whenever the inspiration is full-on with me) I sit down with an energy drink, some loud music, comfy pants, and I lay it down on the screen. Sometimes it’s a couple thousand words. Sometimes it’s like…fifty thousand. That was my record.. In one twenty four hour period. I didn’t say they were all good words. They don’t really have to be. Because the next step is editing.
Editing never stops. I used to work for a literary agency, reading the submissions, and it always made me cringe whenever someone would say to me “It’s been edited, it doesn’t need anything else”. Editing never stops. I mean, like, yeah you have to eventually stop and give it to someone, but I promise you…eventually you will pick up your own book and look through it and think “Why the frack didn’t I say it this way?” That’s because you, the author, is always changing. So writing a novel is maybe only thirty percent writing. Fifty percent editing, twenty percent caffeine and booze, and five percent butterscotch ripple. Yes, that’s 105%. I went to Willy Wonka’s school of math.
I can estimate that by the time I’m finished with a novel, every chapter in the book has been read and tweaked by me at least twenty times, likely closer to fifty. Whenever i sit down to write, I read the two chapters before what I’m about to write, and if I have stuff after it that I’ve already written, I read that too. Then it goes to another person to edit. And then another. Editing is critical. It’s crucial. It’s the most important step.
That’s the process. That’s it. I lock myself in a room for eight hours and I don’t come out. And sometimes I pace. Sometimes I play with colored paper. Sometimes I have to hear one song played on repeat for literally a fracking day. That’s just how it happens. Structured insanity.
And when the book is written, I breathe.
About Kristina Meister
Kristina Meister is an author of fiction that blurs genre. There’s usually some myth, some mayhem, and some monsters. While Kristina’s unique voice and creative swearing give life to dialogue, her obsession with folklore and pop culture make for humor and complexity.
She and her mad-scientist husband live in California with their poodles Khan and Lana, and their daughter Kira Stormageddon, where they hoard Nerf toys, books, and swords—in case of zombie apocalypse.
Connect with Kristina:
- Website: kristinameister.com
- Twitter: @kristinameister
Giveaway
To celebrate the release of Cinderella Boy, Kristina is giving away a canvas swag bag (with cover art) that includes a t-shirt, an engraved pen, and a tiara! (Yes, really!) Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on July 7, 2018. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following along, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!
Congrats on the new release! Sounds like a good book. colby69@verizon.net
ReplyDeleteBack again. I appreciate all you do for us.
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