Name Change

In MNSNL 1 I introduced a character named Andy in the last chapter. My 12 year old brother who shares the same name loved that a character had his name. When I told him I was revising MNSNL2 he made me promise that Andy would have a larger story plot. Andy's beefed up story line includes him getting a love interest. Originally the love interest's name was Natalie. It wasn't until after I typed her name and set the scene for their meeting, that I realized I should check with my brother first about the name choice to make sure there wasn't a girl in his class named Natalie. Since his friends would potentially read this book I did not want to embarass him with naming a classmate as his alter ego's love interest. Regardless of whether or not my brother had a crush on the Natalie in his class that won't stop 12 year old boys from teasing. So the character Natalie is now named Sophia. Will the revisions never end?

A Failed Surprise

A couple weeks ago I decided to get the sequel to My Not So Normal Life ready for publication. One of the perks of being self-published is that I'm the one who decides when to publish. Since money will be tight this year and because I have tons of free time, I decided that I would surprise my family with My Not So Normal Life 2 this Christmas. I know that my cousin and brother would be excited to get it since they've been eagerly waiting the sequel for a while now. I tried to keep it a secret, but you can only spend so much time in front of your computer before people want to know what you're doing. Last night I let it slip to my brother that I was revising the book and getting it ready for publication. It was nice to see him freeze with excitement, his eyes bugging out. Now I hope that I can keep to my deadline and that he won't be disappointed when he finally reads it.

Revising

My writing process is very drawn out. My original draft is handwritten on any type of paper I have at hand. I use paper for two major reasons. First, since I never have a set time to write and usually at the mercy of a spare minute, it's a lot easier to carry around a journal than having to carry around my computer. Second, since my first draft is very rough I revise the story when I type it out. Once I have a typed out manuscript I'll let my sisters read it and have them review it for content. After I've talked to them about their opinion, I go through the manuscript and add and revise.

Revising is my least favorite part of writing. I love expanding and changing the story, what I hate about it is finding a stopping point. I can be very critical of what I write and will never think it's done. I'm of the philosophy that editing is a never ending process since there is always room for improvement. In order to get around this problem I have to set goals for myself.

The latest goal I've set for myself is revising the sequel to My Not So Normal Life. My goal is to have the sequel done and self published through Lulu.com by Christmas. This will be a surprise for my brother and cousin who have been eagerly anticipating the next book since they finished reading it. So hopefully, by Christmas I'll have a finished second novel. Now, just to get through the last stage of revising.

My fancy new blog

Hi everyone! I'm so excited that you stopped by to check out my new blog. I'm completely new to blogging, so please bear with me as I get the hang of this. My sister started this blog to help me promote my self-published novel My Not So Normal Life  as well as the other books that I'm in the process of editing and getting ready to publish.

I will talk about the novels I'm working on in later posts, but for now let me talk about my first novel. My Not So Normal Life is a young adult novel that revolves around the life of Lily Gemorski, a native Chicagoan recruited to work for a secret government organization.

I wrote the book when I was in high school when I was REALLY obsessed with the television show Alias. Throughout my young life I had always been interested with spies, people who seemed to be boring average citizens but had a secret life with secret abilities. Being a spy was like being a superhero. What frustrated me as a high schooler who loved spies was being unable to find spies that I could relate to. Sure, you had Sydney Bristow and James Bond but they were adults, they didn't have curfews or chemistry class to worry about. And I hated that the only teen spies I found in books or television shows were more concerned about having a cute outfit or breaking a nail than the actual mission. So, unable to find a superhero spy that I could relate to, I took it upon myself to create her.

So, if you're someone like me who is looking for a relateable spy, check out my book at http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/LizLaz