Melissa West

In the spirit of Halloween, I thought it would be fun to unveil what scares us the most. And I'm not talking about death or taxes or whatever. I'm talking about the real stuff (or the pretend stuff if you want to think of it that way) that freaks you out. For me, it's simple--ghosts. Not like Casper-type ghosts. I'm talking about the kind that turn lights on and off, open cabinets, or show up only to children or pets. I'm talking about ghosts like these: What about you? What haunts your nightmares?

So today I was thinking about writing and how a lot of writers seem to write with one goal -- publication. That makes sense in certain ways. But what I realized after perusing many of the forums is that many writers do not seem especially happy about this pursuit. I find that to be a problem. Nothing in life is *always* fun. I get that. But really, we already have families, day jobs, etc. that keep us busy (and slightly insane). Why add something else to your stress list unless it brings you happiness? - Think about writing and what it adds to your life. Is it fulfilling? If so, enjoy writing and don't worry so much about the publication part of it. I know that's hard. I know we want that feeling of acceptance. It's high school all over again, isn't it? So how about we air out what is most frustrating about this process? Get it out of your system and then remember, you are doing something special by writing a book. You are taking it to the next level by educating your...

Continuing with my story... I sent Heather Howland (Managing Editor with Entangled ) a query at like 9 p.m. one night. An hour later she requested the full. Two days later she requested a call. A week later I had a contract. A CONTRACT!! I spoke with Heather twice during this process and both calls were awesome. She "got" my book. She loved my book. Finally, I was dealing with someone who really understood what I put into this MS. It wasn’t enough for the book to be fiction. It had to have a merit of scientific theory behind my story. I researched to death to make sure everything from hyperspaces to blows to the gut read as realistically as possible. Now of course, it wasn't all lollipops and candy canes. She wanted a deep revision, very, very deep. The kind of revision that makes certain writers run away, but not me. I agreed 100% with what she wanted from the book and made the decision that day that I would sign with Entangled. Why? Because I get 40% of cover price for ...

First, let me very proudly say that I have signed a 3-book deal with Entangled Publishing for my YA sci-fi/dystopian, GRAVITY. This is the PM announcement: Melissa West's debut GRAVITY, the first book in a dystopian series in which the sixteen-year-old daughter of New America's top military commander must choose whether to believe her country's malicious depiction of the Ancients, or trust the alien she's fallen in love with and betray humankind, to Heather Howland at Entangled , in a nice deal, in a three-book deal, for publication in Fall 2012 (World). To say I am excited is an understatement. I am thrilled, shocked, proud, emotional, all those things and more. But the decision has not been an easy one. So let me unpack my journey. Sound okay? Prepare yourself, this is going to be a long one. I'll add in coffee breaks. I started GRAVITY as a NaNo project (then titled TWISTED ROOT) last year, but was not able to commit the time to get very far into the draft. In J...

So yesterday my sister texted me about the Dr. Ox--oops--Oz apple juice debacle. I quickly googled it and read all about the issue. With a three year old, this sort of thing is very important. Though, I’m convinced that everything but bananas and water seems to cause cancer. Well today I woke up to a response from the FDA stating Dr. Oz has no real basis for his claim. I’m not sure how I feel about either and I’m not sure I fully trust anything a government-run organization claims, but it did get me thinking about querying and how as writers we often believe whatever anyone else on the web says about an agent. For example, there is a huge thread on the blue boards concerning speaking up about agents that are not so good. I love this sort of information as I have around twelve subs out right now and would love to know which are credible and which are not. However, I feel that we writers really need to do our homework before striking an agent off our list (or on the flip side, jumping up...

Those of you who read my blog know that I went through a major agent-suggested rewrite of my latest novel. It was painful, I won't lie. And after I completed the revision and sent it to the agents waiting on it, I decided to take a break from writing. In fact, I decided to take a month off -- no querying, no writing, nothing. I felt just...exhausted. So my husband and I decided to take a trip to the very remote Cape San Blas. See photo below: . . By the third day of the trip, I was itching to write. I have three ideas swimming in my mind, and I'm trying to decide which to invest in. The first is a YA thriller with sci-fi elements. The second is a YA dark magical realism. And the third is something of a YA spooky ghost story. I was prepared to take my time deciding and researching, but by giving myself the freedom to step away, I allowed my love of writing to resurface. Now I'm dying to dig in. I'm a fast writer--too fast at times--but I plan to write out a summar...

Much delay in blogging thanks to a massive rewrite, but I am now done. Woohoo! So onto today’s post -- yesterday I was thinking about why I write YA and came to a really embarrassing conclusion. Do you remember when you were in high school and had your first real crush? Do you remember how it felt like the entire world was spinning when he (or she) would talk to you? Do you remember the intensity of your first kiss? That’s why I write YA. I get that same tingly feeling when I write one of these scenes. It’s addicting. I love recreating the amaziness, awkwardness, and general craziness of being a teen. So what do you write and why? M.B.