Kalayna Price

(X-posted from the Tri Mu blog .) Okay, so lets say you have a 100k word story full of snappy dialogue, compelling characters, and action scenes that keep the reader on the edge of her seat (or maybe you just worked out the idea and need to write a proposal.) Now, distill it into a two page synopsis. Oh, but while you are pulling out your hair trying to turn 100,000 words into a mere 500, remember to make sure your voice still comes through. Oh, and show the full progression of the plot. And make sure the reader gets a feel for your character. And your motivations should be clear. And watch out for leaps of logic. And... Wait! If you can't tell, I'm not a big fan of writing synopses. I bang my head on the keyboard, a lot, and once the delete key is permanently imprinted into my forehead, I still have more words/lines/ideas to tighten so that I can create a snapshot long version of my plot. Recently, I have been surrounded by synopses. I wrote one three weeks ago for my 'p...

If you watch my twitter feed or are a facebook/myspace friend, you probably noticed that yesterday was my birthday and that I have now marked the end (and new beginning) of another year. This past year was a busy one. A lot of new and exciting things happened in my writing career and in my personal life. One of the biggest highlights is, of course, the release of Once Bitten, but many other events have occurred which will likely affect the coming year. Not everything from the past year has been great, there are lots of aspects of myself and my life I hope to change, but overall, it was a good year. I took a vacation day yesterday, and spent most of the daylight hours contemplating the year, and relaxing and reading (I am notoriously grouchy on my birthday, so a maximum amount of alone time actually is best.) Then I celebrated with family, laughing and doing the singing/presents/cake thing. It was a good time. Somehow I managed to end up with three cakes in total. So, today I happily sp...

You might remember me mentioning the fact I was interviewed by my local small town paper last week. Well, the article came out yesterday and I made the front page! I know the images I'm posting are far too small to read, but I'm linking them to PDF files if you are interested in reading the full article. The paper's name got cut out of the scan (and yes, the first page is crooked--I fail at scanning) but the paper is The Country Chronicle which is part of Camden Media Co. LLC In other news, if you've been following my twitter feed, you know that I've been reading over the first draft of the second book in my Haven series, which I wrote at least two years ago. The good news: it is obvious that I have grown a lot as a writer over the last few years. The bad news: there is very little salvageable material in the draft, so I have a lot of work to do. I need to re-outline the book (to tighten up some aspects of the main plot as well as cut a subplot that was axed from t...

Today I went to a rather dull training session for a new program I'll be using on the job some day in the unknown future. Most of the other attendees appeared to be as enthused about the two hour session as I was, and after the third technical error, I realized this was a good time to do a little discreet people watching. So what do people do when they're bored? Here is what I observed: -twist jewelry -rub nose, lips, facial hair -twist in chair/roll shoulders -spin pen, tapping the eraser on the table at every rotation -chew/twist hair -pick teeth (ewww!) -tap fingers to thumb -pick at clothing seams Nothing too extraordinary or out of the ordinary in this bunch of bored mannerisms, but it is always a good idea to keep a running list of possible non-verbal communication cues. After all, characters are made of many small things. What body language have you observed recently? *updated to fix grammar.

I blogged on my shopping trip last Friday, but I wasn't very explicit on what I actually purchased. I picked up a couple books that were right up my alley on topics I love, such as The Secret Common Wealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies (which I already own a copy of, but this one had sketches and a couple other 'perks' my copy doesn't include.) What I'm really excited about though, are the history books I purchased. Okay, first of all, I have to say that History was never my favorite subject in school. It's not that I abhorred history, it just didn't particularly interest me unless it was presented within the context of say, mythology, religion, or art. I'm not great at dates and names, so while I have a general understanding of the major events which occurred in the past, I'm rather clueless on the specifics. And, well, that has always been okay. This apathy, I realized the other day, might present an issue in the coming months as the second novel in...

Happy Friday the 13th (as one of the grad students just pointed out to me.) It would probably be more traditional to write about superstition or gloom and doom today, but I'm not going to. For one thing, as mentioned previously, thirteen is my favorite number. For another, I've had a fabulous day thus far. I took the morning off work because I had an interview with a small local paper about Once Bitten. I was really nervous, but the interview went great. I actually had a lot of fun talking about the book and about writing. The article will be out next Thursday, and I can hardly wait. After the interview, I was giddy and feeling rather fearless, so I did what I'd been meaning to do for weeks. I went to the local Barnes and Noble to arrange a signing. I was told the manager wasn't in yet but should be shortly, so I could wait for her. Now, waiting in a bookstore means I browse, and when browsing, I almost always find novels I 'need'. That said, I doubled my TBR pi...

Okay, I know I'm the last person on the internet to do this list, but people keep tagging me so here it is: 25 Random things about me. 1. My favorite foods are all breakfast foods--yet I scarf down non-breakfast food on my way to work everyday (mostly because I'm always running late.) 2. I can never settle on a favorite book, but if you ask me I'll probably give you a somewhat random list. (Yes, this list will change every time I'm asked.) 3. Ninety-eight percent of the time I don't like TV and consider it a waste. 4. I prefer to read books cover to cover in one sitting. 5. At least twenty plants have accumulated in my office and I have miraculously managed not to kill them despite my very un-green thumb. 6. I always wanted to play the part of Christine Deea on Broadway. Unfortunately, I can't sing. 7. I believe Tazo Passion tea is the nectar of gods. 8. Dragons are the best animal ever. 9. I started writing my first novel at age 12. It was totally a Tolkien kno...

I found out extremely exciting news today. Over at FictionWise, the ebook version of Once Bitten has hit a best seller list! OB is currently listed as #8 on the Dark Fantasy List and #3 on the entire sites top rated list. (Can you see the smile on my face from where you are?) To celebrate, my publisher released a new version of the Once Bitten book trailer detailing this information as well as including some quotes from reviews. Enjoy! Also, the second print run is now complete, and Once Bitten is listed as back in stock at both Amazon and Barnes and Noble Thanks everyone, and have a good night!