There are all sorts of babies really. Baby Pandas, Baby Chickens, Baby Spinach Leaves, Baby Corn, etc. And of course there’s always those tiny little human babies. But they kinda smell bad when they poop and they burp a lot, so let’s not focus on those. (*lame attempt to pretend I don’t have baby fever*)t

To a writer, there is really only ONE baby … their book.

Of course I’m the proud parent of 3 1/2 babies now. The first couple babies didn’t turn out as well as I hoped. I still love them, but I’m not gonna lie, I kinda have them hidden on a shelf in a dusty closet. What?!?! Their surrounded by fluffy blankets! I’m not cruel! Geez.

It’s not a secret though. Every family has a golden child. And Fall Girl … ahhh Fall Girl, she’s my Gerber Baby. She’s a work of art she is. And here I thought after writing her it was the end of the story. But NOOOO … you guys demanded more (needy little fans that you are!). And so I’m caught in the trap of naming yet another child.

Naming a book is nothing to be laughed at. It’s hard frocking work! Not everyone can be as lucky to name their book “Goodnight Moon” or “Hop on Pop” or *GASP* “Twilight”. A name has to be perfect. A name has to embody and entire story in 1 to 5 words. And naming a sequel …. holy crap monkeys that’s even harder! Because now I have to name this book in such a way that it connects to the other book title and the other book not to mention the freaking story I’m writing now!

All this pressure!!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!!!

But I did it. After 6 months of agonizing over it and turning down at least 10 to 15 other book titles, I did it. And to me, it’s perfect! Don’t you wish you knew what it was?

Well, let me tell you …

….

Nah, I’m mean. And I’m good at it too (just ask my human children!) So I’m gonna make you guys work for it. I mean I had to work to come up with the darned thing!

So kids, get to work. Cuz that title’s not coming anywhere near the tip of my tongue/fingers until I’ve got 150 likes on my author page. I know you can do it because you guys are pretty freaking amazing! Come on … make Mommy proud!

Here’s the link … https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMarybethSmith … pass it around … I can’t wait to share this new awesometastic title with you guys!!!!

Got out of class and checked my email only to find out that I had been invited by Lansing Community College to have my book spotlighted at an author event in November. And of course I said yes!!!

So of course the confidence was coursing through my veins, so as suggested I emailed a local Indy Book Store, telling them I had been sent their way from by an awesome networking contact which we both know. Email came back the next day and not only will my book be sold in their store, I will also be doing a book signing there in November.

So here I was, Thursday, two book signings and two new places for my book to get on shelves. I was pretty damned giddy to say the least. But it didn’t end there … nope … my week kept on keeping on.

Turns out one of my clients wanted my husband and I to come out for a drink and open mic night. Oddly enough, I had already invited my sister in law (that angel of mine! <3 You!) to stay for the weekend and when I asked if she’s watch the kids, she said sure.

VERY last minute mind you!

So out we went. The next thing I know I’m sitting with a local teacher who has ties to the entire state Library system. Yep, their totally looking at it right now. But that’s not all, I am now going to be doing a “Lunch with an Author” at her high school. Sooooo exciting.

And lastly, though I’m not holding my breathe on this one, during my surge of confidence I decided to contact an old friend of my husband’s father who happens to work in the Marketing department at Meijer – for those of you outside of MI, IN, IL and OH, this is one of the biggest retail/grocery chains in our area – and happens to know the Book Buyers in that department. So they too are now reviewing my book. UM AWESOME! Not sure if it will go anywhere, but it still felt good.

Needless to say, despite the last two weeks of papers due and exams taken, life feels pretty good.

Okay, side note. I really in all actuality didn’t realize how big my week was until I finished writing it out here. It’s funny how we don’t even notice our accomplishments until someone else points them out.

What accomplishments have you been ignoring lately?

Workin on the sequel … yep …

Just want to throw something out there, kay? Sweet!

ITS FREAKINFANTABULOUS!

Fall Girl is probably my favorite out of all the books I’ve written, but I have this HUGE advantage with writing this sequel … FEEDBACK!

Reviews are rough, especially when they are picking apart something you’ve worked on for the past year! Some reviews make you smile and some reviews make you want to cry. It’s all part of a writers world. But I’m not going to lie, it’s the ones that make my all flustered that happen to be my favorites.

(Masochist? Who? Me? Noooooo)

What I’m saying is, these reviews which break apart me book and tell me, “It would have been great, but …” these are the ones that guide me while writing this sequel. I now know what I need more of and what I need less of (apparently F bombs made the less of list … which is really funny because I rarely use the word myself. Go figure) and what I did just right.

I look at these reviews as if they are my own personal Goldilocks. It’s all the same book/porridge (except my book tastes way better than porridge … bleck!) no matter who is reading it, but everyone (My Goldilocks) views it a little differently depending on what how (as in what chair/bed/etc.) the are reading it. My book has been all three …

Too Cold – Not enough about Blake, Not enough about bipolar, Not enough realistic situations …

Too Hot – Too much teenage melodrama, Too much swearing, Too much cutsie cheesiness …

JUST RIGHT – This is the majority of my reviews (thankfully) These are the reviews that make me tear up in a whole different way. They are by far the ones that make me feel as though I’ve done my job, but they also tell me HOW I did that job right.

So I have these three types of reviews … some are wanting more, some are wanting less and some think it’s perfect the way it is. Each of these types helps me grow and brings my sequel to a whole new level.

That level?

EPICNESS!

So which chair did you sit in my dear Goldilocks’? Did you like my porridge? Was my bed fluffy enough for you? Was the chair you sat in just right?

If you’ve got feedback, I want to hear it!

But the question is, how the heck do you redeem a villain? Is it even possible? Can their actually be a decent and/or sympathy worthy quality about Lord Voldemort?

Well of course.

#1 He’s played by Ralph Fiennes which is like a Fantastic Actor!

#2 His mom was a witch and his dad was a muggle … that’s gotta be tough on a guy who wants to be pure blood!

#3 Troubled past … yep … grew up in an orphanage … talked to snakes … played in caves … need I say more?!

#4 Alleged good intentions. Maybe the world is supposed to be free of muggles … doubtful, but if that’s what he was taught!

#4 Charming SOB wasn’t he. Pretty dern good looking too. (Why are the good looking ones always the trouble makers? But we all know if he hadn’t died he’d have married Bellatrix, gotten fond of the butter beer and gained at least 50lbs by the time their ten kids were born! … Oh wait … we were looking for REDEEMING qualities, oops!)

This was the first character I thought of when trying to redeem my villain in the Fall Girl Sequel. Then I decided to make a list of all my favorite villains.

Wuthering Heights – Heathcliffe

He LOVED Catherine way more than she deserved. So although he was “technically” the villain, I always found myself rooting for him!

Harry Potter - Snape

I spent 6 1/2 books loving to hate this greasy haired wizard, but always felt guilty because Dumbledore trusted him. And since Dumbledore was like THE most powerful wizard, it was really hard to doubt him!

Percy Jackson – Luke

Troubled past.  A boy with a troubled past is always hard to hate

Star Wars – Darth Vader

Troubled past. Plus, Luke believed in him! He knew he could overcome the dark side!

Secret Life of the American Teenager – Ricky

Again … Troubled Past. And did I mention he’s all practical and realistic and determined and stuff. (If he and Amy break up I’m going to riot!

Wizard of Oz – Wicked Witch of the West

Okay, number one, her sister stole all her thunder. And number two, Galinda … she’s all pretty and sparkly. Who can compete with that. And let’s not forget number three … FLYING MONKEYS! I’d be evil if it meant I got flying monkeys!

So … troubled past … definitely overdone! So why not go the opposite? Super awesome past to the point where it was TOO perfect. Disturbingly perfect?

Good looking villain? Pshaah … why not make us feel bad because your villain is so ugly no one wants to look at him?

The point is, every villain can be redeemed … even if only a little. I’m not saying you should give them a 100% makeover and have them find Jesus and be all perfect and stuff. I’m just saying … give us something to question our feelings about this character. Give us reason to WANT to sympathize with them, even if they don’t deserve it.

Make the villain Horrible, but impossible to hate! Now THAT is an awesome villain.

Who is your favorite villain? Do you love them or hate them? And what exactly is their redeeming quality?

Annabelle has always taken her bipolar brother under her wing, but after years of acting as his personal disaster janitor, she finds herself fighting against her lifelong compulsion to take responsibility for his actions and fix all his mistakes. It’s easier said than done, especially when his actions affect her own future. The struggle between letting her brother deal with his own consequences and fixing just one more thing for him – so she can keep the life she’s always known – pushes and pulls at her as each mistake he makes lands her further and further from the future she had planned. In the end, the decision she makes about whether or not to play clean up crew for his most recent disaster, does not in fact produce the results she expected … but … it just so happens, it might not be such a horrible thing after all.

Paperback $11.95/eBook $2.99 USD

Annabelle has six days to figure out and fix what Blake did to kicked off the track team, thus losing his scholarship, before her father puts in his resignation, finalizing a move that puts her on the other end of the state just before her senior year. All she has to do is get past an angry ex, his attractive best friend (who suddenly has a thing for her) and decide whether or not it’s worth breaking the law to change her dad’s mind. Because if she can’t, it’s hello new high school and goodbye senior year with the two friends who’ve kept her sane through all her family’s drama.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whereas books like The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath or Impulse, by Ellen Hopkins show mental disorders through the viewpoint of the one suffering from the illness, my novel explores Bipolar through the view of a family member in order to show that bipolar disorder not only affects the person suffering from the illness, but also the people who are close to them.

So take a moment, take a look around. Let me know what you think!!! I’m HOPING to get back into blogging more as things settle down, but I’m not ready to make any  promises just yet!

SO to hold you over a tad, I decided to tease you with a little excerpt.

Things you need to know…

Annabelle – MC

Blake – Her brother, he has bipolar disorder

Tyler -Annabelle’s ex

The rest you’ll just have to wait for

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blake is sitting at the table in a somber mood. The repercussions of Mom and Dad’s lecture from last night have gone into effect and he’s gone into the ‘I’m a failure’ mode. So not my favorite.

“Want a ride to school?” I ask him.

He looks up at me with glassy eyes. “Huh?”

I can tell he didn’t sleep a wink. I smile, trying to brighten his mood. “The Neon is requesting the pleasure of your presence this morning. She thinks it’s been far too long since she’s felt your ass cheeks against her tattered upholstery.”

He cracks a quarter of a smile. “I’m not sure my glutes are in the mood for her vicious bouncing a la no shocks.”

“Oh come on, if I have to go to school and face him, you do too.”

“Who, Tyler? I don’t care what he thinks. I’m just not in the mood to be around people.”

I sigh. “Blake, don’t do this.”

His head repeatedly bangs against the table. If it hurts, he doesn’t show it. “Mom and Dad hate me. They think I’m a failure.”

These words flow from Blake’s mouth on at least a biweekly basis. Sometimes there are variations. “You hate me.” Or “Everybody hates me.” But it’s not worth the trouble of trying to convince him otherwise. Sending him into a rage is the last thing I want to do this morning.

“So, have you figured out how you’re going to get back on the track team?” I ask. Changing the subject is always the best way to handle a Blake low.

“That’s not going to happen. Coach Lenny is sick of my mood swings.”

“Did he actually say that?”

“Well, no, but…”

“Coach Lenny is aware of your condition, I’m sure once things settle down he’ll reconsider his decision.”

“And besides, he didn’t make the decision. Mom and Dad did.”

Not good. Not good at all. Mom and Dad rarely go back on their punishments. They like to practice consistency. With Blake it’s quite necessary.

“Mom and Dad? I would’ve thought the school would have taken action, not them.”

“It didn’t happen on school grounds. There was nothing Delray could do about it. Unfortunately that did not satisfy the parents.”

Delray is our Principal, an overweight old lady who is due to retire – and/or die – any time now. Still, I’d rather endure one of her punishments over one of my parents’. “Then how did they even find out?”

He looks at me in way that insinuates I should already know the answer and I’m ashamed to admit that I do. “Tyler’s mom?”

“It wouldn’t be Tyler if he didn’t run home to mommy and cry about it.”

I shake my head. Tyler doesn’t cry to his mom because he wants attention. He does it because he knows she’ll retaliate on whoever hurts her precious son. I suppose it’s easier for him than actually dealing with his own problems. After our most recent argument, I’m pretty convinced he doesn’t know how to handle problems by himself anyway.

“We’ll find a way to change their minds,” I say. I’m not sure how the hell we’ll do this, or if it’s even possible, but I’m determined to make it happen. “Now come get cozy in the Neon. I don’t want to have to explain to her that you think your ass is too good for her lack of seat padding.”

So in the midst of the submission process I got this insane idea. I questioned others about it and asked if it might be something worth writing, and apparently they all thought it was.

So I’ve started a new novel called, Taming the Crazies. It’s a story about a teenage girl struggling with the impact her brother’s bipolar disorder has had on not only her, but her entire family. (You can read more about it on my Projects Page) As of right now I’m in love with it, but we all know how that goes…so this time I’m not going to shout from the mountaintops professing my love. (Though I may visit a hill…totally different!)

On top of that, and partially fueled by it, I got another insane idea. I started a new website. I’m not going to say it’s a blog, cuz really…it is so much more than a blog. I have teamed up with an amazing teenager who is also suffering from bipolar disorder. (If you didn’t know, I suffer from it also, as does my son) Together we have created www.askabipolar.com where we answer peoples questions about the illness from the perspective of someone who’s been there. So far its going well. I hope that continues!!!

If you get a chance, check it out and cheer me on!!

You will also see some updates being made to this site in the future. For now they are just basic (like I changed my photo and updated my projects) but I’m hoping to unveil something a little more spectacular soon!

Hope all is well!