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021. Interview with Dia Summers

021. Interview with Dia Summers

Hello, Brit Brinson here! I’m lucky to have a special guest on the blog today. Dia Summers, the sixteen-year-old star of the Bixby Network’s Dia of the Dead has stopped by to answer a few questions.

Brit Brinson: Thank you for taking time out of your busy, busy schedule for this interview, Dia.

Dia Summers: No problem. Thank you for contacting my mom about this opportunity.

BB: I guess we’ll jump right into things. Would you like to tell us a little something about yourself? What’s something your diehard fans don’t even know about you?

DS: [laughs] Diehard fans? I don’t think I have any of those yet.

BB: I’m sure there are a few out there.

DS: [laughs] I hope so. That’d be really cool. Now…let me think of something you all may not know about me. I was born and raised in Santa Barbara and have a mini dachshund named Frank. My birthday’s August 16th. My favorite colors are pink and black and my favorite food is my mom’s pancakes. My fans probably know all of that though. Hmmm…let me think some more. [after a pause] I guess one thing that my fans don’t know is that I’m a horrible singer. I can’t carry a note to save my life but I love singing. I do it all the time! [laughs]

BB: [laughing] I’m a terrible singer as well. I guess we have that in common. So, Dia Muerto is your first role, right?

DS: Yep. I’d never acted before landing the role as Dia Muerto.

BB: That’s interesting. Can you tell me how you were cast in the role?

DS: With a little bit of luck I guess. I remember being so nervous during my audition that I was practically shaking. But I gave it my all and it worked!

BB: If you could describe what it’s like to be a teenage actress in one word, what would it be?

DS: One word? Hmmm….I think I’d go with “tough.” But not like in a bad way. Being an actor at any age is hard. You have to know your lines and hit your marks and make sure your emotions are getting across onscreen. And you have to do all of that at the same time. It’s a lot. It isn’t always easy but since I love acting, the pros outweigh the cons.

BB: As I was saying before, you play Dia Muerto, an undead high school student on the Dia of the Dead. Are you anything like the character?

DS: A little but not quite. First off, Dia’s a zombie. I’m lucky to be able to go through a day without an arm or a leg falling off [laughs]. Dia’s also on the school’s spirit squad. I didn’t participate in any sports last year when I was a freshman at SBHS. I was mostly focused on acting and trying to improve on the skill, ya know? Plus, Dia Muerto is a badass paranormal crime fighter. I’m just a regular girl…who plays a badass paranormal crime fighter on TV [laughs]. So I guess I’m not too much like Dia. She’s a lot braver than I am.

BB: It’s funny hearing you refer to the character since you two share a name.

DS: The character’s name was changed to Dia after I got the role. The original name was Ann Dead.

BB: Oh cool. Like “undead.”

DS: Yep! Exactly.

BB: Speaking of the undead, if zombism was suddenly in style, what three things would be your survival must haves?

DS: Lucky for me, Dia Muerto survives on organic brain substitute smoothies so I don’t have to worry about her getting too flesh-hungry. But if people in Hollywood did begin turning into zombies, I think I’d need the following to survive: food, water, a weapon—maybe like a katana or something—and my mom. My mom is like the number one on the list. She could probably survive anything.

BB: We’re coming close to the end of our interview. I know you have some other engagements to get to but I have one more question before you go. There are tons of kids out there who watch The Bixby Network and aspire to become actors and actresses one day. Do you have any words of advice for them?

DS: Never give up. Like I said earlier, acting isn’t easy but if it’s something that you want to do, go for it. If you believe in yourself, you can accomplish anything.

BB: Once again, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer these questions. You can catch Dia Summers in Dia of the Dead, Wednesday evenings at 7:30pm on the Bixby Network. Or you can read more about Dia’s adventures in Dia of the Dead.

019. Honest To Blog

Nearly everyday I sit down in front of my MacBook and open WordPress with the intention of updating my blog. Then almost immediately, I close the tab and go find something else to do online. It’s as if I’ve come down with a sudden case of writer’s block which isn’t a good thing for a so-called writer.

Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about why I have so many unfinished blog entries collecting dust in my drafts. And I think I’ve reached a conclusion.

I have no idea if this blog should be about me or about my work.

Something I enjoy doing while avoiding updating is checking out other author’s blogs. I’ve noticed a couple of things. Either their blogs are industry based–containing entries about their current works, the craft of writing and book reviews. Or their blogs are more personal–entries dedicated to personal interests such as TV reviews or things that are on their minds. In the past, I’ve dedicated posts to the latter of the two trends. I’ve shared stories about personal experiences (bullying), beliefs (feminism), favorites (My Mad Fat Diary), and life as a writer (those other sporadic updates). Yet I’m still hesitant when it comes to blogging (and engaging in social media for that matter).

In all the research of the writing life I’ve done over the years, one topic that has come up often is branding. What is your author brand? What can readers expect from your work? From the pieces you publish to your blog to your social media presence–each aspect is important to your brand. While thinking about this, I’ve realized I’ve never sat down and determined what my brand is or what it should be. What can you all as my readers expect from me?

While reflecting on this question, a word that immediately came to mind was “transparency.” I’d like to be transparent with you all. What you see is what you get. In moving forward, I’d like to strive to make online/author presence align with who I am offline, in real life. I believe I will continue to post the types of entries I’ve posted in the past. Just more often. Meaning you will see a lot more posts here about things that tickle my fancy as well as my life as an indie author. This goes for social media as well. I apologize in advance for the abundance of Star Trek-related tweets.

018. I’m Alive!

Hey guys!

It’s been a while since I’ve updated and I apologize. September and October (so far) have turned out to be crazy busy months for me. Between writing, keeping up with Big Moon Press, and continue to deal with chronic migraines (with the awesome added bonus of focal seizures), I haven’t had a chance to blog much. I do have a couple of updates I’d like to share with you all though.

  • Dia of the Dead is available for purchase!!!!!! You can get a paperback here or an e-book for your kindle here. Support an indie author and buy a copy!
  • Big Moon Press is accepting submissions. For more about our submission process, please click here.
  • I’m working on a cool project with my business partner/writing homie, Cara. I can’t wait to see how it shapes up.
  • I finally have my idea for NaNoWriMo. Hopefully I’m abale to pull it out.

I’m going to try to get back into blogging since I have a shotty track record with it. I think establishing a routine would help me out.

That’s all for now!

016. Dia of the Dead

September 16th is approaching and if you miss the last post, that’s the day Dia of the Dead–my first novel– will finally be released!

 

In the upcoming weeks, I’ll be making Dia of the Dead related posts to get you all as excited as I am about this! Today’s post is all about how DotD came to be.

Dia of the Dead began its life as my 2011 NaNovel. I got the idea on October 17, 2011. I was interested in writing about zombies but I just couldn’t think of how to approach the subject. Many zombie stories focus on average people and their struggle to survive. I wanted to do something different. After about a half-hour of brainstorming the  idea!bulb finally flashed in my head. I was struck with a question that I just had to find an answer to. What happens to the not-so-regular Joes during the zombie apocalypse? I thought it’d be a new approach to a zombie story and decided to focus on a group of teen stars on a channel much like Disney or Nick. Once I got the idea, I couldn’t free myself of it. It plagued me. I knew I had to write it.

Initially, Dia was named “Nia.” Since “Nia” was the star of a show on a tween/teen network I needed a catchy name for it. I came up with “Dia of the Dead” and changed “Nia” to Dia and it all clicked. Dia’s surname, Summers, is a nod to the one and only Buffy Summers. I’m a child of the 90s and I loved how Buffy kicked so much ass. I wanted my protagonist to do the same.

While I started DotD in November 2011 for NaNoWriMo, I didn’t win that year. I had to put the story aside because of life stuff. However, I picked it back up in January 2012 and finished the first draft in May 2012. I had a blast working on the first draft. It was fun to play with ideas and see how the story unfolded. Though it was fun to write, the first draft was an absolute mess. Luckily, I have amazing beta readers. They helped me figure out which aspects worked and which didn’t. I ended up scrapping a lot of the first draft and reworking it. I’m satisified with how things turned out and I hope those who read it are to.

 

014. Part of Your World pt. 2

My last post ended with a video of “Part of Your World” from my absolute favorite movie, The Little Mermaid. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately and I’ve decided that it’s time that I become more like my favorite fiery redhead. No, I’m not about to sell my soul to a sea witch in exchange for legs to impress a prince but I am about to take a risk. A big risk.

I’m about to venture out into the world of self-publishing.

I’m extremely excited about this adventure and hope my migraines won’t stop me from blogging (and maybe vlogging) about it. What has me more excited is that I’m not going it alone. Cara will be joining me. She is the co-founder of Big Moon Press, our indie publishing company. We’ve been actively working on this thing for weeks and have set up an Indiegogo to help with some of the costs. If you’d like to contribute, we’d greatly appreciate it.

I’m really looking forward to this journey. I’m on my way to becoming a part of the world I’ve often dreamed about and hopefully you guys will follow along on this ride.

013. Part of Your World

Hi Guys!

I’m back! My health is about the same but it seems to be improving little by little. My neurologist has switched up my med routine and I’m hoping that third time’s the charm. I still have headaches and migraines but they mostly aren’t as intense as they were back in the winter. It’s the other symptoms that have been kicking my butt. But I’m not here to talk about that. I’m doing better and that’s all that really matters.

I’m actually here to talk about a couple of things that I’ve been working on while I’ve been under the weather.

Over the last couple of months while dealing with severe migraines, I finished the first draft of my second novel! I’m excited about it. It’s a sequel to Dia of the Dead. I’ve decided to make it a series out of my own curiosity. I want to find out what happens to the characters over the course of their journey.

I also came to a decision about what to do with Dia of the Dead. I’ve decided to self-publish. It took me a while to reach that decision because I wanted to weigh all of my options. I queried and realized, what I wrote just isn’t what publishers are looking for right now. And that’s okay. Maybe one of the next ideas I have floating around in my head will be THE ONE that will get me a lit agent and will set me on the path to traditional publishing. If not, that’s okay too. I understand publishing is a business that’s driven by what sells and what can be the “next big thing.”

With this decision to self-publish came some pretty rad things that I’m going to be blogging about in the very near future. I’m teaming up with my writing homie, Cara Davis. Actually at this point, she’s my writing sister to do them. Stay tuned!

This is how I feel about everything:

 

006. ***F L A W L E S S

If you haven’t been living under a rock for the last week then you’re well aware of the monster Beyoncé unleashed on the world last Friday at midnight. If you have been living under said rock then I’ll catch you up. On December 13, 2013, Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter released her fifth studio album entitled BEYONCÉ, causing damn-near the entire world to freak out. Myself included. News broke just as the lights were dimming in the theater at the midnight premiere of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug I attended, rendering me powerless until the next morning.

When I finally had a chance to listen to the album, I I fell in love. I feel like this is the first time we’re seeing the human side of Beyoncé. We’ve seen glimpses of her personality over the years in interviews and behind-the-scenes clips but it always seemed like she was holding back a bit. Like she wasn’t quite sure if we could handle her Flaws & All (See what I did there?). But this album is different. I feel like this one is really Beyoncé for real-for real. And while all the songs on BEYONCÉ are freakin’ awesome, there was one track that stood out to me the most. Track 11, *** Flawless. The song features this quote from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “We Should All Be Feminists”:

We teach girls to shrink themselves to make themselves smaller. We say to girls, ‘You can have ambition but not too much. You should aim to be successful but not too successful otherwise you will threaten the man.’ Because I am female I am expected to aspire to marriage. I am expected to make my life choices always keeping in mind that marriage is the most important. A marriage can be a source of joy and love and mutual support, but why do we teach girls to aspire to marriage and we don’t teach boys the same? We raise girls to see each other as competitors, not for jobs or for accomplishments, which I think can be a good thing, but for the attention of men. We teach girls that they can not be sexual beings in the way that boys are. Feminist: A person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes.

It was like the heavens opened and a choir of angels sang, accompanied by a wicked electric guitar riff when I heard this bridging Bow Down into ***Flawless proper. I felt like:

source: wavvey-tare.tumblr.com

This seconds-long clip summed up everything I believe in so perfectly and drove home the idea that I am a feminist. As a child of the 90’s, I grew up on the Spice Girls. At 9, I bought into the concept of “Girl Power” wholesale. To kid!Brit, “Girl Power” meant I could be anything I wanted to be. I was awesome, smart and just as good as my boy counterparts. My “Girl Power” often showed up in gym class where I went above and beyond to crush my crushes to prove I was their equal. The Spice Girls had planted a seed but growing up, feminism was always depicted as something bad in popular culture. Feminists were always presented as a group of shrewish, unshaven women who were suffering from Freudian penis envy if not misandry. Those unsavory stereotypes deterred me from claiming my spot on the team for quite a while even if though I believed and agreed with the central tenets of the movement.

Feminism seemed to become more accessible to me over time. Probably since I had grown up and was capable of digesting and processing theories with age. In recent years, feminism seems to be the thing. And you know what? I’m absolutely here for it. By including Chimamanda Adichie’s speech, Beyoncé helped some things click in my head. A light turned on. Cogs began to churn.

I began thinking about feminism and how it relates to my writing. I began thinking about the stories I want to put out into the world for young women (and possibly some young men) to consume. Ideally, I want to write stories that invoke the spirit of Run the World (Girls)— tales of young women who do great things. But upon further thought, my definition of “great things” seemed to be novels about girls who come through strong like a sword-wielding Xena riding into battle. Kick-ass girls who do kick-ass things. I was kind of buying into the whole Strong Female Characters thing and eh. Not everything has to be kick-ass. Being chill and vulnerable are desirable character traits as well. Katniss Everdeens and Olivia Dunhams can exist with Bella Swans and Sansa Starks. They’re all good. I had to think a little longer and was able to determine I want to write books that encompass all of those things while considering who my characters are as people and their role in their story. One thing I’ve come to learn about writing is, my views may not be my characters’ views. Everything has to make sense narratively.

Ultimately, I want to write stories that don’t sell teenage girls short. Teenage girls already get so much crap from society. They are the butt of so many jokes and snide comments. Read most articles about YA lit and you’ll see what I mean. I want to create things that inspire new ideas. Full disclosure, not everything I write has substance as you’ll soon learn. Some things are for giggles and light-hearted eye rolls. But for the things that are meant to have purpose, I want to make sure the reader has something to take with them.

005. Handle With Care 2.0

Hey y’all!

I’m here to share something I wrote a few years ago after reading Party by Tom Leveen. I posted a review on my old blog Taking Friday about the novel. It was okay, for the most part but I found the portrayal of the PoC characters a little….for lack of a better term, problematic. It prompted me to write a blog post entitled “Handle With Care.” I’m sharing it again with a few added thoughts because it still seems to be an issue. The following is simply my opinion which is based on a few observations. I am in no way speaking on behalf of an entire group of people. Only myself.

Earlier this week, Leonicka posed a question on Twitter of would you rather misrepresentation or no representation in regards to media. I did some thinking on the matter myself. No representation means I’m invisible yet misrepresentation means having to fight an uphill battle to dismantle negative stereotypes. It’s a no-win situation. It’s funny that the question was presented while I was thinking about reposting this blog post because my thoughts from that time seem to be 100% against misrepresentation.

In my original review of the book (which is now lost to the ages), I stated that it seemed like characters of color in some YA novels are there for the sole purpose of allowing the other characters to be able to say “Oh, it’s cool bro. I have a black/Asian/Hispanic/Middle Eastern/etc. friend.” It remains that at times it seems as though PoC characters are props and not people. Sometimes, it seems like PoC characters are there as a half-hearted attempt at diversity. What good is it to have PoC character if it’s just a flat mash-up of terrible stereotypes? Using diversity to further negative portrayals of underrepresented groups just ain’t the business and does more harm than good. A part of writing is challenging yourself to step outside your comfort zone and write about things that you may not have experienced. If you aren’t a person of color and have imagined this character that happens to be one, research is important. You don’t want to be one of those authors who rely heavily on stereotypes to create a character. The results of that method are– if not totally offensive, then definitely bordering on it. Nothing’s more cringe-inducing than reading something that feels like the author has browsed through Urban Dictionary to find the latest slang for more “ethnic” appeal. Thus giving the character some weird, unrealistic way of speaking. Or going to great lengths find a simile to describe a character’s appearance and ending up with something like “black as coal.”

No, sis. That’s not the way to do it.

I’m not saying that slang shouldn’t be used. Slang is totes fine and can help develop a character. Same with dialects—people speak differently—but, you don’t want to venture off into offensive territory. Nothing makes me put down a book faster than having difficulty understanding what a character is saying or feeling belittled by the way author chooses to have the character express themselves (given the context of the story, of course).

I believe writers should approach using characters of color with this in mind: THEY ARE PEOPLE. NOT ALIENS. It’s troubling to find that people can create an alien species with complexities that leave the reader wondering if they could exist yet will write an African-American character who’s sassy or an Asian character who is good at math. Are we that difficult to relate to? We’re people with varying interests. There are things we like and things we dislike. We have hobbies, unrequited crushes, family dysfunction, friend drama, etc. just like everyone else. We’re people. We breathe. We cry. We love. We hate. Just like everyone else.
Finding the humanity in your characters should be the starting point. Flesh out their likes, dislikes, their history just as you would any character then go on from there. View them as a human being who just so happens to be African American/Hispanic/Asian/Middle Eastern etc. Sometimes their cultural/ethnic background may impact the story you’re trying to tell. Sometimes it may not. That’s okay.

Not every African American youth has to struggle with poverty and the decision whether or not to join a gang. Not every Asian teen has an extremely strict upbringing. Not every Hispanic/Latino young person has to struggle with maintaining cultural identity while trying to assimilate into the American way of life. Yes, these are building blocks for powerful stories. Yes, this is a way of life for many people. However, these scenarios should not have to be the back story for every minority character. Yes, their cultural/ethnic background will impact the way they interact with other characters and their world but they shouldn’t be the literary equivalent of stick figures with “Hi, I’m [INSERT MINORITY GROUP]” taped to their foreheads. In the long run, it doesn’t make the characters seem well-developed or thought out.

from The Office Screen Caps tumblr


These are just a few of thoughts. Like I’ve said, I’m not speaking on behalf of anyone other than myself. I swear I’m not going to spend all my time complaining about the lack of diversity in young adult literature but it’s something that’s near and dear to me.

004. Why I Write

Hey Guys!

I actually wrote two versions of this post. The first draft was a bit light-hearted and this one, the one you’re currently reading is honest draft. I hope you all enjoy it.

I spent most of last week worrying about perfecting my query but over the weekend–thanks to my majorly awesome friends Ash, Mary and Kai–I had the opportunity to see Justin Timberlake perform live in Columbus.

My Tour Shirt (photo by me)

The concert was amazing and it was a BIG deal for me. See, Justin Timberlake was an important part of my late childhood and adolescence. Very important. No, it’s not because of those big blue eyes or the bleach blonde Ramen hairstyle he sported during his tenure as a member of the best boy band ever, NSYNC. Yeah, he was one of my first celebrity crushes but the reason why Justin Timberlake was so important to me is because back then his music along with a notebook were all I had.  And it’s largely tied into my motivation to write as well as the reason I write the stories I write.

The answer to the question of why I write is fairly simple. I write for me. No, not for the adult who knows just how real the Scrivener Struggle is but for the brown-skinned girl who loved to read and watch TV. The girl who could spend hours in a Waldenbooks if her parents let her or who could quote lines from “Serial Mom” or “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” with ease. Unfortunately, that same girl was bullied for liking things she was told Black girls shouldn’t. As a result, that girl withdrew a bit and spent many Saturday nights in middle and high school scribbling down stories in notebooks because she felt there was no one who understood and had no one to talk to about it.

Like this one (this is an actual notebook filled with my writing from middle school)

Like this one
(this is an actual notebook filled with my writing from middle school)

I’m not here to go on about how many times I’ve been called an “Oreo” or a “white girl” for liking the stuff that I like. I’m not talk about how much bullying sucks. And  this isn’t going to be an “I’m a special snowflake for being different~” post because this isn’t a Donald Glover song. What I know now that I didn’t know back then is that I’m not the only Black girl who loves sci-fi, fantasy, horror and paranormal fiction. There are tons of us out here consuming it. But one thing  I noticed then that I continue to notice now is that we’re underrepresented in the genre. Especially in YA. Growing up, I had a hard time finding a book that featured a protagonist that looked like me that faced issues in a setting that was so vastly different from everyday life.

If you walk into your neighborhood Barnes & Noble (or B&N equivalent), you’re bound to come across an endless amount of books featuring white girls in prom dresses in the young adult section. Even if they aren’t in prom dresses, many of the covers still prominently feature white girls. Because most of the books are about a white protagonist. And those that are about people of color either have ambiguous covers designed not to scare off potential readers or are shelved in the book store equivalent of Antarctica. All of this prompted me to write Dia of the Dead. I felt it was time for a non-white character to be the lead in a story that would usually revolve around a pale, brown-eyed girl with dark hair. Dia– one part Buffy Summers, one part Moesha Mitchell with a dash of Taina Morales– is the protagonist I wanted when I was younger. I felt it was time for something different so I wrote something that was a twist on something I love.

Dia of the Dead is paranormal YA and though it’s not paranormal romance, I might be extremely tardy to the party. Dia is just one of many stories I have about young adults of color roaming around in my head. If nothing comes from it, that’s fine. I’m not going to stop. It’s honestly time to change the face of young adult literature and I’m going to do my part, one story at a time.  So this is why I write. I write for myself as well as our tweens and teens of color who want to see themselves represented in a genre where we’re almost invisible.

003. The Next Step

Hi there!

I hope everyone’s still enjoying NaNoWriMo. I know week two’s a doozy but you all can do it. You’ve got this. I believe in you!

I bet you’re wondering why I’m being so encouraging and not mentioning how I’ve been fairing in my own mission to write 50,000 words in a month. Well…as what’s beginning to become a tradition, November has gotten the best of me. I was so swamped with paperwork that I was pretty much dead to the world when I came home from work last week. I was so tired that I could barely keep my eyes open long enough to set my alarm for the next day. As a result, I didn’t get much writing done so my current word count is a little less than 2,000. I don’t want to be completely defeated by NaNo so I’m going to attempt reach 25k by the end of the month. Even though I won’t technically “win,” I will have a solid start on a new project.

Though I haven’t done much work on my NaNovel, I have done some writing-related stuff this month. Last week, my editor Beth sent back the developmental/copyedits for my manuscript. A single thug tear rolled down my cheek after I finished making the suggested changes. I’ve accomplished a goal I’ve had since I was but a wee lass. I wrote a book. Let me repeat that for the cheap seats. I WROTE A FRICKIN’ BOOK! I still can’t believe it. I wrote something that someone else enjoyed (something that a couple of people enjoyed #actually). I get verklempt every time I think about it.

Once I finished beaming with pride and quit singing a writing-themed remix of Whitney Houston’s “So Emotional,” I knew it was time for the next step. I’ve spent the better part of this year working out the kinks in my manuscript and pestering my critique partners in preparation for this moment. The time to begin the querying process has come. While waiting to hear from everyone, I made a game plan. I knew the first step was to make a list of literary agents who are looking for a story similar to the one I wrote. My process largely consists of utilizing QueryTracker, stalking #MSWL on Twitter, checking the MSWL tumblr and other blogs in search of agents.

This process has been oddly intimidating. Not because I lack faith in my manuscript but because I’m not sure who would be interested in my protagonist. See, much like myself, Dia is a woman of color. She is Afro-Latina and identifies as such but the story is not an ethnic narrative. Dia’s story is YA Paranormal. In my years as a reader, I’ve found that genre works featuring PoC leads aren’t something you find very often in young adult literature. The absence of protagonists that looked like me in genres I enjoy prompted me to write Dia’s story. I will delve deeper into my motivation to write young adult literature featuring people of color in a subsequent blog post.

It seems as though the planets aligned or something because as I was searching for agents who may be a good fit for my work (if they’re interested), I came across the Lee & Low article discussing the diversity gap in publishing. It’s an interesting read. I recommend you take a few moments to check it out and when you’re done, check out Léonicka’s response. She offers up excellent ways to begin addressing the problem. Me while reading it:

Léonicka’s suggestions echo things I’ve said to my writing homies Cat and Cara while discussing our projects. They’re in similar boats with their works. Space Time* and reset. both feature PoC leads. We’re just not sure who may be interested.

Yesterday, I retweeted a link to Léonicka’s article along with some of my fears about Dia being deemed “unrelatable” because she is the other. The response I received was unexpected. I was surprised by the number of encouraging tweets from people who understood where I was coming from and identified with me. I was offered information and links to resources, all of which will be useful on my journey toward publication. I can’t begin to express my appreciation. Knowing I’m alone is making this process less intimidating and more manageable.

So now, I’m preparing for the next step. And that seems to be crying tears of blood while trying to create the perfect query. This should be fun!

-Brit

*Space Time isn’t the actual title of Cat’s book lol.