A Word on Positivity

February 20th, 2012

Holy bitten blood bags, my Minions! If someone were to look at my blog lately, they might be given cause to think that I am a person who’s all about the Doom and Gloom! Just look at all those downer posts. Blech!

I’m not a negative person. Not by a long shot. Your Auntie Heather may own an actual human skull. She may have a couch made from an actual coffin. But she is pretty much sunshine and rainbows, dancing in a shower of blood. It’s true! I’m an optimist. I believe that good truly does exist in the world, that right will really prevail over wrong, that wishes really do come true. It’s just that my wishes tend to involve morbid things, things you might not want to come across in a dark alley.

So why has my blog been such a source of bummer-dom lately? I haven’t meant for it to. But recently I’ve been distracted by some medical stuff (no worries, please), which has had me under a bit of stress for a bit. I’m on the mend now, but I wanted to glance over my blog and see how that stress was affecting my words to you. Because words are important. How you use words – particularly to one another, Minions – is extremely important. Words can hurt. Words can heal. So I wanted to make certain that mine were relatively positive on the blog lately, and I came back to find…well…all of this. And it bummed me out!

I want to be a positive ripple in the pond of life, so let’s do something to get that positive energy out into the world. Comment something that you love about the world. It can be anything! And for each Minion’s comment before my next blog is posted, I’ll donate $1 to To Write Love On Her Arms.

I’ll get us started with this: I love you, Minion Horde. You make me proud. And I am honored to lead you all to our goal of world domination.

Your turn!



SOULBOUND: seeeeeekriiiitsssss

February 2nd, 2012

Yesterday, on Twitter and Facebook, I asked if I should blog about my writing process or about super secret details concerning my new book, SOULBOUND, today. Several people answered for either subject, but I’m in the middle of writing the second book in The Legacy of Tril, so I’m kinda in the mood to divulge secrets. I tried to think of what you’d want to know about it, and I think I have an idea. And don’t worry! I’ll get to writing stuff the next time I blog. But for now, here you go, Minions…ten secrets about The Legacy of Tril: SOULBOUND.

1. How many pages is SOULBOUND? 394. It’s my longest book yet. And yes, I’m planning to keep all three books in The Legacy of Tril trilogy (AHAHAHA – it’s a TRILogy!!) roughly the same length.

2. How many chapters is that? There are 34 chapters.

3. How many words??? You writers! Yeesh! After edits, SOULBOUND came in at around 94,000 words. In comparison, EIGHTH GRADE BITES (my first published novel) was only around 40,000 words.

4. Will this book feature a lot of death and gore? Well, I wouldn’t say a lot, but it has its fair share. It also has giant, blue, scaly monsters WHO EAT PEOPLE. So…yeah. Death and gore kinda go hand in hand with Graplars (the monsters on Tril).

5. Will it feature *cue sighs from half of you and gagging noises from the other half* any romance? Oh yes. Definitely. There’s a strong romantic element to this book, though I wouldn’t call it a romance. It’s an epic fantasy, with romantic elements. But don’t expect our heroine to be one of those girls who swoons at the sight of every cute boy. Kaya’s a tough, sarcastic cookie. Stubborn too. But yes…there are cute boys (way, way cute). And yes, there is romance.

6. Does this mean you’re never writing about vampires/slayers/guys ever again?? DON’T PANIC! I’m serious about that. Don’t go thinking that your Auntie Heather has abandoned her evil ways and changed what she’s writing, simply because she decided to stretch her writing legs a little and try something different. Of course I’ll write stuff for and about guys in the future. But I think, once Joss has had his say in his five-book series, that I may take a break from vampires and slayers. Maybe a long break. I don’t know. I never know what pants I’m putting on in the morning, Minions. You can’t expect me to know how my career will unfold over the next forty years.

7. If you were any character in SOULBOUND, who would you be? It’s funny, but I wouldn’t be Kaya (the main character). Though we have much in common, I’m far more like her guard (and eventual friend), Maddox. Maddox says inappropriate things at inappropriate times, and then can’t seem to get why people don’t see that she’s just trying to help them. I love Maddox. I hope you will too.

8. When will SOULBOUND hit stores, and when is #2 coming out? SOULBOUND will hit stores this July, and the second book in The Legacy of Tril will be released summer 2013. No, I will not tell you the title. Yes, I do know it.

9. When can we read the first chapter of SOULBOUND here on your website??? Soon! I have to go offline for a while (maybe a few weeks), but when I come back, I’ll see about posting that first chapter for you.

10. Awww, come on! Can’t you tell us anything else?! Yes. I can tell you that, as much as I deeply adore Vlad and Joss, I have never enjoyed writing a book as much as I enjoyed writing SOULBOUND. Every round of edits was a pleasure. Every moment spent daydreaming up scenes was a joy. I love this book, these characters, this world…and I hope that you will too.

Oh…and I also loved inventing my own curse words. :)

See you in a few weeks, Minions!



Depression: the bad, the worse, and the ugly

January 31st, 2012

Ahh…my old nemesis, depression. He and I have a long, sordid, complicated relationship, but I’ll get to that in a moment, Minions. First, I want to tell you why I’m blogging about depression today.

On Facebook, a Minion said this:

hi auntie heather i have a question for you, when you where younger and battling depression how did you overcome it? I’ve been battling depression on and off for years now and it always seems to creep up on me. can you please tell me your awesome super ways of battling depression? thanks.

I’ve been receiving similar emails and messages and tweets for some time, so I thought it might be something we should discuss. But first, what is depression? According to our good buddy Merriam Webster, it’s

(1) : a state of feeling sad : dejection (2) : a psychoneurotic or psychotic disorder marked especially by sadness, inactivity, difficulty in thinking and concentration, a significant increase or decrease in appetite and time spent sleeping, feelings of dejection and hopelessness, and sometimes suicidal tendencies

And the U.S. National Library of Medicine describes depression as something like this:

Depression may be described as feeling sad, blue, unhappy, miserable, or down in the dumps. Most of us feel this way at one time or another for short periods.

True clinical depression is a mood disorder in which feelings of sadness, loss, anger, or frustration interfere with everyday life for weeks or longer.

But we can all agree that depression – whether major or minor sucks. Big time. And if you think depression is a myth, or something easy to experience, then you can just stop reading right here. Because it’s not. It’s awful. I know first hand, as do many Minions, and it’s time we discuss it. (except, of course, for the aforementioned doubters – you can all go frolic through a field of wildflowers – P.S. watch out for Cecile)

Now, Minions, go back up and reread that Minion’s question. Then I’ll answer it. No worries! I’ll wait. *hold music plays*

Back now? Cool. Because here’s the truth. And the truth, my Minions, my quirky little fans, my omnipotent, tiny lil gods, is something that your Auntie Heather will always give you. Because, while make believe is fun, the truth is important. And speaking the truth is the most important thing.

So…when I was younger and battling depression, how did I overcome it? Good question. It shows this Minion has been paying attention. Maybe they’ve heard me talk about my depression before, or maybe they just realize that most people go through it at one time or another. Regardless, it’s a good question. How did I? Well…the truth is…not very well. Not at first.

See, I had a fairly chaotic childhood. Five house fires. A lot of moving around (mostly due to those fires). Tumultuous family relationships. An intense amount of bullying. I wasn’t happy. And at the same time, I was convinced that I was somehow…wrong…weird, a freak, broken…for feeling the way that I did. I became suicidal, and felt like maybe the world would be a better place without me.

Can you imagine that, Minions? A world without your Auntie Heather? No Minion Horde. No Vlad. No Joss. No books. No jokes about bacon and its involvement in our eventual world domination. Scary, right?

But that’s what depression (my old nemesis) does. He whispers things into your ear – words that fill you will self-doubt; words that inspire loneliness, anger and frustration. He lies to you, Minions. Depression will do anything to get into your head, and it’s not always easy to get him to shut up.

I’m very lucky for two things: 1) That I am stubborn and 2) That I dislike pain. They saved my life. Mostly that first one, I think. Because if I’d taken my own life – if I’d done the most selfish, horrible thing I can imagine and committed suicide, then the bullies would have won. I would have just given in, given up without a fight…and your Auntie, Minions, she’s a fighter. There was no way I was letting my tormentors win.

But it wasn’t ~just~ stubbornness and fear of pain that saved me. It was those things that kept the Dark Place at bay for a while. Until I met other people like me, other freaky weirdos who totally dug my freaky weirdness. I started talking about my feelings, about being depressed, about the Dark Place. And they understood. And slowly, my depression went away.

Sure, he rears his ugly head up now and again. I just recently had a major bout of self doubt (oooh, a rhyme!), but that wasn’t me talking and I know it. It was Depression’s voice, whispering in my ear again. Lying. Again.

And he always will. I just have to see through his lies. Because I’m worth the fight. I’m the supreme ruler of the Minion Horde – the coolest people I know, and I’ll be damned if some stupid little whisper in my ear is going to keep me down.

So how do I face depression now? I named him. His name is “Fuddy”. And whenever he starts whispering, I roll my eyes and say (yes, out loud), “Shut up, Fuddy!” and I instantly feel a bit better. Because I’m stubborn. And I’m not going to let any bully – particularly one who lives inside my skull – win. Ever.

And you shouldn’t either.

For more information on depression, what it is, and how to handle it, please go HERE, and if you’re having suicidal thoughts, please call 1-800-SUICIDE right away and speak to someone about those feelings.

Also – and this is important, Minions – please understand that, to some, the only method of dealing with it is medication. And there’s not a damn thing wrong with that.



<3

January 21st, 2012

I don’t think that there’s a person on this planet that doesn’t know what the “<3" (less than three) symbol means. It's a heart. It means love. And it's also just become incredibly important to your Auntie Heather, Minions.

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you may have heard me mention a big secret that I'm working on. Today, after a long time coming, I had my first big meeting about that secret, and it's finally time to clue you all in.

I, along with my amazing committee members (Vicki Erwin, Melissa Posten, Ange Flynn, and Amy Keaveny) are organizing a conference--one with you Minions, with teenagers, with outcasts in mind. It's called the <3 conference - the Less Than Three conference.

Less Than Three will take place in St. Louis, and is the first of its kind, a YA Lit/Anti-Bullying conference that will bring about some of your favorite YA authors, teens, tweens, booksellers, teachers, administrators, parents, librarians, authors and more to rally against bullying. There will also be punch and pie. (Okay, there may be punch and pie.)

The big day is Saturday, October 19, 2013. We have a long time until the conference, but I’m so, so thrilled that our official planning has begun. I hope you all can join us!

Until then…

<3,
Auntie Heather



About the Forum…

January 15th, 2012

This is a difficult blog for me to write, Minions. A very difficult blog, indeed. Because I know what it means to so many of you, and I know that it’s not going to make several of you happy. Which sucks. Because I live to make you guys happy.

We’ve had a pretty amazing time with the forum here on my site, haven’t we? You’ve met and made friends with fellow Minions. We’ve chatted. You’ve shared writing and art with your fellow Minions. It’s been awesome. But the active population has dwindled, due to certain happenings (no pointing fingers here, but we did have two unfortunate unscheduled reboots of accounts), and now…well, I feel like we’ve come to a point where it’s time to step back from things and reevaluate whether or not the forum is worth our collective time, my Minions.

Many of you don’t even use the forum at all, so this news won’t really affect you. But I’ve put a lot of thought into this (over the past year, actually), and I’ve decided that, effective next Friday, January 20th, the forum will no longer exist. I’ve already instructed my web guru that that’s D-Day. If you have any writing or artwork there that you’d like to keep, please, please grab it this week, because I’d hate for you to lose it.

Am I sad about this? A little. But mostly, I feel at peace. There was a time when I was able to be on the forums several times a day. But that time shrank to the point that I was on maybe once every four or five months. You deserve better than that, Minions. You deserve my full attention. And I can give you that here on my blog, on my Twitter feed, my Formspring, and on my Facebook.
So…here’s to change. Here’s to the good times we had. And to the world domination we’ve yet to accomplish.

I love you, Minion Horde.



Spontaneous Mini-Contest Time!!!

January 7th, 2012

Whew! It’s been a while since we had one of these, eh? This one requires some work…and a visual.

You can also enter to win an ARC of SOULBOUND at Absolute Forest of Words!

GOOD LUCK, Minions!

Contest complete! If you drew this mangnificent piece, YOU WON! Drop me an email (heather at heather brewer dot com) with your DeviantArt name and posted username, and I’ll get you an ARC of SOULBOUND! CONGRATS, MINION! That was NOT an easy pick – sooooo many great entries!



2012: Last Year on Earth? Or Beginning of a Really Long Zombie Apocalypse?

December 28th, 2011

If you have no idea to what I’m referring, Minions, there are people who’ve predicted that the world will end at the end of 2012. (Of course, lots of people have predicted when the world will end – it’s apparently supposed to end every moment of every second of every day, because of all sorts of reasons, but I really don’t think any of their predictions have an ounce of truth in them.) But what if it won’t end? What if 2012 signifies the beginning of a new era? One filled with happiness, good will, and of course…zombies?

And bacon, of course. Can’t forget that.

Anyhoo, this post really has nothing at all to do with the end of the world. I was just musing about random things. Which your Auntie Heather tends to do. :)

This post is actually about How I Spent My Christmas Vacation. First off, it was awesome. The fam (Paul, Jacob, The Girl, and I) hopped on a plane (okay, so we walked – the TSA doesn’t take kindly to hopping onto planes) and headed to Michigan, so we could hang out with our extended family (who are just as awesome as we are – probably more). We hung out, opened pressies, ate more food than was humanly possible, and hugged so much that our eyes almost imploded! It was pretty epic. There was a horse drawn carriage ride, a gorgeous snowstorm, meeting up with a Minion who asked me to sign her book and take a pic with her, and lots of sister time for me and my fabulous sis, Dawn (who you might know from Absolute Forest of Words). All in all, a great holiday break.

Of course, the fun’s not over for Auntie Heather. See, I’m blogging this from 32,000 feet in the air. I’m still on that plane home, and when we get there, Santa will come to our house. SQUEE!!!!!!

So…good times. I just hope that 2012 isn’t the end of the world. Now that would put a damper on next Christmas, for sure.

Better stock up on bacon, either way.



Happy Ho-Ho-Ho, Minion Horde!

December 22nd, 2011



Happy Holidays, Minions!

December 5th, 2011

Man, I don’t know if it’s just me and the fact that I am a total whiner when the weather turns brisk, but it has been COLD lately here in Brewtopian Manor, my Minions. We’re talking don’t-take-too-long-to-blink-or-your-eyes-may-freeze-shut cold. And I didn’t quite realize just how roasty-toasty warm it is inside until I just stepped outside for a moment. HOLY ICICLE NOSE, BATMAN! IT IS FREEZING!!!

But enough about me and my whining. We have Important Things to discuss.

I know a lot of you are gearing up for various end of the year holiday celebrations (and even if you’re not, this still applies to you) – so am I, actually. And my fall-back present, that gift I go to very easily and very quickly whenever I don’t know what to get someone (or just really, really, really think they would love it) is a book…or a pile of books. And shopping for books is fun. I love book stores – particularly cool independent bookstores, with lots of character. My favorite indie bookstore (though I do love them all very much) is Main Street Books in historic St. Charles, Missouri.

There’s just something about that shop. Whenever I walk inside, I feel like I’m at home. And then when I climb the stairs to the cool teen loft, I never want to leave. Not to mention that it’s on this cool historic street, full of really interesting shops, which always seems to have an amazing festival going on. For example, currently (and running through Christmas Eve, I believe) is the Christmas Traditions festival. Visitors can meet a range of Santa Clauses from around the world, listen to carolers, and joke around with Jack Frost. It’s pretty sweet, and I go every year. Normally multiple times. (So if you see me, please say hi – I love meeting my Minions!) It’s a neat place. A neat town. Full of neat people.

Now, you may be asking yourself “Why on Earth would Auntie be telling us all this? Snore!” I do have a purpose. And if you do love supporting small businesses, fulfilling your holiday shopping needs (or just your shopping needs, period), and meeting Auntie Heather, then I have great news for you.

The Independent Bookstore Alliance in Saint Louis has come together to offer shoppers a really cool treat. On certain days, in certain independent bookstores all across the St Louis area, shoppers (in my case, Minions) are going to have the opportunity to not only hang with their favorite author, but also have their favorite author act as their personal bookseller (more info HERE)!

Yep! Auntie Heather will help you shop for books (and all manner of awesomeness that’s at Main Street Books) and maybe..just maybe…she will bring cookies. Because she’s like that.

I’ll be working at Main Street Books on Saturday, December 17th, from 6pm to 8pm. So grab the family, check out the Christmas Traditions festival, eat some kettle corn, drink some hot cocoa, and then, when you’re done shopping all along Main Street, head on over to Main Street Books and shop in the warm, cozy bookstore with your Auntie Heather!



A Yummy Bit of SOULBOUND!

November 30th, 2011

Minions, you have been so infinitely patient. You’ve waited through a title change (BLOODBOUND to SOULBOUND), and have waited sooooo long for Auntie Heather to finish this book, this epic fantasy that’s so different than my Vlad Tod or Slayer stuff. You’ve begged, pleaded for a taste. Just a taste! And today, I can give you just that. I’m going to give you two pressies. And when I’m done, I want to know what you think. I’m thrilled, ecstatic, so, so happy to give you both the cover of SOULBOUND, and the first five paragraphs! Are you ready? Because here…we…GO!!!

CHAPTER ONE

The sharp edge of the paper sliced into my thumb and I sat up with a jerk. “Fak!”

Blood blossomed from the cut and I tossed my book to the ground, shoving my thumb in my mouth and sucking on it to make the bleeding stop. I should have known that I’d give myself a paper cut. I’d just picked up the book from the book binder this morning, so its pages were still crisp, not well worn like those in the books that lined the shelves of my bedroom.

“What would your mother say if she heard you cursing like that, Kaya?” As he ducked under the moss that was draping from the tree branches above and made his way along the water’s edge, my father smiled at me. In his left hand was a net full of freshly caught fish. He held it up proudly. “Dinner. I hope I didn’t scare you.”

Shaking my head at his subtle attempt at humor—he’d always been able to sneak up on me without much effort, ever since I could remember—I brushed the grass from my leggings and stood, clutching the book in my hand. “Scare me? I actually heard you coming. First time for everything, I suppose.”

“I made certain you did. Walk back with me? I want to talk with you about tonight.” He didn’t wait for an answer. I knew he wouldn’t. My father was a take-charge kind of person. Not cruel or demanding, but a natural leader. When he said something, people were meant to listen, and they did, for the most part. Maybe it was because he was a Barron, and people—even the Unskilled people of Kessler who had no idea what Barrons even were—just sensed that they were supposed to follow his lead. My mother was a Barron as well. Sometimes I wished that I was like them, but then I’d push that wish away. After all, there was no sense in wishing for what one could never possibly have. My parents had been born Barrons, and I . . . well . . . I had not.



   

 
 


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