March – 2012 – Megan Lentz

Mar 30

Ashfall, by Mike Mullen

Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary: Alex, a teenage boy, is left alone for the weekend. And then a super-volcano at Yellowstone National Park explodes and the world dissolves into lawless chaos. Alex is determined to find his parents and sets off across the desolate, oftentimes violent landscape in search of his family. Along the way, Alex discovers the true nature of mankind and himself, learning that some people are inherently good and others are not so good, and deciding what is right and wrong is not always that easy.

I should start by noting that my geologist friend found the concept a bit unbelievable. But as a non-geologist, I was instantly drawn into what seemed like a potentially realistic plot. By using a natural disaster that readers can imagine actually happening, Mullen was able to create a disturbing picture and explore the depths of humankind.

What I really enjoyed about this book was that Mullen did not make everyone either good or evil – he created scenarios where good and bad lay in a sea of gray. It felt very real.

What I did not like as much about this book was the way it ended. The first 2/3 of the book felt very gritty and honest. I felt for the characters. The last 1/3 read almost like a different book. Yes, I could see the events that played out (don’t worry if you haven’t read it – I won’t reveal what happens) actually happening, but in the context of the rest of the book, I found it a bit odd. It just didn’t flow as well as I would have liked.

Another issue I had was with the girl Alex meets along his way, Darla. I didn’t feel that her character had as much depth as Alex’s and I would have liked to have seen more growth. She felt a bit flat and convenient to me.

All in all, I thought this was a pretty good read. Alex is likable and you can see his growth throughout the book. Reading an apocalyptic book vs. a post-apocalyptic book was a bit refreshing. I enjoyed seeing how quickly society could fall into the state it always starts in when reading a post-apocalyptic book.

If you want more about Ashfall or Mike Mullen, check out this interview on the Forever Young Adult blog. And, for more on the apocalypse, be sure to check out my post this coming Monday on the apocalypse and my not so good chances of survival.

Mar 26

The windy road

I’ve finished my first week as a full-time writer. I know a lot of people have asked me what that means, how I will spend my time. So I thought I’d start a little series on being a full-time writer. As you will see, my first week did not go that well, but I’m hoping the second week will be better.

Day 1

OK, day 1 was a huge flop, as you will see if you read my post from last week, Diving In, or Taking Baby Steps. So day 1 was spent waiting for Comcast, nursing a migraine, dealing with the broken radiator, and researching claw foot tub storage solutions, as well as placing a massive order on Amazon for all of the things we will need in our new apartment. I did manage a little bit of work related stuff though – I reread chapter 1 of my WIP and I wrote a blog post. This day definitely did not go the way I imagined it would, but I suppose it could have been worse.

Day 2

Day 2 was not all that much better than day 1, and I realized pretty quickly that I am taking more of the baby steps approach as opposed to diving right in. I am going to blame the move on this one. So day 2 I took a walk around the neighborhood to try to help the headache, checked out the twitter sphere, read some of the blogs I follow, tried to donate blood but was rejected because of a recent trip to Roatan, bought some more things for the new apartment (gotta love The Container Store) and then I got to real work. If by real work I mean cleaning up my social networking sites. I went through Goodreads and added reviews and ratings to books I’ve read this year and then sorted through my to-read list to see what competition is out there for my WIP. I then did some tweeting to try to get my presence back up there. And then I sat down to read Julia Karr’s TRUTH. The best part about being a full-time writer – reading now counts as research.

Day 3

Today started with the best intentions. I cleaned up Twitter and added some tweets. I read some blogs. And then more move related things took over. It is really amazing how distracting an unfurnished apartment can be.

Day 4

Much like day 3, only I did manage to finish reading over my current WIP and started adding some new content. Still, I’m beating myself up about my lack of progress. But maybe it was a bit ambitious to think I could move to a new city and just dive into writing.

Day 5

The fiance and I took the day off to just spend sometime doing the things we need to do to get the apartment ready. We also went on a hunt for a chair so we could at least have a comfortable place to sit. This did not go well.

Week One Wrap Up

As you can see, my first week as a full-time writer was a bit of a flop. I did start a side project for a writing contest over the weekend though (details to come in a later post) and I saw The Hunger Games movie. I have high hopes that week 2 will be a bit smoother, if for no other reason than that we will (fingers crossed) have furniture.

Mar 23

Truth, by Julia Karr

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

Summary: This sequel picks up where XVI left off. Ed is dead. The B.O.S.S. is hanging around Nina’s family, asking questions. Sal is constantly off on NonCon missions. And Nina is trying to figure out how to get by now that she is a Sex-teen. As Nina’s life begins crumbling around her, she joins up with an organization of girls secretly working alongside the Resistance in hopes of showing the world that women can be just as powerful as men. As Nina fights to save her family and help all the nameless girls whose lives have been ruined by the GC, will she remember to step back and take the time to help herself? Or will revealing the truth cause Nina to lose everything?

I was really excited to read this book, mostly because I absolutely loved the premise behind XVI, but also because I saw promise in XVI for the sequel to be stellar. Unfortunately, I was left feeling a bit lukewarm.

Many of the things I loved about XVI were missing from Truth. Whereas I felt very invested in the success of the characters in XVI, they seemed a bit hollow in Truth and their actions often seemed a bit forced and, sometimes completely out of left field. It felt like a lot of characters were thrown is as fillers and characters we met in the first book seemed, more often than not, to lose the multi-dimensional nature they had in XVI.

XVI felt very real and gritty, and that reality, and definitely the grittiness, were missing from this book. In fact, Nina spent a large portion of the book wishing she could be as pretty and stylish as the upper-tier girls. While this desire was present in XVI, it was much less of a focus. I thought this, alone, took away from the world and from Nina as a character. Although I can understand her desire to want to be like others, it seemed to deviate from her character as it was set up in XVI.

Unfortunately, it seems that Truth suffers from something a lot of seconds suffer from – feeling like a filler.

All of that being said, Truth was not a bad book, by any means. It just has the misfortune of following in the footsteps of a book I happened to absolutely love. Karr continued to expand upon the world she built in XVI and it was clear that she has a very solid understanding of the inner workings of this world, a must for a successful dystopian. Despite my reservations, I still finished the book in 3 days, a sign that it was at least able to keep me engaged. If you were a fan of XVI, you should definitely read this, and if you haven’t read the series yet, I would recommend checking it out.

Mar 19

Today is my first day as a full-time writer. Only, there has not been much writing. Instead I have spent the majority of my day trying to get internet (thanks Comcast), dealing with the broken radiator in the bedroom, and researching solutions for storing shampoo in a claw foot tub (suggestions welcome). Sigh.

In retrospect, it was probably a bit ambitious to think I would start my new job just 2 days after moving across the country. Even though today was supposed to be the start of my new life, I think I will just call it a wash and finish up as much house stuff as possible so that tomorrow I can get up and start my new job with zero distractions.

Mar 16

Today was the big cross-country move. Instead of sitting in my new apartment in San Francisco, I’m still in Boston, sitting in an airport bar, waiting for my flight. But the way I see it, it wouldn’t be a writer’s big step towards being a proper writer without a bit of drama. And if the past 3 days have been anything, they’ve been drama filled.

It was supposed to be very straightforward – quit work Tuesday, prepare the house Wednesday, supervise the movers Thursday and then catch a plane early Friday. While I did go to the airport this morning, it was sans bags. And the apartment was a mess. And there were no movers because we were without power for 3 days, meaning no light to pack by and no electricity for the freight elevator.

Instead of my nice, tidy plan, disaster struck in the form of a transformer exploding three blocks from my apartment, blanketing the city in blackness and pandemonium. Between the police sirens and loud-speaker announcements, the power company tearing the streets up to install new cables, and the constant hum of diesel generators, I felt like I was in the middle of a disaster zone.

While this was the worst timing, it was a bit fortuitous for this happen to a dystopian writer. Talk about great inspiration!

Even though the move was not as smooth as I would have liked, and even though it’s not even over, at least there is a silver lining. And who knows, maybe I’ll be able to use some of the scenes I witnessed these past couple of days, not to mention learning to cope without power, in a future book that will make me millions. And hey, what kind of writer would I be if I didn’t relish a bit of drama in my life?

Mar 04

In 2 weeks, I will be trading in the full-time job and guaranteed paycheck to try my hand at being a full-time writer. While it’s scary, I’m incredibly excited. Of course, there’s one extra challenge that comes along with this switch – moving across the country to California.

In preparing for this transition, finding an apartment in San Francisco that would provide me with a positive working environment was key. Even though it meant sacrificing luxury, finding an apartment with a separate office was non-negotiable. In my current apartment, there are two large rooms – a bedroom/office combo and a dining room/living room/office. The lack of dedicated writing space makes it very hard for me to focus and, while I like the apartment from a living perspective, it is not always the best from a working perspective. When your home is going to become your office, these are important distinctions.

Luckily, my fiance agreed with the importance of a designated space for me, and so we agreed to sacrifice some living comforts, like an open floor plan, a good-sized kitchen, and even a dishwasher (sigh) so that we could afford a two bedroom apartment to provide me with my own writing space.

As I wait to take this next step in my writing career, I cannot stop planning out the most efficient space for writing, which has also distracted me from writing because it means I’ve spent many hours online searching through magazine photos and store catalogs. But I would rather have the distractions now than when I get there.

Stay tuned for more updates on taking the leap, quitting my day job, and making my writing dreams come true. Have you taken the leap? Have you thought about it?

March 2012

Book Review Friday – Ashfall

My life as a full-time writer: week 1

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Week One Wrap Up

Return of Book Review Fridays – Truth

Diving in, or taking Baby steps

A healthy dose of drama

Take the leap – Countdown to becoming a full-time writer