I think it's about time I wrote up a post talking about my book, Oblivion's Heart, and what possessed me to write a monster book when normally I write short mystery stories. It's a novel I'm proud of but sometimes it is very hard to explain to people... Normally people want you to explain your book in a few words and for someone with so much to say... It's hard. So normally I just say it's about monsters when really it's not. It's about a girl fighting to save her family from a curse. She just happens to be backed by a league of monsters...
I don't know why I don't say this. They would still give me strange looks. The facial expressions of people when I tell them (or someone else tells them) that I have a published novel and I'm only 17, goes from impressed/shocked to freaked out/confused in a matter of seconds. That's when their voice goes an octave higher (Which means that they are either lying or freaking out) and they try to change the subject as fast as possible.
But I still believe it's a good book; I'm just talking to the wrong crowd. But enough about that, let's get on to the stories behind the story.
The novel was written for the NaNoWriMo (Short for National Novel Writing Month). It's a contest that happens every November; You have to write a 50,000 word story in 30 days. If you complete that you win. My friend Samantha Bartley (who also entered this contest) sent me a message one night telling me about it and I thought it sounded fun and told her I would do it with her. It started the next day so I had planned like zip. But I never really planned out books ahead of time (Yes I know it's crazy but you'd be surprised what can be accomplished while blindly stumbling through your mind) All I had was one scene and yes that was enough for me. I think you can build a story off one name (Which I've done before. I really wanted to use that name but I didn't have a story to put it in so I made one)
Speaking of names, If you ever wondered why I named two of the main characters Ava and Vladimir, it's because I was trying to explain a scene to Sam and I needed makeshift names. Ava was short and I could type it fast and I just felt like using Vlad. I had planned on changing them but after a while they stuck.
Elliot on the other hand has been changing since day one. First of all I really do not like the idea of cuddly vampires. So even though I don't flat out say it in the book, The vampires are killers and they drink human blood like all good vamps should. Originally Elliot was an older man around Vlad's age or a little older but I couldn't picture an older man running and doing some of the things Elliot does/ will do. (Just because I didn't think out the first book before I started it doesn't mean I haven't thought up the last two books)
While writing the 1500 daily word count, my nights were spent up very late. Sometimes I would get up in the wee morning hours and start typing till around 7, go get food and start again. I did have days I didn't even touch my laptop and those days I fell behind I freaked because you never realize how much 50k really is until you start working on it. I worked until I hit a block and then I would text Sam or Faith or even Tiphanie. Sometimes they would say something or sometimes I would just talk until if straightened out the problem. When I thought the book was getting boring I would go into my sisters room and have her ramble until I something caught my attention. I would go to piano lessons tired and my recital songs started paying the price for my lack of practice. But by the third week I had balanced writing and my life. It was stressful and exhausting but it was one of the best experiences of my life. I had good days where everyone would cheer me on but I also had really bad days when everyone just really didn't care and thought I should give up. But I didn't because even when I had those really bad days I still had friends cheering for me.
While stumbling through a first draft you will never know what you will find. I was in my room typing away one Sunday making excellent progress, I was working away still not knowing the ending of the book or the name of the book or even the name of the Oblivion. When all of the sudden I type a single line. I have no idea where it came from but when I typed it it all suddenly just hit me. Jerked my hands back from the keyboard and gasped (Yes I was so shocked I nearly screamed). I had my monster, my name, and most importantly my ending.
Another time when I was writing late one night I was sitting in my chair, minding my own business when all of the sudden I hear (I kid you not) whispering. I glance up from my computer and it stops. A few seconds later I hear it again and this is when I'm starting to panic slightly because I was writing a scene that involved whispers. That's when my sister says "Night" and I scream and nearly threw my laptop. Apparently she had been talking for a few minutes and I wasn't listening.
The next night I was typing again and I heard something and I saw shadows out of the corner of my eye. My sister was obviously trying to scare me again so I put my laptop down and open the door to give her a piece of my mind. To my surprise she wasn't there. This is when I stomp to her bedroom... only to find she was already asleep... Ok yes I was starting to freak out again. I went back to my room and started to type but I had just started when I heard a pop right beside my ear and a shadow on the wall. In one quick movement I was across the room holding a hammer ready to attack whatever it was. But there was nothing. Finally I just stand there and watch the spot waiting. After a few minutes the shadow appeared again. It was a beetle that had somehow gotten into my lamp above my chair and was now stuck.
So yes I had a few freaky nights but it was still fun.
The last thing I'm going to mention is Samantha's room... One night I was talking to her and she had been telling me about a room in her house that was hidden behind a bookcase. I thought this was a really cool idea so I added one into the story. When I talked to her a few days later I told her about it but I was shocked to hear that that room was no longer there. They had moved the shelf. I still claim to have stolen her room by accident. The room is now in Van Drake Manor where it's slightly stuck. (Sorry Sam)
That's all I can think of right now, if you are interested in buying a copy you can find it on amazon.com under Oblivion's Heart by C.G. Bush
Or click on the link below:
http://www.amazon.com/Oblivions-Heart-Oblivion-Trilogy-Volume/dp/1482344815/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369261286&sr=8-1&keywords=C.G.+Bush
Laters!
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