The Writing Life Update - A Bloghop Post

Z and I take a much needed coffee break

I don't often participate in bloghops but I needed a little kick in the pants to get blogging again. Reason? See photo, right.
That's Z. 8 months. Cute as can be and champion sleep fighter.

.... So when fellow YA SF author Stephanie Flint (SBibb) tagged me for this bloghop, I decided to go for it!

First, a bit about Stephanie (who I first met through Absolute Write, I believe!)

Stephanie Flint is a book cover designer and author of YA/NA. Her most recent release was Ashes, a short-story prequel to her 1000 Words: A Collection of Short Stories project.

Check out Stephanie's Blog here:  http://sbibb.wordpress.com/

P.S.: I just finished reading a near-finished MS of hers. It takes place in a world where superheroes used to thrive, supervillains now reign, and those with superpowers who don't cooperate are transformed into monsters. A super fast-paced, fun read set in a richly imagined world! Read more about Distant Horizons here!!

Okay, now onto the BlogHop questions:

What am I working on?
Well, I just finished working on FARLIGHT - a YA sci-fi about a cyborg beekeeper sleuthing out a thief before all the supplies on her generational starship vanish. I've just started querying it, and I'm super excited for it!! *fingers crossed*

Next up? A YA Contemporary that I'm super excited about, as it's a retelling of one of my childhood favorites! Also in the near future, a MG victorian fantasy. Did I mention I have a hard time settling on a favorite genre?

How does my work differ from other novels in the genre?
In YA sci-fi we've seen a lot of post-apocalyptic futures, a lot of aliens, a lot of earth-based sci-fi. Like some of the newer YA SF, I wanted to take things out of the solar system - into deep space. So I've set the book in the far future, on a starship hurtling toward a new star system and a New Earth, in an era where genetic modification of humans is (somewhat) commonplace. Using that backdrop I explore issues of insider-outsiderness, identity, resource use, and the far-reaching conequences of disconnect. [ Between escaping an oxygen draining chamber, scrambling through ducts after bees, first-love, first-heartbreak, evading hostage-seeking rioters, sleuthing out resource thieves, and racing from killer droids of course :) ]

Why do I write what I do?
It's been said before, but I write because I have to. There's an enormous tidal wave of books welling up in my mind ... and they're like hardcovers and heavy and stuff - if I don't let them out, the pressure would probably kill me!

What is my writing process?

Rewards for editing.

Right now? With coffee. LOTS of coffee. heehee j/k -- but not really.

Coffee. And jellybeans.

I know, I know. I'm like mostly vegan, and organic, and local-food, and kinda health-freaky. But I'm also a first-time mom.
So.
Coffee. And jellybeans.

But for realsies:

I'm a plotter, fairly fast(?) first-drafter (about 6 weeks -- though with my new little bub, we'll see!), and dramatic revisionist. I like my books to simmer for awhile in my mind before each write/re-write. I currently do a lot of my writing at a standing "desk" (my kitchen island) while rocking my little boy to sleep in his baby carrier : )

Oh! And I get a lot of my ideas for stories while washing the dishes (yes, we have no dishwasher).

This is a bloghop, but I ran out of time to ask people, so if you're seeing this and you want to participate, consider yourself tagged!

Also: Any tips on how to juggle writing & parenting a tiny, crazy, cuddly person would be MUCH appreciated!