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Secret Meanings and Inspirations Behind The Boy Who Steals Houses

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The Boy Who Steals Houses is 6 months old today!

They…they grow up so fast and I am not READY. 😫💛 Although I could swear this book has been out forever and no time at all? Being an author is basically throwing away the concept of time awareness, I swear.

To celebrate this little milestone of my second son, I wanted to spill some secrets! I did a post like this for A Thousand Perfect Notes (my debut which came out in 2018!). I’m going to talk more about WHY I chose to write certain aspects of The Boy Who Steals Houses! Because some things are utterly full of meaning…and other things happened because I was very, very lazy. 

so here we go…

secret meaning and inspirations behind things in The Boy Who Steals Houses 👀

1. Almost everyone had a name change.

Because TBWSH stars a big family, I obviously had a lot of names going on and some just didn’t end up working. I changed a few. My editor wanted a few changed. Some of the characters I still refer to as their previous names because I haven’t got a working memory at all.

➢ Sam and Avery Lou were the ONLY main characters who stayed exactly the same!
➢ Moxie used to be Maxine/Max.
➢ Dash’s name stayed the same, but she used to be a younger brother.
➢ Jeremy was always Jeremy (but named after a Kookaburra children’s book my nephew used to read…yup), but Jack used to be Bram. (My editor changed Bram/Max actually.)
➢ Grady used to be Swaney, then Colin.
➢ Toby used to be Sparrow, then Mitty! I scrapped Mitty because it was too similar to Moxie.
➢ Vin used to be like…oh wow I don’t even remember?! It started with an E. 😂

 

And also The Baby? People keep asking me if the baby has a name and he does. I promise. Maybe I will reveal it one day. 😏

And unlike ATPN, where all the names had meanings, I just picked this lot because I liked them! Sam miiiiight be a nod to Supernatural. Shhh. And I picked De Lainey literally because I was staring at my bookshelf for inspiration and saw an author named DeLacey.

2. The glitter scene was inspired (again) by my niblings.

I wrote this rather soon after ATPN sold. I was about 21 and babysat my 3yo niece a lot, who was obsessed with glitter crafts. She still is. It’s terrible. So while Beck in ATPN speaks low and bitterly about glitter, I decided to go all out and just throw like 3kgs of glitter in Sam’s face.

Because the stuff never leaves!!! They are still picking glitter out of Sam’s hair in the last chapter!!! It is the best way to catch a thief!!!

3. The reason they eat so much brownie is because…I was.

I wrote the first draft during NaNoWriMo and my family were away. Basically it was just me, clattering around our empty house, supposedly “cooking for myself”…hahhahaha. I made a lot of brownie. I made Moxie’s brownie caramel to pretend I was being thoughtful instead of heckin’ lazy and just writing about whatever I was eating at the time.

4. SPEAKING of lazy…it’s set in summer because it was summer for me.

Literally all my books are like this!! Look at the book’s season = you know when I wrote it.

“Cait. where do u get your inspiration from??”

my wot now

5. Moxie’s sewing is actually a nod to a different fairy tale.

While TBWSH is a Goldilocks retelling (genderbent and contemporary), my original plan was to combine it with the Seven Wild Swans fairy tale. Basically that one is about a princess who has to sew shirts out of thistles to turn her enchanted swan brothers back to human. (There are a lot of variations. One has 12 brothers. I wasn’t going to do that lmaooo.)

I ended up abandoning that idea mostly, because I wanted Moxie to have at least one sister.😂And let’s be real: Moxie would not save her brothers if they turned into swans. She’d just let ’em go.

But that’s why she sews!

6. Originally there were no backstory scenes.

I didn’t want it to “be too tragic” like ATPN….ah haha hhah HHAHAHHHAH. Ahem. Anyway, my editor suggested (1) tone down some of the violence, and (2) add in backstory. So somehow I added in MORE VIOLENT BACKSTORY and idk I think they just went with it because they were exhausted from explaining that “backflash” was not a term. It is “flash back, Cait.”

(I’m joking.😂)
(I made my editor cry though. I am proud.)

7. That scene where Sam gets very intense road rash?

From being [redacted]. Ya. Anyway. One time when I was 12, my friend (her, outdoor person) gave me a skateboard (me, an indoor person) and said “go down our super steep driveway it’s lots of fun.”

Least to say, I put my hands out onto the driveway cement to SLOW MYSELF DOWN.

I left the skin of my hands on the driveway and I did not slow down.

(Why do 12 year olds exist. I swear we do not have enough brains to be out there.)

8. Sam being very small and Vin eyeing him off to fit in windows was a total Oliver Twist moment.

Because I was obsessed with Oliver Twist as a kid too. Look I don’t even know why but half my books’ inspirations seems to come from random childhood things?!?

Little Bill Sykes/Oliver moment right then.

9. I wrangled the whole middle of the book to be able to use the “you can just stay for one night” trope.

Cue, the character staying foreverrrrrr.

I love love LOVE contradictions on page. If you look closely, they’re everywhere in my books. My characters will think on thing (“I am about to die”) and say another (“Yeah I’m fine thanks”). Moxie will be snarky and pointy, and loves beautiful soft things. Sam is super gentle and kind, but also hits people. Stealing the De Lainey’s house is the best thing that ever happened to Sam, and also the reason the entire traumatic ending happens.

Contradictions and contrasts are my favourite.

10. The fact that Sam can “get lost in a crowd” is also something that’s happened to me!!

DIRECTLY FROM MY LIFE. I spent my entire teenagerhood having people tell me what happened at events…that I was also…at. Look, I was quiet and small and nobody noticed me. I spent 4 years at a youth group to have my brother’s friends still go, “Uhh, what’s your sister’s name?”

DEATH, my naMe is DeAtH.

I think I vented a little in this book.😌Bless me.

Anyway, a few people were dubious about this concept when I first wrote the book. I can 100% guarantee it can happen. Stuff a house full of kids, especially one that’s used to the chaos, and people just go missing while being right in front of your eyes. They also steal your favourite food out of the fridge. If you have siblings, there is a 90% chance you’ve had to hide your favourite food in order to be able to eat it before someone else gets to it.

Big family culture is fascinating.

| what about you? |

hey feel free to ask any TBWSH related questions today!!! i will answer all in the comments. and tell me if you’re a writer and change your characters’ names a lot!

 

I also have a giveaway going on instagram for a signed copy!

 

Pantser Vs Plotter | Which Is The Best Way To Write Your Book?!

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When it comes to being a writer, you’re usually a “pantser” or a “plotter”.

Or you can throw your papers defiantly in the air and refuse both titles and be a “plantser”, which means you have the best and worst of both worlds. And you cry a lot. But don’t we ALL.

The whole pantsing vs plotting debate is usually conducted as a small war amongst writers. You either fervently hate the idea of being boxed in by an outline; you need freedom to let your characters roam and inspiration gnaw at your bones and guide your pen. Or you want organisation, outlines, firm goals, and books you can foreshadow and set up plot twists.

Both are valid. Both will, as we’ve already established, make you cry.

I am a hardcore plotter. I know this. But do you know what I’ve been doing lately?

Yes. I’ve been pantsing.😑 (If you hear a dull thunking sound, oh nevermind, that’s just ME banging my head against the floor.) I thrive with outlines. I usually write ones that are 22,000 words long and basically a Draft Zero or a “script” where later I’ll come back and properly fill in the gaps. Outlining allows me to write fast, fierce, and free. 30K in a day? We gotcha. It’s a roadmap. It’s controlled. I don’t get writer’s block. I know what happens next (something that’s incredibly important to me).

“Ok c.g.,” you say, tossing a corn chip into your mouth, “you’ve made a pretty good case for your love of plotting. are you going to just reminisce pitifully or tell us why you and your outlines divorced?”

Oh mEGHUSGH I am going through a hard time with this break up, I swear.

I’ve had really bad writer’s block for a long time.

And when you get stuck, my top advice is always: shake up what you’re doing. I couldn’t plot. I couldn’t move forward. I couldn’t see the story I needed to tell. So I decided to just force myself to write, to get back into it.

I still plot. The plotting is just 99% in my head and 1% on a sticky note that says “DO NOT FORGET THE KNIFE SCENE” which, ya know, in 3 weeks I will yell at myself for not being more specific about that. I imagine my scenes before I write them. I’m a plotter deep in my soul. But I’ve been pansting so so much of my books and it’s stressed me out SO SO MUCH…

…and I’ve also written one of my best works this year because of it.

You know what? My opinion is 😒 @ myself at this point.

However it leads me to analyse…

which is better? pantsing vs plotting

There’s never going to be a definitive answer for this, but I want to list the pros and cons I’ve experienced while doing both! And yes…these are pros and cons for me, just me. 🤗

PROS

  • It was definitely helped shake me out of a funk where I “couldn’t write” unless I knew 100% of my story. And since my creativity had been misfiring…I just wasn’t starting at all.
  • Look, you DO surprise yourself and it is quite exciting.
  • It feels more relaxed in a way, because if you change something in the spare of the moment, you don’t destroy a 20,000-word outline you just spent a month writing.
  • I’ve come up with some fiercely brilliant things that I had NOT planned until I let the characters dictate the story. I am proud okay. This rebel-plotter is proud.

CONS

  • There are times when your character drops a “big plot twist reveal” and the secondary characters gasp! And you gasp! None of us KNEW. This is a surprise 🗣for us 🗣all 🗣. And while it makes for some dramatic twists, my main opinion is always: “What the actual frickity frack am I doing next.”
  • Getting stuck. Having no idea what to do next. Panicking, just a little.
  • When things aren’t well thought through, you can get to the middle of a manuscript and realise you need to rewrite the whole. freaking. thing.
  • You just have no idea what is coming up. Could be death, marriage, taxes. I don’t even know. 😑

PROS

  • Way way less writer’s block when drafting.
  • You can write cleaner drafts because you don’t write yourself into black inescapable holes.
  • FORESHADOWING!!! It’s much easier to pull off succinctly if you know 100% what is going to happen.
  • For me, there’s always a calmness into delving into a draft you know how to end. You can organise your characters’ themes, motivations, and arcs brilliantly ahead of time.
  • You can do those Walls of Crazy. Hush this is a Big Aesthetic pro.
  • It’s easier to write a blurb or synopsis before hand.
  • If you’re a traditionally published author, or working with an agent, it’s handy to pitch them a solid synopsis BEFORE you begin writing, therefore saving time in case they reject it.
  • “Plotter” just sounds better than “pantser”. I mean bold of whoever invented that term to think we are wearing pants.

CONS

  • For me? Absolute procrastination: if I can’t get the outline “right”, then I won’t write at all.
  • It can be so galling to write a whole intense outline and then…divert from it and have it be a wasted wreck. It’s even worse than finding a very old, forgotten zucchini in the back of your fridge.
  • So much “Pre-writing”, it feels like you’ll never start.
  • I never felt boxed in by my outlines or left without “room for inspiration”, but lately I’d been getting better ideas while I wrote, instead of before I wrote. Again, so much wasted work for these intense outlines.
  • I still got writer’s block so what then!!!!!! is the point of all things, Samwise!!!!!
  • It started feeling like a chore. My heart is sore. I used to crave the feeling of plotting. I’d basically be bored of writing before I got to the actual writing part.

It’s hard to let yourself change methods when you write. It’s hard to feel brave enough to experiment.

I’m letting myself recover from a very deep depression spiral, which left me unable to write effectively for nearly 2 years. I’ve got a lot of stage-fright to unpack from being published (it is my dream!!! but also affected me in ways I didn’t anticipate!!!). Despite loving plotting and knowing it was MY method: my writing wasn’t working.

Pantsing isn’t a cure-all for me either. I just wrote 30K of a draft I need to now rewrite from scratch. And quite honestly, I still plot out every scene mentally and know where my characters are going for at least that chapter. I’m also generally working off old/discarded drafts. So I’m knitting together a thousand threads in my head, not starting each day with no idea what might happen on my keyboard.

(I know exactly what’s going to happen to my keyboard. BROWNIE CRUMBS AND TEARS.)

My ultimate and professional opinion on plotting vs pantsing is: they both suck.

And they both work. 😂I know which makes me calmer (plotting) and I know which has been working for me lately (pantsing) and I know which one I can’t spell (continually, this whole post, I’ve been typing it panster).

It’s possible writing is just annoying, fulfilling, frustrating, and incredibly rewarding. All of them. Why, world. I’m exhausted.

| what do you say? |

I’d love to know if you’re a plotter vs pantser? have you tried both? do you change your traditional routine if you get stuck?

 

How To Stay Motivated When Writing Your Book

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In a shocking turn of events, writing is very hard and it is a lot easier to take a nap.

And look, I’m admitting this when I’ve written 30-full-length novel drafts, had 2 books published by Hachette, and am neck-deep in currently editing a draft that is 100,000-words long. I write a lot and it is, still, very hard.

“c.g., listen,” you say seriously between bites of toast because I always mention food on this blog so you’re getting a headstart, “you are doing a very terrible job at talking about motivation.”

I am terrible. 😌 But I have only just begun, so sit tight.

I get asked a lot “how do you stay motivated to write?” and it is a valuable question that I think about a lot, but usually answer very badly.

“Uhh, I just do?”

Not particularly helpful.

The truth is: I want to be an author, and that want usually outweighs my need to merge languidly with the carpet. But there are still a lot of smaller things that all tie into my need (and want) to keep myself motivated to write. Because a lot of the time my #1 thought is: “I DON’T WANNA.”

So I thought it would be most helpful to list them for you and maybe you’ll find a trick or two that will give you that extra motivating shove.

And if it doesn’t, let me know and I’ll give you a shove 🤗 off a small cliff hehe

➢ treat writing like a job

I do have the absolute privilege (backed with an intense 10 years of unpaid hard work) of being a published author. I can walk into a bookstore and pick A Thousand Perfect Notes and The Boy Who Steals Houses off the shelf because I finished them. THAT is motivating.

But ok ok, say you haven’t gotten there yet. You’re a green author and don’t know what you’re doing. Or maybe you’re an old-hand author, been writing for years but you never seem to get where you want to go. Maybe you’re in the middle. Either way, you can still consciously choose to treat writing like something to prioritise.

I haven’t been prioritising my blog recently (SORRYYYY) and you can tell. Sporadic posting. More reviews. I keep using emojis because writing is hard. (Spoiler: you can’t???? use emojis??? In your novel??? Shocked and dismayed.) I used to treat blogging like a job and I murderously protected my time that I needed to put into it. I’ve swapped and am channelling that to writing (more important for me right now; but I’m not quitting blogging!). Sometimes you have to make the conscious effort to do this: prioritise writing, make it non-negotiable that you have to work on it.

And stop calling yourself ASPIRING. You are an author. If you want to be published, you need to treat yourself like a professional, not a potato.

 

➢ Make yourself

You can’t just NOT show up to work. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Look sometimes I don’t want to write. I hardcore procrastinate. Instagram is currently teasing me for #ProcrastiBAKING, and tbh I am well fed but there are no chapters written. 

But I just make myself. I write a chapter even when I don’t feel like it.

“But won’t it be bad quality???” you say.

Maybe? Maybe not? If you only wait until you’re maddeningly inspired in a hot rush, you won’t get much writing done. Some of my best chapters have come in the midst of a writing session where I told myself to work.

 

➢ Actually figure out why you don’t wanna

If I whine “I don’t wanna” there’s usually a reason tucked behind it. And not just that I am a lazy bucket. Because I’m not?? I’m a hardcore SlytherPuff overachiever and I want to work HARD and also achieve EVERYTHING. 🙌🏻Except….for when I don’t. My top reasons for not wanting to write are usually:

  • I’m scared I’m writing it wrong and it’s not good enough. (Translation: self doubt and anxiety. Usually the fix is to tell myself to shut up and finish the draft anyway. You get better by writing more.)
  • I don’t know how to do this scene. (Ok fair, don’t write yet. Purposefully brainstorm. I go for walks. Unless I can visualise the scene beforehand, I usually get really stuck on it.)
  • It’s gonna be haaaaard work. (Translation: yer a lazy, Potter. The cure is to just go do it)
  • I’m no longer invested in what I’m doing. (This rarely happens to me…because I don’t start a project unless I’m obsessed with it and have been for a looooong time. But if it does happen, I figure I need to backtrack or reboot this draft.)
  • I’m tired. (Translation: burn out is here, can you take a day off? refill your creative well? Make a new playlist, read some books.)
  • It takes me so long to get into the zone that when I finally get there, writing time runs out and I have to stop. (Big mood. I am still waiting for a fix for this. But sometimes it genuinely comes down to just accepting your process and STOP comparing yourself to how other writers do things.)

 

➢ Bribes 🎶 bribes 🎶 bribes

Hey no shame if you need treats to get through. I legit bribed myself with chocolate last night to edit 3K. I even edited it down to 2.5K to get to the chocolate faster. (Which is actually a good thing because this current WIP is far too long.) But do not underestimate the power of the treat. Do you deserve cake? YOU DO.

Obviously food rewards aren’t always helpful (for like, lol, your waistline) so bargain with yourself to buy a new book when you finish a draft, or watch a specific TV show, etc. (I get to watch Stranger Things 3 when I finish this draft.) If you finish this chapter, you get to scroll Twitter for 10mins. Or go hardcore and tough like: yOU GET LET OUT OF YOUR CHAINS IN THE BASEMENT IF YOU WRITE, DAMMIT, GIZELLDA.

 

➢ Make sure you’re writing what YOU want

I find it very motivating when I actually am proud of my work. When I want to write because I can’t wait for that next delicious scene. It might seem obvious, but sometimes we need to stop, breath, and consider if we’re writing what excites us. Are you facing putting your characters on a long desert roadtrip and you’re like “bleh don’t wanna write today”?? Consider it’s the SCENE you don’t want. If it bores you, it will bore the reader.

I once heard an author say leave yourself tasty cookie crumbs through your plot. (I feel like it was Susan Dennard but I’m not sure?? Correct me if you know!) Make sure there’s always a scene coming up that you’re 😍dying😍 to write. For me it’s usually a bantery scene.

 

➢ get a writing buddy

Writing can feel so lonely…but it honestly doesn’t have to be! I have incredible writing friends and we talk craft and swap chapters and yell encouragement at each other. We hype each other up as well as listen to the low times. We get competitive and keep up our daily word counts. This year has been so rough and low for me…I pretty much wouldn’t be working on my current draft without @cosyreads encouragement.😭💛

Now, yes, it can be hard to find someone to be a really close writing friend with you. But if you do = invaluable. I think this is why things like NaNoWriMo work so well! It feels like one big writing club.

 

➢ sticker charts

This is also a direct result of @cosyreads 😌she uses sticker charts which inspired me to use a calendar (I think Schwab also does this too). Right now I’m ticking off working days on a calendar in my notebook (it is a pretty calendar which is important) and you’d be amazed at how inspiring it is to not want to break a streak.

 

➢ focus on your ultimate goals

Write them down if you have to. But what do you want? Do you want to be a published author? Then 🗣 write 🗣 the 🗣book. Motivation for me boils down to: it’s really rather addictive to see my books on the shelf. I want that again and again. So I need to write. Even when writing sucks for no good reason. (And sometimes that happens too!) But I most desperately want finished books and to have success.

Finishing a book can be the hugest motivation. Keep your focus on that.

| what do you think? |

tell me your tips and tricks to keep motivated? do we have any of the same methods? have you ever realised you’re not writing the book that excites you? 

 

Happy Release Day to The Boy Who Steals Houses!

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The fact that I get to type out the words “my 2nd novel releases today!” is turning me into a pile of emotions.

I just 😭😍 I’m so grateful and also fiercely fiercely proud that The Boy Who Steals Houses is out today. In bookstores! On shelves! Arriving in mailboxes across the world to slowly and lovingly steal year house too! I fought really hard for this book and the journey wasn’t easy — but it’s here.

Both my books are incredibly special to me. A Thousand Perfect Notes began my publishing journey. The Boy Who Steals Houses wholly contains my soul. And I just want to say thank you to everyone who’s read them, is going to read them, and has let me take up space in your shelves and in your hearts.

And then I just want to say AHHHHHHHHHHHHH because I gotta.

AVAILABLE TO BUY NOW AT

Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Booktopia | Book Depository | Waterstones

It’s also out in Australia on the 9th! And it’s a UK + Australian release only, so if you’re in the USA you’ll need to order online!

I wrote all my messy emotional thank-yous in the back of TBWSH, but extra love needs to go to:

My super agent, Polly Nolan! Who has to scrape me off the floor on occasion and absolutely believes in my writing. And my editors, Rosie McIntosh and Megan Larkin, who turned my book into something exceptional. Plus the whole Orchard team. So many people go into making a book! SO. Many. It’s incredible and I’m so grateful. 💛

And the most massive thank you to Maraia and Mia…you both omg. 😭💛I don’t think I’d even be here without your support.

And you…you know who you are. All of you supporters of my online work. My followers and cheerleaders. You tell people about my books and recommend them and buy them and blog about them. And it makes the absolute world of difference. I hope you know I can never thank you enough. 😘

 

Just a little bit of news…

 

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚

I’m going to leave you with some snippets and then sprint away into the dusk to eat ice cream in celebration.

I mean, shh, I know as a cake enthusiast, I should really be eating cake. But the world has gifted us with dairy free magnums and I am alive for the purpose of consuming them.

And lastly a peek at the fanart I commissioned of Moxie and Sam!

I’ll be doing a giveaway of prints later (just waiting on them to arrive). It’s by @parvaillust and everything about it is SO perfect, I can’t stop staring! My kids!!!

thank you all for your incredible support for this book that means so so much to me!!

ahhh i’m so tired and happy 😍

 

What It’s Like To Write An #OwnVoices Novel (Ft. Autism Pride Month!)

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It’s time for a happy shimmy because it’s Autism Acceptance Month!

And honestly a happy shimmy is the best reaction to this because we autistics do love to stim. And yes, a lot of people call it “Autism Awareness Month” but you know what? People are aware. They just don’t accept us…plus I’m 99% sure Autism Speaks invented this phrase and they are actual problematic garbage. So I’m here for saying Autistic Pride and Autism Awareness and I can’t be stopped. 🙌🏻

Last year I did a post about how to tell if a book has good autism rep + some book recs, but this year, since it’s just THREE DAYS until my novel, The Boy Who Steals Houses, is out, I wanted to do something a little special and talk about…

what it’s like to write a novel with #ownvoices representation!

I have a lot of Thoughts™ about the actual concept of writing #ownvoices novels, because the main reaction to them is usually, “Oh at least that author had an easy time! They’re just writing what they’ve lived.” Ohhhhh sweet crepe, that doesn’t make it easy. So I want to talk about that in a little more detail!

Before I go on though, I’m super excited to point you to The Boy Who Steals Houses’ blog tour!

I’m over at A Little But A Lot with a whole deleted scene (it’s super cute!! and about potatoes and LOVE) and at No Safer Place for a really heartfelt review. So please check them out if you get a chance! There’s also going to be a post coming up about why Autism rep is so important in YA and an interview with my cover designer! 👀

PREORDER DETAILS

Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Booktopia | Book Depository

Let’s talk about writing…

I wrote two #ownvoices storylines into The Boy Who Steals Houses. (1) being anxiety rep for my protagonist, Sam. (2) being autism rep for my secondary character, Avery. (Although I lowkey admit Sam could be diagnosed with autism too tbh. But he isn’t labelled on page, so discern what you will 🙌🏻)

Writing #ownvoices experiences left me with a lot of Thoughts™ which I’m about to share with you whilst I eat a chocolate chip biscuits and remember the good ol’ days when I got blog posts up on time. (It is…not…this day.)

1. Writing #Ownvoices includes a lot of pressure.

The thing people don’t realise is that ONE #ownvoices experience ≠ everyone in that marginalisation’s experience. I wrote Avery’s autism to be HIS autism. It isn’t 100% mine. I wrote the way we think and react to things rather similarly, but I didn’t want to author-self-insert, so his character still required a lot of rewriting and research and thought. But some people are going to read this book and think Avery isn’t good rep because he’s not relatable to them. So that’s nerve-wracking?! And I also turn into a moss-covered stump when I think about mistakes I might have made. Because that happens!! I’m not perfect and I’m still growing as a writer and human. (Although, um, not literally growing? I am very smol and that hasn’t changed since I was 14.) (dammit)

I think #ownvoices stories are asked to be perfect and relatable to everyone within that marginalisation. And that can be super intense to take on.

 

2. autism is also such a huge spectrum to try and capture

Basically: YOU CAN’T CAPTURE ALL OF AUTISM IN ONE CHARACTER! It’s impossible. There are higher-needs people who must have a 24/7 carer. There are also autistics out in the world with jobs and families. There are those of us in the middle (meeee and also my character, Avery) who cope with so many things but completely fall apart in other aspects.

Plus Avery isn’t the narrating character, so I built him through a lot of flash backs too.

(And yessss, I would love to write more about Avery…and also Sam and the De Laineys. But it’s largely outside of my control.)

 

3. you have to figure out how to tackle stereotypes

Because here’s the deal: stereotypes can have their nuggets of truth. They did spring into existence from somewhere lol sob. When I wrote Avery, I just wrote him. Then later I started to fret…ok he’s a white teenage boy, aka the most typical autism rep. It was what my story needed, but am I a total fail for this?! He’s also really obsessed with cars…another “typical” autism rendition in media. (But confession: I was obsessing over Baby Driver loooool so that’s where it sprung from.)

But here comes the difference: Avery is more than a stereotype. He has complex thoughts and feelings, he has dreams and wishes. He also is extremely physically affectionate, a boy who craves pressure hugs and was clinging to Sam long after it was “socially appropriate” for brothers to hug. Lots of people equate autism with = hating touch. I hate touch! But not all autistics do.

So here’s the difference when it comes to stereotypes.

…a marginalised character shouldn’t just fit stereotypes and nothing more.

If a character is just a list of stereotypes to tick of a list…then it’s probably not good rep. Because humans are uncanny creatures who don’t fit in designated boxes.

 

4. You also know way way way too much!

You’d think this would be a good thing right?! BUT, UGH, I KNOW TOO MANY THINGS. I think this goes for anyone who is a master of a topic: how much do you say?!? You don’t want to lecture. You don’t want to overwhelm readers with information.

It’s a burden to Know Many Things™. Smh. Bring us cake and condolences. I mean.

 

5. it’s hard to be vulnerable and then put yourself out there

#Ownvoices authors are brave and wondrous things, because we’ve just put our heart on the page. Some people are going to hate it. Some will connect with it. It will be critiqued and analysed. It will be compared to other stories like yours…and maybe you’ll fall short. It’s just A LOT. And you can both want this and also be anxious about it. 

I was so thrilled when I read someone’s review that said Avery reminded them so much of autistics they knew and that they felt the love for autism on every page.

So here’s the thing: I got to write Avery, a messy disaster, who is also unconditionally loved. It was special to me to write that and know it’s hitting other people’s hearts. It makes everything 1000 x worth it. I think there is so much power in #ownvoices stories.

(And none of this is to say “ooh how dare anyone critique my book!” Of course people should critique it. I won’t be reading that lol, but it’s a book like any other, to be loved or not.)

It’s important to know that #ownvoices books don’t necessarily equal easy books to write.

But they do equal absolutely special and heartfelt and IMPORTANT books. Because no one can capture an experience quite like someone who lives it. 💛

And they’re also so therapeutic to write. it’s like finally getting to talk about your perspective, your feelings, your truths — without being interrupted.

I’ve read a lot of books with autistic characters and a resounding theme (especially from non-autistic authors) seems to be “fixing” the autistic character. Getting them to stop their autistic tics and stims, break their routines, make eye-contact, and be more socially apt…and then letting them find love. Autism is always their personal villain. And sure autism really sucks to deal with at times. I live it! I know. I’ll be honest…today was completely shitty for me when my routine got messed up. And I feel a little fragile and drained as I write this blog post.

But being autistic is a huge part of who I am. How I think. How I see the world. And I love that about it. and getting to write an autistic character? It meant the world to me.

Avery’s autism isn’t the villain of the book. His decisions aren’t great (lol, sorry Avery) and he’s naive and vulnerable. But he also wears his heart on his sleeve. He loves Sam fiercely. He’s clever and witty and has an infectious laugh.

And he’s not broken.

I’m just so grateful I got a chance to write this book and fill it with love and ACCEPTANCE and pride.

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

 

right, your turn!! tell me some #ownvoices books you’ve read? and some autistic characters in books you’ve enjoyed?!

 

What Is It Like Having Your 2nd Novel Published? (Ft. I Have A Finished Copy of The Boy Who Steals Houses!)

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In exactly 12 days, my second novel (The Boy Who Steals Houses) will be out in the world.

Why yes I am absolutely 1000% freaking out, how are you. The weeks leading up to release day are equal parts thrilling and terrifying — and I still feel like I’m trying to find my footing after my debut, A Thousand Perfect Notes, came out just last June. Yes. That was only 10 months ago.

Am I tired??? Dude I am Very Tired™.

When I got to make the official announcement for The Boy Who Steals Houses’ release date + title, a lot of people said, “I can’t believe you have a second book already!” But I actually announced I had a 2-book deal right up front! So this was always always coming! I still have to pinch myself that I even landed a 2-book deal in the first place.😍 TBWSH wasn’t even written! It wasn’t even a blimp in my imagination yet! Being trusted — and wanted — like that was such an encouraging way to start my career.

My emotions were !!!!!!!!!!! for days and days.

 

So I thought I’d outline how The Boy Who Steals Houses came to be.

I was going to do this closer to release day but then I realised: “CAIT. IT IS CLOSE TO RELEASE DAY HOLY HECK GET ON THIS.” This is also a good time to admit I have very limited time-and-spacial-awareness. I’m the person who cheerfully believes, every. freaking. time., that I can fit 6 hours of writing into 30mins before bed. And then I wonder why I never sleep, but anyway.

 

Also I hope you are beholding the GLORY that is the finished copy of The Boy Who Steals Houses!! I got sent two (the rest of author-copies will come later) and I may have just cried over my package. (I sent the second one off to my critique partner Maraia who this book seriously wouldn’t exist without.😘)

PREORDER DETAILS

Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Booktopia | Book Depository

Also NOTE: It’s out in Australia on the 9th, instead of the 4th! So you get to suffer and wait longer.

I wrote The Boy Who Steals Houses in November 2016.

It was a NaNoWriMo novel! It was also a heckin’ mess. So if that doesn’t encourage you to resuscitate your beloved but also catastrophically messy NaNo drafts — then what will. There is hope out there, in the darkness.

I’d signed my 2-book deal (starting with A Thousand Perfect Notes) back in June of 2016, so I didn’t know what that “untitled 2nd contemporary” was going to be. My plan was to write a ton, cry a bit, and pitch ideas to my editors. I ended up writing two full novels and coming up with a few other pitches. Writing grew strangely hard right then. I had ATPN signed and in edits and there fore I had plenty of time to panic. (Ex: COULD I EVEN WRITE?!?! WAS ATPN A FLUKE!?!? have i ever written a novel in my life).

Am I dramatic?? Pshaw.

Anyway. The pitch that everyone pointed to with a YES was for → The Boy Who Steals Houses.

(What about the other contemporaries I’ve written and pitched? Some got rejected, as that’s the business. And some I’ve scoured their cold corpses and gone through their pockets to take scenes for other books.)

 

TBWSH was officially confirmed to be my 2nd novel around November 2017.

That’s pretty fast ok!! Almost exactly 1 year since it even crawled sulkily into existence.

And next?

edits edits edits edits edits edits edits edits edits edits

Actually the whole process of how TBWSH got to be a final draft felt very different from how it went with my debut, A Thousand Perfect Notes. So basically n o t h i n g is certain. Except cake. Bless cake.

➸ The Boy Who Steals Houses required a rather large edit.

The first things authors do when asked to rewrite something is: cry. I cried. It was a daunting taste and I was a New Green Author Hatchling still (ATPN wasn’t out yet remember). I was also insecure about writing about two things that were very personal to me: (1) anxiety, and (2) autism. When you splatter your heart on the table and people say, “Hm, this needs to be better,” it’s a terrifying moment of: I’m wrong. How could I be so so wrong. I shouldn’t be writing this. Cue me staring into the bottomless pit of despair.

So that life meltdown lasted, um, one day. Then I wanted to work.

The thing with being a traditional author and working with your editor is: they are ON YOUR SIDE. They see your work, they see the imperfections and the gnarly edges that you don’t see. Because you’re way too close to your own vision of the project. Half of my intentions for the story where still in my head. NOT on the page. They kinda needed to be on the page!

So we fixed it. We got MY full vision on the page. I worked with my editors ideas. (My agent is really supportive and close in my journey too and weighs in when I need her!) We made the book 100 x better, kept my vision, polished it, and turned out a book I’m so intensely in love with it makes my heart fit to burst.

Changing your story, your baby, will always be scary. But writing a novel isn’t a one person job. If your editor knows your book’s heart and knows *your* heart, then you’ll both work your hardest to turn this story into a fully incredible novel.

I emphasis this because I get a lot of unpublished writers tell me, “Yeah but I don’t want anyone to *change* me.” And look, I get the stubborn feels? Like I said: this is our baby. Our hardest work. But your editor is here to make it your best work. Not just your hardest. You’ve got the passion. They’ve got the professional knowledge to get your passion into trim shape.

ugh i love just love having people help me with my work lmao otherwise I’m a mess

 

Things That Changed Between Drafts

  • I added in the flash backs!! I LOVE THE FLASH BACKS. These were my editor’s idea.
  • Also fun fact: I legit wrote “backflash” every single time in the manuscript and my editor is like, “Uh did you know it’s flashback?” Well there.
  • I trimmed some scenes. I felt sad losing them, but also…the book was really long and as cute as the scenes were, they were pointless haha. (But you WILL get to see a deleted scene as part of my blog tour! More details will come!)
  • Avery’s character got a large overhaul. He’s my autistic character and I was scared to change him — but also the way he is in the final book? It’s 1000% what I wanted but didn’t quite get to originally.
  • The violence…had to be…toned…down. (Lmao. I swear I’m nice in person in real life.)
  • Approximately 39849839 typos had to be fixed.
  • I actually changed almost ALL the De Lainey kids’ names! The sole De Lainey who kept their name was Jeremy. I named him after A CHILD’S PICTURE BOOK ABOUT A KOOKABURRA.
  • And we did a bit of UK vs Australian translating. Apparently the British do not have “eskys”. What’s wrong with you lot.

Right! So the massive edits were finished! Then what?

Then waiting. Looots of waiting. I’d maybe do a few more tweaks. Copy edits came in. I did a last minute panicked fix of the very final pages.

I got to see the cover! It’s designed by Thy Bui who also did covers for: Shadow & Bone, The Astonishing Colour of After and Everless! I originally did hope it was going to be more yellow, because it’s a Goldilocks retelling. But in the end it’s perfect and I was stoked with everyone’s reactions. The keys are utter perfection and fit in with the story so well!

Acknowledgements writing time: aka when I freak out because WHAT IF I FORGET SOMEONE. I got all emotional while writing them though, so when you read the acknowledgements: picture me with my heart melting like a pot of warmed chocolate.

The dedication? I used a line out of the actual book:

if lost please return to the De Laineys

This captures both everything Sam feels and everything my readers also feel (!!) because, no joke, I am getting constant messages saying “I WANNA BE ADOPTED BY THE DELAINYS TOO.” Mood, my friends.

 

And on April 4th it’s going to be in bookstores 😍 and I’m going to be a happy mess.

This book stole my heart. It is both a story where I wrote vulnerable things and also heart things. There were so many times I thought it wouldn’t make it — but it did. And I just…!! Do you want to get an umbrella so I can cry on you, maybe? Because, me right now.

And look, I don’t know what happens after TBWSH. Being an author isn’t a place of guarantees. I have fingers so tightly crossed that TBWSH will do well, sell well, and be loved — and that I’ll be able to sell another book and keep telling you all my heart’s stories. So we’ll see, OK!?

Right now I’m excited and anxious about release day. I’m in love with this book and I can’t wait for you to meet my disaster son, Sam, and his desperate wish to find the home and family he is looking for.

 

Do You Want To See The Cover for The Boy Who Steals Houses?!

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I’m absolutely beaming right now because it’s time to share the cover for The Boy Who Steals Houses!

We are coming ever closer to the April 4th release date (70 days to go, to be specific) and I’ve been doing exciting things like writing acknowledgements (still a surreal experience!!) and seeing page proofs and excitedly awaiting the moment when I get to hold a physical copy of TBWSH. Which is, arguably, the very best moment of all.

But the cover…!!

Are you ready?!

 

Book Depository | Hachette UK | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Booktopia Australia

Preorders do so much good for new small authors (like meeee) and bonus, the book is usually a bit cheaper before release day! If you’re in the USA, your best option is Book Depository! They do free shipping too. Amazon US will get it in, but so far only the kindle is up for preorder. I think this is because I’m not published in the US. But who would know!

and you can add it on goodreads…!

 

🗝 yes there will be ARCs and it’ll be up on Netgalley UK!

This should happen early February, but I’ll keep you updated from where you can request. (Physical ARCs will only be for those in the UK and Australia, as far as I know.)

 

🗝 and this is a good time to say…if you ever want to interview me or share about TBWSH or ask any questions — GO FOR IT.

I do not bite (well, not on weekends anyway) and I love you so much. I’ve had a few people message me starting off with, “I’m so sorry to bother you…” pfftshtfffsfs. YOU ARE NOT A BOTHER. I’m immeasurably grateful to you.

 

🗝 The Boy Who Steals Houses is not a sequel to A Thousand Perfect Notes.

They’re set in the same universe though!! There may or may not be a wonderfully placed cameo or mention or two.

 

🗝 It’s 360 pages!

Compared to ATPN’s 288…so someone got long-winded ha ha. Although, as I was reading through for the 180th time and crying over copy-edits, I pledged to myself never again to write over 300 pages. So much more to edit. Why do people write 100K books. Why…why would they.

 

🗝 The keys on the cover mean things.

So many things…

 

🗝 There’s a lot going on in this book and I’m very proud of it.

It has homelessness and big messy families. It has anxiety and autism. It’s set in summer, so there’s popcorn and mangoes and a soft yellow pocket of happiness before everything goes really bad. It has brothers with a very intense relationship. It has a very soft and tentative romance (between a Hufflepuff and a Slytherin). It is a genderbent modernised Goldilocks retelling. There is banter and snark…and also tears and bloody knuckles. When I say “I’m going to make you laugh AND cry…” dude, I mean it.

It is dark and light and about being lost and found.

It’s about looking for something and stealing the impossible.

And there is a heck tonne of brownies in it because I drafted it for NaNoWriMo 2016 and I was home alone for a week and brownies is one of the few things I can bake. So like. There sits the truth of my inspiration.

 

🗝 I’m never going to get over this whole AM AN AUTHOR thing.

It’s just my dream, ok?! The process isn’t all perfect and I still have so many wishes I’m desperate to come true. But just !! knowing people read and enjoy my work, having publishers and an extraordinary agent who root for me, and being able to unravel the stories that make my heart beat faster…I’m so so grateful.

(And wouldn’t be here without my blogger-friends’ support! So thank YOU.)

 

me @ not being able to wait to take proper photos of it

well I am a happy swamp right now!!!! what do you think?! are there fairy tales you wish were done in contemporary and/or genderbent? ready to be broken by meeee again? 

5 Things I Did (Before I Was Published) To Become A Better Writer

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One of the top questions I get asked now that my first book is out in the world is, “hEY BUT HOW DID YOU DO IT???”

And to this I say: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Okay I’m juuuust kidding. I do actually have about 13% of a clue what I’m doing. This is a staggering percentage and we are all in awe of it. (Hush. Act in awe.) I’ve basically been writing seriously for 9 years. I’ve been agented for 5 years and had a book published by Hachette UK for, ah….2 months. SO! I have a lot to learn still about being a published author. (I still rather feel like the child with muddy gumboots in a room full of Adult Authors.)

But I did get here. And I did do a lot of things that I truly think helped me get here. YES there’s a bit of luck and timing involved, but also freaking haaaard work. It’s easy just to say: “Oh look!! Cait has a big blog!! Now she has a book deal!! It came so easy for her!!”

Haha. Haaa hahahaha. No. I worked hard for YEARS so let’s see what I was doing, hmm?!

1. I WROTE MILLIONS OF WORDS AND OVER 30+ BOOKS

If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you’ll know I am a wild writer like this. In 2017 I wrote a million words (including outlines that went over 40K sometimes, and 7 novels…some of which were over 130K). That is a LOT OF WORDS. And truly, I needed them to learn how to write. Some might learn to write a lot faster than I did…but I needed SO much practise. All these horrible gnarly drafts (starting from age 15) got my to where I am = a published author.

Are these 30 drafts something you might read someday???

LMAO. They are not.

“So what was the point of writing them all??? Wouldn’t it have been better to write less books but write them better and work on them harder?”

Look this is a seriously good question. I did edit some and rewrite others. Actually the 16th draft I wrote was what became A Thousand Perfect Notes.

Personally, I needed to write a lot to learn. I wanted to experiment. I wanted to chase that glittery idea that probably wasn’t marketable. I had the time to do this and the energy, so like, why not?! I would NOT be writing how I am today if I didn’t have dozens of “practice novels” in the dust behind me. 

Most of these novels are: (A) HORRIBLE because I wrote them when I was, um, smol and deluded, (B) some I’ve actually repurposed bits and pieces into newer novels, (C) they gave me a chance to experiment with so many styles and genres! I learned my favourites and what I didn’t like to write about, and (D) I might still go back to some of them!!

Nothing is wasted. They all taught me.

This doesn’t mean YOU have to write 30 novels before you’re published. The point is: WRITE WRITE WRITE. Don’t just write one book, write more. Don’t except yourself to be excellent now. Practise. If you write and it’s not as good as it was in your head? WRITE SOME MORE. 

And heyyyyy = have fun with this, ok?! I have such fond memories of all these books and characters!

2. I LEARNED HOW TO REWRITE AND EDIT

This follows directly on from the last one but seriously: DO NOT JUST WRITE FIRST DRAFTS. You learn almost everything by rewriting and editing. Books aren’t writing, they’re rewriting. So if you’re dreaming of being an author and you’ve never learned to edit??? Goooo, fiend. GO. This is absolutely where you need to apply yourself.

3. I RESEARCHED PUBLISHING ALL. THE. TIME

People often think researching is sitting down for an hour and Googling around. WELL ACTUALLY. It’s something you kind of need to do…all the time. For years. I didn’t learn about agents and book deals and editing and submissions all at once. I learned it over several years with constant reading of author blogs, agent blogs, tweets, youtube vlogs and teaching sessions, articles, facebook groups, etc. etc. I just SUBMERSED myself in it as much as possible.

YES I asked real people questions…but mostly I learned by reading the information available online. There’s a lot. It’s hard to know where to start, but soon you click on one thing that leads to another and another and VOILA. You are gathering information. (You don’t have to do this ALL in one day!! So don’t be overwhelmed!)

PRO TIP: Don’t ask me “how do I get published” if you’ve never never researched for yourself. #siiiiigh (But I am VERY MUCH HERE to answer specific questions if you have them! And providing I can actually help!)

4. I LEARNED TO HUSH MY LITTLE SELF AND LISTEN

This is actually hard because you NEED to learn to listen and take on advice…but you also can’t listen too much. Like sometimes I absolutely freak out (STILL!!) because there’s so much to learn and know and remember and EVERYONE’S ADVICE CONTRADICTS. What can I write?? What can I not write?? Do you want this type of agent? Should you pitch? Query? Hire an editor? Get sensitivity readers? What country should you aim for? Should your debut be a series or standalone? Is your style marketable? If you get anxious about all of this, will you turn into a lizard? DoES ANYONE KNOW WHAT THEY’RE DOINGGGGGGG.

Anyway. It’s a trip to figure all that out.

But it’s still important to: 

  • Listen to what agents tell you (nope you are NOT the exception to a rule)
  • Listen to what readers are saying (because they will point out things you didn’t think about, especially regarding content if you’re writing something not directly in your experience)
  • Listen to what your writing buddies are saying (and GET SOME if you don’t have any! Seriously you can’t pick up all the problems with your novel yourself. There are always things that get left in your head and don’t make it to paper like they should. FEED BACK IS 100% THE BEST THING. Don’t be scared of it. Don’t hate it.)
  • Listen to the trees. Most people say “why would you do that” but seriously you can say it’s important to sit in a forest and listen to the trees but in reality you can just take a nap. You deserve a nap. We all deserve a nap.

5. I READ UNTIL MY EYEBALLS FELL OUT

I can’t even saaaaay how important reading is! These are your BEST TEACHERS. If you ever get stuck with writing (“how the heck do I write an action scene?!”) read back through like 5 or so of your favourite books’ action scenes. ANALYSE them. You can do this for any type of scene! Dialogue. Characterisation. Description. Let books TEACH YOU.

You also need to read so you know (a) what’s overdone or trending or popular or avoided (probably for good reasons!), (b) what’s happening amongst your bookish peers, and (c) because it stops you turning into a goblin who eats children at night.

Also 10/10 you can buy books for “work now”. This is perfect. Nothing can go wrong.

  

 

what’s the best writing advice you’ve been given?! and do you prefer 1st drafts or doing rewrites/edits??

How To Keep Writing When You Have A Mental Illness (And Just Kinda Want To Shriek)

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Yes, many writers struggle with mental illness. And no it’s not charming or helpful for our work.

Writers are often stereotyped to be, at the very least, depressed. And (I’m not kidding) there are people who openly say artists HAVE to be mentally ill to create good art. And do you want to know what I think?? mY FULL OPINION IS: NO.

Writing while being mentally ill is hard. It’s not a lot of fun and often it makes us quit, or lose opportunities, or not enjoy something we truly love because it’s such a fight to keep it up. You need support. You don’t need to be stigmatised or told you’re “broken” or told your work is more valuable if you’re struggling or sick.

I have been diagnosed with social/general anxiety and depression. I don’t say much about it online, but sometimes I want to mention it, because it’s helpful to know you’re not alone. We writers tend to look at other’s work and think, “Yeah they have it together and I never will.” Haha h HAH AH HAHA. No, my friend. I am just a constant silent scream.

So SHOUT OUT TO YOU. I think you’re doing great. And if I may share some things that have helped me…

Tips To Help You Keep Writing If You Have A Mental Illness

…Make Visual Reminders Of The Good Things

For me personally, my brain likes to delete everything good that ever happens. This sucks, but I don’t think it’s fully our fault. So I collect good things. Nice comments about my work. Tweets of people flailing. A really super epic thing my agent said. A beta reader’s comment.

Print them. Stick them to your wall. Put them in a folder on your laptop. DO IT.

This is not narcissistic. And I was about to say “this is not pride”…but actually: BE PROUD.

Recently I had an excruciating round of edits. I ended up with 7 pages of edit notes and this insurmountable dread that I couldn’t do this. I must’ve failed so so bad for my book to need this much work, right??? Well, for starters: no, brain! No! Making something better doesn’t always mean the last version was trash. But that aside, what I did was: I picked out the comments on my edits that were super encouraging and I enlarged them, printed them, put them on my wall.

I have a note that says “Your writing is brilliant here” —> That is the comment I look at when I’m feeling like a pile of stale crumbs.

 

…PACE YOURSELF WHEN IT COMES TO CRITIQUES.

Um, yeah, you still need critiques. You are not going to be a great writer until you get them. (TRUST ME.) Now you already know your brain is going to buckle when you get told what sucks, so pace yourself! Actually prep your brain with coping mechanisms!

Keep these in mind:

☆ don’t get TOO many opinions all at once
☆ you will overwhelm yourself and then turn into a potato and fall into a muddy paddock and ne’er return
☆ 2-3 critique partners/betas is a good idea (I like to have 1 who’ll fangirl + 1 who’ll be tough….balance!)
☆ do not work on critiques the second you get them back!! leave it a few days, a few weeks! mull on them!
☆ be teachable, because you seriously didn’t get it perfect on the first try
☆ NO ONE GETS IT PERFECT. YOU’RE NOT A FAILURE
☆ look at critiques as an opportunity to spend more time with your favourite characters
☆ eat between 2 or 9 cakes

 

…YOU DON’T HAVE TO WRITE ABOUT YOUR MENTAL ILLNESS.

While I do love the #ownvoices movement, I think it brings this expectation to write your own experiences. You do not have to if you don’t want to. There is a need for your voice, your story, your experience on the topic! Of course! But you are actually free as an artist to art about whatever you heckin’ want.

I almost always write anxious characters. But the first time I decided to address anxiety with a label and treatment? My 27th writing project.

Writing your experiences can be (a) triggering and send you backwards, (b) exhausting, and (c) a lot of pressure. So you don’t owe anyone your experience, but do share it if you want to!

 

…WRITING IS HARD FOR EVERYONE.

I have seen people say “No one will publish me because I have X illness.” And look…there are awful agents out there and narrow-minded publishers. Good writing and good authors get snubbed because they’re “too different”. Not denying. It’s not fair and it’s not right either. People gatekeep and diverse authors and books are often turned away because “oh we already have one of those”. (As if every book is the same?!)

But also: Writing is hard for everyone. I mean really hard. I’ve thought of my atypical brain as a reason I haven’t gotten an opportunity. (My first book didn’t sell. It got thoroughly trunked. A Thousand Perfect Notes is the 16th book I wrote and my 2nd attempt at getting published.) But I do think. more often than not, mentally ill authors have the same fails other authors do: bad timing and our writing needing to get better.

There’s a difference between “no one gets my writing” and “my writing needs to get better.”

The point is: when your brain says “this is too hard because of who we are” = your reply is needs to be refusal. You’ve got this.

 

…DON’T FOLLOW SOMEONE ELSE’S SCHEDULE.

There is always that feeling that you have to do “this and then this” to be a writer. I can thoroughly promise that you don’t. Don’t let someone tell you that you have to write every day or use this-and-this writing program or plot with the snowflake-method, etc. etc. Try a ton of methods and skip what you hate.

Do you need to write 500 words and lie down? DO IT. Do you need to write 200 words at a time? THAT’S FINE! Does it take you a year to finish a draft? AT LEAST YOU FINISHED IT!

There are so many ways to get to your goal.

 

…DON’T QUIT. TAKE A BREAK.

I see so many writers say “I can’t do this anymore I quit.” When what they really need is a break. A decent break. I have been one of these writers, don’t worry! I stopped writing for about 6 months. Then I went back because ohhhh look at that…I just needed time off. Maybe it takes you longer if you’re struggling with overload and overwhelm, but give yourself that grace.

So before you get to “I quit”, try:

☆ taking a break!
☆ don’t write or think about writing for at least a month
☆ refill your creative tank
☆ if you need time off??? you take it. you don’t have to do everything all at once
☆ what if you ate a lot of waffles. I’m not saying it’s the cure but I’m not saying it isn’t…
☆  no one should be working all the time
☆ if you still “need” to be working or you panic (I get that!) then try doing something else: plot a new fun story, listen to some different music, write “bloopers” into your story (these are fun!!) or switch up your writing routine
☆ get someone to flail over your characters. 10/10 this helps
☆ raise a kraken as your son

 

…THE BEST WAYS TO GET BETTER ARE BY READING AND WRITING.

This is my #1 advice for any writer at any time. Write tons of books. It doesn’t matter if some are hellishly ugly. Write more and more. You get better by practising. I know this feels like an insurmountable request at times (mental illness often comes with feeling so exhausted from just trying to live) so remember no one is asking you to write a million words today. Or even tomorrow.

But don’t throw it because it’s not working. EVERY writer needs to practise.

SHOUT THESE AT YOURSELF EVERY TIME YOU FEEL LIKE YOU CAN’T DO THIS

  • you don’t have to write EXACTLY LIKE YOUR FAVOURITE AUTHOR to be considered “good”
  • just because it’s not good now, doesn’t mean it won’t ever be
  • yes your brain will self-sabotage and yes you might be physically incapable of writing for a while…but you can still do this. Even if it’s not right this minute.
  • it actually doesn’t matter how long it takes you to achieve your goal
  • holding your own book is 5000000% better than you even can imagine. THINK ABOUT THAT. YOU CAN GET TO THIS.
  • the internet shows you a lot of success stories but I guarantee those authors bled and wept too
  • a ton of your favourite authors are also struggle with mental health! These authors are open about their journeys with mental illness online: VE Schwab and Katrina Leno have anxiety, Maggie Stiefvater and Adam Silvera and John Green have OCD, and Patrick Ness has depression/anxiety.
  • remember to love writing (I know that’s hard) but sometimes it’s actually the perfect escape from your own spiralling thinking to some place where you can control the adventure
  • your story IS important!! no one can tell it like you can.
  • you got this because you’re kind of made of magic

don’t feel pressured to share your mental health struggles if you don’t want to! but if you do…feel free to add your tips in the comments! what keeps you writing? do you write about your mental illness or do you prefer not to?

 

Your Frequently Asked Questions Are Being ANSWERED! (About Publishing, Querying, And If I Ever Sleep???)

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For the first time in my small slightly rabid life, I am about to do a Frequently Asked Questions post.

FREQUENTLY. Do you see that?! Usually I am either (a) making up questions to ask myself because apparently I’m just that needy, or (b) just answering some random questions I’ve called out to the universe for! But this time it’s: FREQUENTLY. Because being an author means a lot of you have the same questions. Good questions! I will give good answers! Lmao complete lie I will most undoubtedly leave some troll answers. I’m just definitely feeling like I’ve made it as an author ok.

Anyway just in case you didn’t see me mention it 29894 times: my debut A Thousand Perfect Notes is now OUT. You can add it on Goodreads and buy it on BookDepository (which does free world wide shipping) or Amazon US. And my neeeext book, The Boy Who Steals Houses, is out April 2019.

I’M FINALLY A REAL LIVE AUTHOR HOW DID THAT HAPPEN.

 

LOOK AT MY SONS

PS. That is not the final cover for TBWSH haha no. But I’ve been told it will be yellow!

Also my author copies arrived and I am 100% using this post as an excuse to show you my ultimate stacks.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE A THOUSAND PERFECT NOTES

I get asked this a lot. And I also go ahead and flap around nervously because THE ANSWER IS SO HUGE. I get inspiration from everywhere. I pull a book together from hearing a piece of music, reading a line out of a book, listening to someone say three words, writing something that means a lot to me, etc. etc.

Some of the influences for ATPN specifically are:

  • It’s a very very loose retelling of a classical composer’s life (can’t say who because it’s a spoiler, but you’ll know when you read it!)
  • Also “apparently” this specific composer was forced by a parent to play all night…
  • Also a small smoosh of a genderbent Cinderella in there (AUGUST IS PRINCE CHARMING)
  • I’m also a pianist, so I wanted to write about a musician!
  • I wanted to talk about low self-worth. I think it’s a devastatingly universal topic.
  • And, um…ok about 13% of the reason I wrote it is also because I wrote “COMPOSER RETELLING HIS NAME IS BECK” on a sticky note on my wall and picked it randomly amongst dozens.
  • I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO TELL YOU. PRETEND I HAVE A BETTER ORIGIN STORY.

CAN YOU SEND ME A REVIEW COPY?

You have to request via my publicist at Hachette Children’s UK! I’m not in charge of this and I’m not super rich so I can’t just send copies to anyone.

Also, when a book is out, usually now is the time to buy it! I know that’s not possible for everyone so: ask your library to order it in too!

WHAT IS YOUR DAILY ROUTINE AS A WRITER?

I actually don’t have one. I write in intense hits, instead of daily. But my average-sort-of-process-to-writing-a-book is:

  • Spend anywhere from 1 week to 2 years thinking up a novel idea.
  • Plot the WHOLE THING in my head like an epic movie.
  • Hate myself for all the explosions I put in due to dramatic soundtracks while plotting????
  • Cait??? This is a freaking contemporary??? You caNNOT.
  • Write an outline (usually 20,000-words). This totally eliminates writers’ block for me while drafting!
  • Write the 1st draft (anywhere between 3 days to 10 days).
  • Give it a break (anywhere from 3 weeks to 10 YEARS)
  • Pitch to my agent and see if she likes it!
  • Rewrite or edit extremely intensely (often I rewrite every. single. word)
  • Get feedback from one or two betas or my sister if I cry enough on her and she takes pity on my pathetic soul
  • REWRITE / EDIT SOME MORE
  • Send to agent.
  • If she says yes we should submit it to publishers: moooore edits and rewrites!
  • Submission to publishers!
  • If I’m lucky enough to land a deal — GUESS WHAT MORE EDITS AND EDITS AND EDITS.
  • A little book, in your hand. And me, sobbing vaguely in joy and also slight deranged madness in the background.

HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT QUERYING FOR ATPN AND HOW DID YOU KNOW WHO TO QUERY?

So firstly: I didn’t query ATPN! I signed with my agent for a fantasy book that we submitted to publishers and it didn’t sell. ATPN was the second book I wrote and gave to my agent. (See?! You have more than one shot at these things!)

And secondly: if you’re asking things like “who do I query”, I’m not trying to be mean, but you NEED to do more research. You need to google and read up on the immense volume of advice that’s out there. I know it’s intense, but you need to do it. Don’t rely on other people to walk you through it, ok? It’s not particularly fair on them to do the work for you. If you want to be an author, you need to do the work yourself.

ARE WE EVER GOING TO GET [INSERT BOOK I’VE BLOGGED ABOUT IN THE PAST]?

Ok so the awkward part about being a blogger and now a traditionally published author is that I have talked about a heck of a lot about projects that you will never never get to read. I’m SORRY. There are so many factors, from (a) if I even like that book anymore, (b) if I’ve kind of reused parts of it in other books thus killing it bloodily, (c) if my agent thinks it’s a good idea?! (d) if publishers are looking for that kind of story, (e) etc. etc. etc.

So I currently have a 2-book deal. I have NO IDEA what will come next! I’m working on things™ and I can’t talk about them! So I won’t say “no” to anything OR “yes” to anything. Don’t you love me.

WAS A THOUSAND PERFECT NOTES OR THE BOY WHO STEALS HOUSES MORE FUN TO WRITE?

Definitely TBWSH was more fun! As you know, ATPN is pretty dark and tense and the cute smoosh parts are brief. TBWSH has a lot of banter and shenanigans (BEFORE I TOTALLY RUIN YOU WITH THE DARKNESS) and there’s a big family in there…so the antics are madness and so so much fun.

I’M SO EXCITED FOR YOU TO READ THIS AHHHHHHHHH.

WILL YOUR BOOK BE OUT IN AMERICA SOON?

For now the answer is no! This isn’t up to me. An American publisher has to want to buy ATPN from my UK publisher and so far no one has.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Book Depository has free shipping though and it is currently up on Amazon US (although they run out of stock quite fast sometimes?!)

HOW MANY AUTHOR COPIES DO YOU GET?

This depends on every individual author and what’s in their contract! I’ve just gotten mine and I got 20! Now 19 because my family seems to think they are fREE FOR ALL.

JUST KIDDING. I LOVE YOU MUM. THANKS FOR KEEPING ME ALIVE IN MY CHILDHOOD.

DO YOU STILL HAVE TIME FOR FRIENDS AND FAMILY WITH YOUR CAREER?

HAHAH JUST KIDDING.

I mean, I need to spend time with family so I can steal their habits and mannerisms, their speech and weird Sunday lunch stories because like how the heck else do you write.

WHY ARE YOUR BOOKS YOUR “SONS” AND NOT “DAUGHTERS”?

Because I’ve only written by boy narrators at this point so thEY ARE MY SONS.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO ACTUALLY GET PUBLISHED?

Duuuude. There is no ANSWER FOR THIS! Some people take years. Others take (I’m not even kidding) 3 weeks to land an agent and a book deal. It’s your journey and it’s going to be different.

But for me:

  • It took 3 years to go from 1st draft to published novel.
  • It generally takes about two years from signing your contract to getting your book on the shelf.
  • If you sacrifice honey cakes and your least favourite sister to the fairies, maybe things will go faster.
  • Not that I…have….done that….

I also wrote a post on how I got an agent and a book deal.

HOW DOES BEING A PUBLISHED AUTHOR COMPARE TO WHAT YOU THOUGHT IT WOULD BE LIKE?

I actually had no idea what to expect. I mean, it ain’t all glamourous. Things aren’t smooth….there have been a lot of disappointments and hiccups in the behind-the-scenes of what I wanted my “perfect” publishing journey to look like. But hey me?!? Unrealistic expectations much?!

Also I never never realised just how freaking GOOD it would feel to hold your own book. To see it on shelves!! To have people saying they over it and it means something to them. And to make your editors cry. To have professionals in the industry ABSOLUTELY LOVE YOUR WORK.

UGH IT’S SO SURREAL AND INCREDIBLE.

WHAT’S YOUR NEW BOOK ABOUT AND WHEN IS IT PUBLISHED?

It is called The Boy Who Steals Houses and it’s out April 4th, 2019! You can read the proper synopsis on Goodreads but basically it’s about two homeless brothers who break into houses when the occupants are on holidays. Until one day it goes badly wrong…and they end up in a house with a huge noisy family. Genderbend Goldilocks retelling?! WHY YES.

It also features horrible decision making, #ownvoices autism rep, immense amount of sibling bonds, and the kind of ending you’re going to scream at me about. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

DID YOU HAVE MUCH SAY IN YOUR BOOK COVER DESIGN?

Nope! Total surprise for me and I freaking loved it.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO WRITE A THOUSAND PERFECT NOTES?

10 days for the first draft.

DO YOU EVER SLEEP?

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT A THOUSAND PERFECT NOTES?

  • It is shiny
  • It is smol
  • It is mine

ADVICE FOR WRITERS WHO WANT TO PURSUE THIS AS A CAREER?

But if you want a book deal? DON’T. QUIT. It seems like the most cliche advice. But seriously! If your book fails? Write another! If you get rejected? Rework it. If you’re not good enough? Write and write and read good books and then write and write some more.

HOW DO YOU GET MOTIVATION TO FINISH WRITING BOOKS?

Holding a finished copy of your book is actually the most motivational thing ever. And I just WANT THIS?! I don’t know how else to explain it! I want it so so so much so there was no way I was ever going to quit or slow down.

WHY DID YOU USE GERMAN IN YOUR BOOK?

Again, because it’s based on a German classical composer’s life! I also had the amazing help of Maraia and Sebastian to make sure my German was, ya know…actually intelligible. My last name is German and my great-grandparents were German immigrants to Australia, but let me tell you: I GOT NOTHING STILL.

WHAT PLANS DO YOU HAVE FOR UPCOMING NOVELS?

I caaaan’t say! Did you know I kept ATPN’s book deal a secret from you for like 16 months? Ya. So I can’t keep you 100% up-to-date on what I’m doing with my publishing journey, but so right now just know I’m working on various drafts, my agent and I have PLANS™ and my publishers * probably want to buy me a pocket dragon because they love me so much.

* This is a full lie.

WHY DID YOU BREAK MY HEART WITH A THOUSAND PERFECT NOTES?

WHERE ARE YOUR BOOKS AVAILABLE?

In Australia, Europe and New Zealand = in bookstores! If it’s not, ask them to get it in.

Rest of the world? Try ordering online at Amazon, Book Depository, Wordery, Booktopia, Waterstones.

OR ASK YOUR LIBRARY.

so if you’ve had a burning question and I missed it?! go ahead and askkkkk. i don’t bite! except when i’m very hungry. and let me know where you get inspiration for your writing from!!