Second Chance

Here's a line I wrote this morning. It comes from a scene in Second Chance, (the sequel to First Comes Love), where Gray kisses Dylan. This is how it makes him feel:


My heart pulls apart and collides back together with so much force my hands start to shake. I feel like I’m speeding down a highway in the middle of the night with no headlights on. A single kiss can be one of the craziest things you ever do.   

I like this description, how it conveys the overwhelming, intoxicating, and terrifying feelings of falling in love. I understand why they call it “falling” in love. It is a fall, it’s this letting go, this accepting that is so scary (and tough for Gray in this book).

I also love that this line was inspired by one of my editors. I would never have written it if she hadn’t given me feedback on this scene.

I’m working on the rewrites to Second Chance, but I still can’t make an official announcement of when/where/how it will be published because I still don’t know. My publishers haven’t rejected or accepted this book. I’m still in the painful waiting phase (probably the worst place for a writer to be).

Instead of sitting around, stewing with insecurity over whether or not this book is good enough to be published, (because IT IS), I’ve been working with a small team of editors on the rewrites. If I do decide to go the self-publishing route, I want to make sure this book is fit to be published and that only happens with quality editing. Good writing is rewriting and I could never publish something without hiring some professional, critical eyes to examine my work. Every word of every sentence needs to be critically critiqued. That’s what makes a book shine. Also, some of my best writing comes during rewrites. I have a lot of  “Ah, ha!” moments, where lights snap on in my head and everything falls into place.

Once I have the manuscript fully cleaned up (in the next week or two), I will announce how you can get your hands on it! I’ll have some exciting news soon, and a very awesome playlist to share.

~Katie

More Drama to Come

Get ready. I have a pretty important announcement to make. But first, a little backstory:

After I finished writing First Comes Love (over two years ago), I turned off my laptop, sighed, and said, “Gray and Dylan, peace out. It’s been fun.”

Done. I was done writing their story. I had so much fun hanging out with these characters, it was bittersweet to end our adventures together, but I wrote their story and it was over.

Or, so I thought.

The night that I finished writing First Comes Love, I turned off my light, closed my eyes and…Gray and Dylan were still in my head. They kept talking to me. They kept arguing. They still had so much to say. This went on for MONTHS. It was starting to drive me nuts. I yelled back at them, “Get out of my head! I told your story, and it’s over. Deal with it. Move on and leave me the hell alone.” Well, they are stubborn, and relentless and they would not give up. Apparently, their story is far from over. Full scenes shot through my head, pages of dialogue kept me up at night. Finally, just to shut them up, I sat down and started to write the vivid scenes planted in my head. I figured, if anything, I could use it for writing material down the road. As soon as I opened the door a crack, SLAM, Gray and Dylan sat down, kicked their feet up and were determined to stay a while.

So, this is my drawn-out way of saying, I wrote a “dramatic continuation” to First Comes Love. It’s called Second Chance and it’s so ridiculously good. Awesome drama. Heavy make out scenes. Lots of emotional rollercoasters. Tons of inspiration. Basically, it’s more Gray and Dylan.

I wasn’t going to announce news about this book until I had a written contract with my publishers, but I’m still waiting to hear back from them—they’ve had the manuscript for months and are still debating whether or not to take it. I’m praying that they do. It’s a lovely story. So, I’m announcing my plan in hopes of putting some positive energy out there in the book universe. Please root for Second Chance to be published! Tweet about it, blog about it, whatever you have to do. Gray and Dylan deserve to have their story continue.

GOT BOOKS?

Friends, after months of being sick with this pregnancy I am finally turning the corner and I have this wonderful new feeling coursing through my body called: ENERGY. It’s great timing, since I participated in a huge YA author event last weekend called “GOT BOOKS,” hosted by Kindt’s Booksellers in The Dalles, Oregon. Twelve authors were there, and one of the authors, Gregg Olsen, made this epic (and very high budget) video to capture the event:




I got to do a few school visits as well, here is a picture of me with the amazingly awesome students at Maupin High School in Maupin, Oregon. I'm the one in front wearing the painted jeans.

This picture points out that I am long overdue for a haircut. Also, I don't know why I'm trying to shove that poor student away from me, like I'm boxing her out in a basketball game. Oh, well...

~Later.

Up Coming Events...

You guys, this month has been a strange one.  I’m pregnant and I’ve been so sick with this baby, I’ve literally been strapped to the couch, which is very unlike my usual ADD-can't-stop-moving personality. My one book signing event, the FCL release party, I had to fight through nausea long enough to do a reading and I actually started crying at one point. Yeah, LAME. In my defense, I was explaining the dedication of the book when I started crying , which is a tear-jerker story.

So, thank you to everyone who has sent me emails and comments about First Comes Love. Your support and enthusiasm is seriously helping me get through this pregnancy.  I’m still so excited to have this book published, and I hope one of these days I will get to give this book the energy and publicity it deserves. My goal is to do an extensive book tour next spring, to celebrate the paperback release of First Comes Love, as well as the release of Middle Ground (coming out on November 20^th, four days before my due date. How’s that for overwhelming?). 

On a lighter note, I did a phone interview with Seventeen.com last week. I grew up idolizing this magazine; it was my bible to help decode the confusing male mind and figure out what to do with friendship drama and what on earth to wear in the decade-behind, fashion void that is Central Wisconsin.  So, doing an interview was a dream come true. I think I asked the journalist more questions than she asked me. Yeah, I like to keep it awkward. I will post a link to the article as soon as it’s up.

I'm participating in my first multi-author event next Saturday, June 2^nd. It’s at the oldest bookstore in the Pacific Northwest, Klindt's Booksellers, in The Dalles, OR. It will feature twelve YA authors (bestselling and award-winning authors. Oh, and me). Definitely come and check this out. There will be live music, a barbeque, and I’ve heard rumors that Channing Tatum might make a guest appearance. Okay, that’s completely made up, but he’s my current celebrity crush so I can dream.

Finally, my “author sister,” Annabel Monaghan is coming out with her novel, “A Girl Named Digit,” on June 2^nd. I had the priviledge of reading an ARC of the book and I LOVED IT.  It’s hilarious, witty, smart, and there’s a hot boy mixed in, all great ingredients for a perfect read.

Thanks again to everyone who has picked up a copy of First Comes Love. Pass the love around.

Hello friends and loved ones. I hope you’re enjoying First Comes Love (as much as I thoroughly enjoyed writing it). I wanted to show you all the cover of the German edition of First Comes Love (Dylan and Gray is the German title).

This copy has two book jacket designs, one featuring Gray and one featuring Dylan. I love this! It’s so much fun (and can I just say that Gray and Dylan are HOTTIES?) It’s strange to see my characters depicted on book jackets, since I don’t even have a perfect image of them myself. I don’t necessarily see Dylan as hot, I think she’s more quirky looking, but her personality makes her beautiful. I definitely see Gray as attractive. His looks are actually inspired by a baseball player a had a huge crush on when I was younger (he now plays pro baseball, so I’m not going to mention his name, mostly out of embarrassment).

I have to say, I love the guy (model) they feature as Gray on the German cover. He has great eyes. And they both have great lips. I’m a huge lip person, (it’s one of the first things I notice about people) so this is very exciting for me. I can't wait to get my hands on this edition! 

Flipping Narratives in First Comes Love

First Comes Love, as some of you already know, flips narratives between the two protagonists, Dylan and Gray. This actually wasn’t the way the original manuscript was written. The very first manuscript was written completely in Gray’s perspective. I had a lot of fun writing a book from the guy’s point of view. It was refreshing, and challenging as a writer. I used to teach creative writing in high school, and I always had my students do an opposite gender monologue, because I think it’s important to try and understand people outside of ourselves, our ages, and our genders. It also opens up your mind to move and think and see in ways you can’t do when you write just from one gender.

So, after writing the first draft, I talked it over with my editor, Julia. She said, “You know, I want to see a bit more of Dylan in this story. I want to know her better.” At first we discussed rewriting the book from Dylan’s perspective, but that would have changed the entire story. There were so many scenes I loved specifically because they were Gray’s words.

I thought it over and said, “Julia, this isn’t Dylan’s story to tell. It’s Gray’s story.” We agreed that flipping narratives would be a great option, but Dylan is a strong character that tends to steal the spotlight whenever she enters a scene (which is why we love her, right?). So, in my rewrites I was very careful not to let her take the spotlight from Gray. Although Dylan is a huge character and a major catalyst to the story, I still wanted to keep her character a little more mysterious, and Gray’s character the main voice and central focus.

When I talk about my book with people, they either tend to side more with Dylan, or more with Gray (although it appears everyone roots for them as a couple). I think that’s great. They are very, very, different people, which, in my opinion, usually make the best relationships (if they can make it work). Will Dylan and Gray make it work? You'll have to read it to find out. :)

Free Autographed Bookplates for FCL

Want to get a free autographed bookplate for First Comes Love? Well, if you purchase the book during the month of May, (or if you pre-ordered it before May), I will mail you a bookplate with my autograph. All you have to do is send me a photo of your receipt to this email:   katiekacvinsky(at)uwalumni(dot)com

Include your name and address and I'll send it out to you. It's that easy.

This is for US addresses only.