Writer’s Block Need Not Be A ‘Vice’: A Brief Story About the Struggle to Create

Vice Front Cover 5.5x8.5Vice is finally published! Part two of my YA Sci-Fi series has made its way into the world, three years after the release of the first book, Tick. I did not plan a pre-release. I have not sought many ARC reviews. The birth of Vice was a challenge to say the least, and I wanted to share what I have learned about the process of writing this book, what I hope to gain from the experience, and some advice and wisdom to other struggling authors.

Let’s go back to the beginning. I wrote the first draft of Tick in three and a half weeks, a serious feat for any writer. The story poured out of me from beginning to end. I knew little about where the story was going beyond a handful of major plot points, and I didn’t have an ending. I got up every morning and hammered out 5-8 thousand words a day, seeing maybe only the next one or two chapters in my head. It was during the process of writing Tick that I discovered the ending, that I realized the purpose behind the story, that I was revealing a part of myself that needed to be healed in not only the process of writing Tick, but sharing it. I spent an additional seven months rewriting and editing Tick, but it was an almost magical writing experience. Continue reading

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Book Trailers Don’t Have To Be Boring

This first half of 2017 has been quite a success in my little world. I made author friends and co-founded Made in L.A. Writers, an indie author co-op based in Los Angeles. The Made in L.A. group got to participate in the LA Times Festival of Books. My long-developing TV pilot script Wilde Girl was selected as a finalist for the Barnstorm Fest. I have one book and two feature scripts in the editing phase. I spent four months working in production and learning just about everything there is about getting a television show on the air. Needless to say, it’s been a busy year.

I have learned over the course of these last several years, that times like these, when things are going well for me, it is crucial to give a piece of that pie back to others deserving of it. Which is precisely why I used my newly refurbished video editing skills to help promote the works of two of my Made in L.A. partners, Cody Sisco and Dario Ciriello. Remember, book trailers don’t have to be boring. It’s another chance to tell your story!

Join Me on Indie Author Day!

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Join me for Indie Author Day on October 8th at the Alhambra Civic Library!

Over 300 libraries from all across North America will host their own local author events with the support of the Indie Author Day team. I, along with my a dozen other indie authors — including my dad, Dennis Sanchez — will be at the Alhambra library from 1-4 pm.

At 2:30 pm I will be part of the “Writing for Young People”, so be sure to be around for that. Authors will have books to sell and sign. Please come say hi!

Two new reviews for Tick

Reviews are still coming in for “Tick”, which is fantastic motivation as I slog through edits of part two in the series, “Vice”. It is so easy to get deterred during the editing process, and then positive reviews remind me that there was a reason why I started writing Jo Bristol’s story in the first place, so hurry the hell up and finish, dumbass!

Ah. Had to get that out. I feel better now, thanks.

Anyway, here are some snippets of those reviews, in case you haven’t read “Tick” yet and are looking for a reason to:

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Indie Reader Review

Rose is a good writer of dialogue, and is deft at slowly doling out information to locate the reader within Jo’s world. The story is exciting, fast-paced, and full of surprises… TICK is a terrific book, which more than stands its ground in a crowded field of dystopian fiction featuring awesome, if “wrett” female heroes.

Side note: Props to the reviewer for using my slang!

Readers’ Favorite

…Author Allison Rose kept the essence of thrill and action all the way till the end. This is one of those novels that will keep your heart beating and make you live the life of the character. I was completely invested in the story from the first chapter. Jo is the type of character that you root for right to the very end. She was awesome and very reflective.

Thanks for those reviews!

On the subject of book two of The Tick Series, I can’t say for certain when it will be released. It’s a complicated story with a lot of elements involved, which makes editing tricky. I don’t, however, want to rush the process for the sake of a release date, but I assure you, it is coming. Patience, grasshoppers.

5 Things I Learned From My First Book Signing

just sitting here selling myself... err, my books

just sitting here selling myself … err, my books

Yesterday, I had the privilege of partaking in a Local Author Signing Day in South Pasadena. My fellow authors included Koji Steven Sakai and Dennis Sanchez (who is my dad, and also my writing inspiration). For my very first event, it went swimmingly. I sold a fair amount of books, got to hang out with some great people, and also received some valuable publishing advice.

But of course, there is always more going on behind the scenes than meets the eye. Every moment is a learning experience, is it not? Here are five things I learned from my first book signing, and I hope you can take something out of it too.

5. Selling yourself is as hard as it sounds

I had this plan to ride my bike to the South Pasadena Farmer’s Market and pass out fliers for the signing. I thought it would be easy, considering the city is populated by educated and eclectic residents, so of course they would want to support local authors. I thought it even might be fun because I would get to talk to people about my book. But when I pulled those fliers out of my bag … I froze. I am a social person for the most part, but not amongst hundreds of people I don’t know. My initial spiel included my introduction, who I was representing, and a run-down of the event. Most people sat politely while I interrupted their afternoon for that whopping 30 second lecture, but after the fifth group, I nearly gave up right there. Not only did I feel like an ass for jumping in the middle of their conversations, but I felt that I was wasting my time. After anxiously texting my husband that I was failing miserably, he suggested I shorten my spiel to “Support local authors!” and basically shove the fliers in unsuspecting hands. That was even less do-able. I am not one to take immediate rejection easily, and less people are willing to take anything from a peddler shoving things in their faces. Needless to say, I went home early.

As it turns out, I’m not as good at this self-promotion thing as I thought. I still have people telling me “I didn’t know you wrote a book!” because I’m just not that good at talking about myself. I am a writer and an artist, but I’m now also a salesman. It is a frightful combination. I’m still trying to figure that part out. Continue reading

The First Draft of Anything is Shit…

All Hail the Wendigo (aka Chuck Wendig)

All Hail the Wendigo (aka Chuck Wendig)

1st Draft: Weee! Writing is so awesome and fun and look at all the cool ideas I have! This is great! I’m gonna be rich and famous and everybody is gonna read my book and LOVE it because it’s just awesome!!

2nd Draft: This story is even better now that I’ve cleaned up the rough spots. And oh look how complete it is with its fancy chapter fonts and clean margins and pretty formatting. Yes, pretty pretty manuscript. *pets computer monitor*

3rd Draft: Well that one part in the beginning there is kinda odd. It feels a little off to maybe but maybe no one will notice if I just nudge and smudge a little here and there. I mean, the rest is really great, who cares about this one part, right? Well, and maybe that other part in the middle…and the one at the end…

Continue reading

No Barbies in This Girl’s Drawer

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I didn’t burn Barbies, but I can’t say I was nice to them.

I never expected I’d become an author of Young Adult novels. Perhaps it was my stubborn insistence that the subjects and themes I’d been preparing to put into a literary context were too complex and bold for a younger audience.

And then I read The Hunger Games. And the wheels started turning.

Three major YA series in the last decade have come from female authors and feature young female protagonists (Suzanne Collins, Stephanie Meyer, and Veronica Roth). I wasn’t quite so taken to the Twilight Series, mostly because I was never really into vampires, and a story which mostly focuses on relationships isn’t quite my cuppa tea. Then Hunger Games and Divergent came barreling into the scene and I was all “Hellz yeh, these bitchez be awesome!”

Still, I felt there was something missing. Continue reading