#BIR2012 - CINDER by Marissa Meyer

Welcome to day two of Best I've Read 2012!

Be sure to check out the Best I've Read Blog to see today's features: INSURGENT by Veronica Roth and PANDEMONIUM by Lauren Oliver.

CINDER is one of those books that surprised me in all the perfect ways. Once I picked it up I never wanted to put it down, but I also never wanted it to end. It was one of the easiest choices for me when I picked my top 5 this year. You can check out my review of CINDER on the Books Complete Me blog HERE.

***About CINDER***

Released: January 3, 2012
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

From Goodreads: Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Find Marissa Meyer Online: Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook 

***Guest Post***

Marissa Meyer was kind of enough to provide a guest post for me today. I hope you enjoy reading it!

Some Things Never Change (Thank the Stars)

By Marissa Meyer

I am so honored that CINDER was chosen as one of Cindy’s “Best I’ve Read 2012” book selections. Cindy asked if, for this guest post, I could talk a bit about the book’s back story, which makes for a very timely post as I’m writing this on the tail-end of National Novel Writing Month, and, as so many novels do these days, CINDER first started life as a NaNo novel.

But as I started writing about my experience with NaNoWriMo, it led to some heavy reminiscing and a realization that even though I’m in a completely different place, career-wise, than I was back then—some things haven’t changed at all. And I’m so very happy about that.

I first drafted out CINDER during November of 2008. (It was an insane thirty days during which I wrote 150,011 words, which is kind of a long story, but if you’re curious you can read more about the writing adventure here: http://blog.lettersandlight.org/post/23295074539/i-sold-my-nanowrimo-novel-a-q-a-with-marissa-meyer.)

That was four whole years ago now, and a lot has happened since then. It took me two years to revise, edit, query, and sell the series, another year before CINDER released, and here I am writing this blog post having lived with the official title of “published author” for almost another full year. I’m now a full-time writer, have been on three multi-city tours, visited a Hollywood studio, been on panels with some of my all-time favorite authors, and even got to go to a book fair in Italy earlier this year.

And yet, five days ago I finished National Novel Writing Month again, with a brand new YA fantasy novel, and it reminded me that some things never change.

Things like:

Writing is still fun. Sure, there are days when it’s a struggle and a headache, but for the most part I still find myself succumbing to daydreams and giddiness and that itchy-finger feeling when I’m enthralled by a new story. I still adore getting to meet characters for the first time. I still sometimes wake up in the middle of the night with a shiny idea in my head, or have to pull off to the side of the road because a perfect bit of dialogue came to me while I was driving. I still yearn to jump back into a story when I’ve taken too long of a break from it.

You still have to make the time for it. Like many writers, I always imagined that when I became a full-time writer, the time would just… be there. It would be my job! I would be at home all the time! What else would I possibly have to do? Well, it turns out, there will always be other things vying for your attention. If it isn’t a day job, it’ll be chores, family obligations, promotion and marketing work, or an endlessly towering reading list. Making writing a priority is a decision that must be made time and time again.

It’s more important than ever to appreciate the small things. No matter where you are in your writing career, you’ll always be looking forward to whatever comes next. Finish a novel. Get an agent. Get a book deal. Earn a bigger advance. Hit a bestseller list. Get a movie deal. Have a theme park based off your series. (Why not? J.K. Rowling got one!) It is truly never ending, which is why I’m learning that sometimes the most rewarding things are those little victories and rewards we earn every day. Finishing a chapter. Figuring your way out of a tricky plot mess. Reading over your work with a glass of wine in the evening. Buying a fresh bouquet of flowers for your writing desk. These are the things that you can appreciate wherever you are in your career, and they often make me feel luckier than any number of awards or sales figures could. Because these are the things that make me feel like a “real writer.”

Wherever you are with your writing, I urge you to find one thing about your writing path to love and appreciate every day.

Thank you again, Cindy, for choosing CINDER for your Best I’ve Read event and inviting me on to your blog today! I’m wishing all your readers a lovely holiday season, and happy writing.

***Giveaway***

Thanks to Feiwel & Friends, I have one copy of CINDER to giveaway. This is open to U.S. mailing addresses only. Please read all the Best I've Read giveaway rules for further information. Use the Rafflecopter below to enter!

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