Answer time! (I'm still suffering from FBS, so be warned)

Kathryn asked:I've checked out some of your older posts and I can't find anything on your progress towards getting an agent or writing your novel. Could you tell us more about that? :)

Hey Kathryn – I’m not sure if you want to know the details of my path to getting an agent, or just where I’m at in getting one. The word “progress” is what threw me off, because my progress to getting one is technically over as I do have an agent. I have two finished novels that she and I are working on revising and submitting, with a third that is also finished and needs revising but is on the back burner for now. If that is totally not what you wanted to hear, and instead you wanted to know what my path was, stay tuned because I am planning on doing a series of posts about my journey to getting my agent very soon.


Melissa asked: Hey Sara.... my internet's been down but I know you went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter recently and I'm going in a couple of weeks... I was just wondering if you remembered how expensive things were in the gift shops? Like did you think it was ridiculously expensive or was it reasonable?
Oh, the wonderful Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I love that place. A lot. The merchandise wasn’t cheap, but I figured it wouldn’t be, so I saved my money to get my souvenirs there. I got two shirts for myself and they were both around $20-$25. My sister waited in line for two hours to get a wand, and I believe she paid close to $30 for it. So not Rodeo Drive horrendous, but not cheap either. I hope you have a great time!

Also, I'd like to hear more about where you are in your journey as a writer.
As I mentioned above, I am agented and am working with her on two of my YA books. I’m hoping to have a deal before the end of the year (preferably much sooner than that!) but we’ll see. This business can be so slow – especially during the summer. Editors are pretty hard to get a hold of during August apparently, so… Hopefully something will happen sooner than later but you just never know.


(also, are you going to patent the title FBS because I rather like this syndrome.... :P)
I definitely think I should!

Carolyn V. asked:
Favorite writing snack. Fess up Sara. What do you eat when you write. (Please don't tell me you snack, although you might not because you are so skinny.) =)

Did you mean “please don’t tell me you don’t snack”? Oh dear. You’re going to be mad at me. Sometimes I do snack when I write, but most times I don’t. When I write, I'm just so absorbed that I forget to even eat meals, let alone snacks. Plus I can't stand typing with icky fingers (sticky, dirty, etc.) so I don't usually eat while I write. That doesn’t mean I don’t snack ever – I definitely do! However, I rarely ever buy myself candy or treats. Not because I don’t like them, I just don’t think to do it. It’s this weird mental thing that would take too long to explain in a Q&A. If you’re dying to know, I can do another post about it I guess. Ha ha! When I am going to snack on something it’s usually leftovers or desserts. The rare time I do get candy I love Swedish Fish, and Skittles (my favorite flavor is the green skittle in the purple bag), and I love those new fizzie ones. I also like tropical starbursts and I’m a pretty big fan of Symphony chocolate bars with toffee. My favorite kind of chocolate is hard to get here in the U.S. (although Ikea has made it much easier!), it's the Swedish chocolate Marabou. That chocolate is so amazing it will ruin you for almost all other kinds of chocolate bars. I do love Cadbury Mini Eggs that are only out at Easter. I can eat an entire bag in one sitting if I'm not careful. Also, one of my favorite snacks ever is to make ranch dip (the Hidden Valley kind with sour cream – fat free if I’m feeling guilty) and slice up cucumbers and celery and dip it in. Yum yum! Sometimes I’ll use potato chips to dip in it, too. Wow, that was a way longer answer than you anticipated, isn’t it? Oh well. Even snacking is complicated for me I guess. ;)

Janiel Miller asked:
When do you do your best writing?

I’d have to say when there aren’t distractions and when I have new music to listen to that I just love and haven’t gotten used to yet. It might be during naptime, or at night when the kids are asleep, but as long as no one is interrupting me every five minutes, I seem to get a lot more done. And when I have a new soundtrack or music to listen to that still gives me chills or makes my heart swell with emotion – that transfers to the page for me and I find that my stories just fly out through my fingers.

The Dixon Family asked:
I want to know how you are (present exhaustion excluded) and what type of book you are currently working on.)

I am up and down and all around. Life is kind of like that and so is the writing world. In life I am doing all that I can to be the best mom and wife possible. Some days go so well I feel exuberantly happy and secure with the “job” I’m doing and some days go so horrendously bad that I want to go hide in a corner and hire someone else to fix the messes I’m afraid I'm making. As far as writing goes, it’s about the same. One day I’ll get good news, or have a great writing day and feel like I can conquer the world and it’s only a matter of time before I have my deal! Others I feel like I’m never going to get there, even though I finally have an agent. So, overall I’m doing well. Ha, ha. :D
As for the type of book I’m working on, the two books I’m working on with my agent are both YA – one is fantasy that has been described as the tone of THE HUNGER GAMES meets the lyrical fantasy world of GRACELING, and the other is a paranormal romance about a girl with a unique ability that might end up getting her and everyone she loves killed. I’m also playing around with a new YA dystopian idea, but haven’t done too much on it yet.

I hope you enjoyed my answers. I am still suffering from FBS, so if they seem confusing and muddled, it’s because that is an apt description of my brain right now. Happy Friday!