What to Do, What to Do?

When it rains, it pours. That's how I've been feeling about writing lately.

To elaborate. I'm in the process of revising Siren 2 (official title TBA soon, I hope!), and that's going well...but I keep getting distracted. There's the fun middle-grade project I've been working on and am very excited about, the YA contemporary I started a couple of months ago, the other YA contemporary I started last weekend and can't stop thinking about, the YA supernatural-ish idea I've been researching, and so on and so forth. Siren 2 is currently my main focus, and while revisions are almost done, I'm still having a hard time ignoring other WIPs. I'm usually a single-project kind of girl, diving into whatever idea I've committed to and putting mental blinders on to others until I've seen the first one through. That's how I've been most productive in the past. But does that mean that's how I'll always be most productive?

So I'm curious. What do you, my fellow readers and writers, do when you have many ideas and only so many hours? Do you work on a few at a time? Assign days? Divide days? Force yourself to stick with one at a time? I'd love your thoughts!

On-My-Mind Monday

I'm about to dive into Siren 2 revisions, so before shifting into mono-focus, I thought I'd share a few things that have been occupying my non-writing thoughts lately.

First up: "Bachelor Pad." I'm not necessarily proud of it, but there's no denying the fact that I'm a "Bachelor"/"Bachelorette" fan. Although "fan" might not be the right word, considering how crazy the show drives me nearly every season. (Cases in point: Jason picking Melissa, then Molly, over Jillian, Jake picking Vienna, Brad picking no one, Frank realizing he still loved his ex after it was SO clear Ali was head-over-heels for him, etc.) I've watched almost every season, except for the first, when I didn't know what I was missing, and the Charlie season, when there must have been something else REALLY good on at the same time and we didn't have DVR. So I guess I'm more of a reluctant addict—I know it's not great for me, I know there are a million other more productive things I could be doing with that time...but I watch anyway. Because I can't NOT watch. But "Bachelor Pad?" I'm on the fence. Granted, only one episode has aired, but so far, I'm not hooked. Maybe there are too many of them, or maybe Tenley squealed too much for one episode, or maybe it was that nothing much happened besides an R-rated game of Twister. I'm not sure. Which means I should probably watch again tonight...you know, just to confirm that it's not worth spending two hours on every week.

Of course, if I didn't watch "Bachelor Pad" I'd have much more time to devote to my new BlackBerry Torch, which is oh-so pretty and shiny and entertaining. There's Word Mole, WiFi, and perhaps most exciting of all, a video camera! Which you can use to record videos that you can then post to YouTube—right from the phone! So watch out, Internet. A deluge of scintillating shih tzu performances may be headed your way.

I'd also have more time to watch old(ish) movies set in the Southwest. Thanks to Netflix, I've recently seen Tin Cup with Kevin Costner and Rene Russo, and Fools Rush In with Matthew Perry and Salma Hayek. Loved them both. The stories were great, but the settings were even better. For some reason, when it comes to movies, the desert is to me what George Clooney is to others.

Speaking of movies, is anyone else super excited for Going the Distance? I love Drew Barrymore, and Justin Long's growing on me. Plus, after the desert, San Franciso is my next favorite film setting. I think it's because I lived in SF for a year and still can't believe it every time I see the Golden Gate Bridge or Coit Tower or the Transamerica Pyramid on the big screen. It just seems so...far. And other-worldly. Kind of like my time there does.

On a completely unrelated note, my niece (and goddaughter!) turned four last week. FOUR. She was just born! We were just kissing her cute little nose in the hospital! I don't mean to sound like all of MY aunts, but come on. Let's slow it down a little. I won't be ready for kindergarten for, like, another four years.

What I am ready for? Fall. I don't want to hurry along summer for all those still on vacation, but fall is my FAVORITE. I love it so much I don't even mind trading flip-flops for socks and real shoes. And today, while driving through town, I noticed a few reddish-orange leaves mixed in with the green ones. They were so pretty I was tempted to whip out the Torch and take a picture.

But since I didn't, I'll leave you with this!


Hope you had a great weekend!

Siren Trailer

Bob Fox, a good friend of mine who's also a super-talented animator/illustrator, made this for Siren. I love it—I think it totally captures the mood and tone of the story. I hope you like it, too!

And to learn more about Bob and his work, click HERE!

Hello, Australia & New Zealand!

I just wanted to say a special hello to my new readers in Australia and New Zealand, where Penguin released Siren this week! I've yet to visit but have heard nothing but wonderful things about that part of the world, and I don't think it's a coincidence that every Australian I've met has been warm and friendly. (I regret to say I've never met a New Zealand native...but I hope to amend that someday!)

Penguin Australia has a great blog for their YA titles called Between the Lines, and Siren, with a link to an excerpt, is up today. To visit, click HERE! Be sure to check back later in the month for an interview with yours truly.

And new readers, I'd love to hear from you! If you have any questions or thoughts about Siren, or if you just want to say hi, please feel free to drop me a line at triciarayburn@gmail.com.

Have a great day!

Middlebury Magazine's Summer Reads

While flipping through the latest issue of Middlebury Magazine yesterday, I was so surprised—and excited!—to see a great review of Siren! I took my very first creative writing class during one snowy J-term (January session) at Middlebury, so seeing one of my books featured in the pages of the alumni magazine was truly something else.

The review's below, but if you want to check out other summer reads by Midd alum, click HERE!

Siren
(Egmont)
By Tricia Rayburn ’00
Siren is a great read for the beach. In fact, this young-adult suspense thriller unfolds on the beaches and craggy cliffs of Winter Harbor, Maine, where nothing is what it seems—from a bizarre pattern of violent storms that hit only the tiny village to a rash of smiling corpses washed up on shore. The story is told by 17-year-old Vanessa, a beautiful, brainy, mouselike girl who is scared of everything. Still reeling from the suspicious death of her charismatic older sister, she gradually discovers her own temerity, along with a slew of eerie secrets, as she searches for answers in a town that’s coming unhinged. Intelligently written and fast paced, this is Rayburn’s first foray into young-adult fiction (she also wrote the tween-focused Maggie Bean series) and it’s a seamless transition. Nudging into the crowded field of supernatural page turners, Rayburn is very effective at tapping themes on the minds of her teen audience—including romance, loss, self-discovery, parental relationships, peer acceptance—and wrapping it all up in an edgy, irresistible narrative.