Christi R. Suzanne - Writer

Oregon coast in the spring I have now completed a 73k word draft of my current work in progress. I won’t go into much detail as the story may shift, but the themes include ghosts of the past, women motorcycle stunt riders, mother-son relationships, time travel, the idea of how time can shift perspectives, and letting go. First, I want to know what working title you would choose. Please take the poll below. We all know that titles change before the final novel is published so

This parenting thing is relentless and I am only 20 weeks in. Duh, right? Well, somehow I am finding time to write. It’s different now. My resolve is bound to the conviction that if I quit doing something I love I will disappoint my son. He will see the sorrow in the newly formed lines around my tired eyes. Even at 20 weeks he will sense the emptiness I would feel if I didn’t make time to write (instead of do the dishes or another load of laundry). He would know because the j

In this Q and A Rain Sivertsen answers my questions. Let’s learn a little more about her. Rain Sivertsen is a 25-year-old fantasy writer currently working on her first novel, a YA fantasy she intends to self-publish by 2019/20. She is also working on a darker fantasy trilogy about vampires. Everything Rain writes takes place in a fantasy world called Hurst where she spends most of her time, while her corporeal self is located in the beautiful city of Prague –which might be th

My current project, Lana Bong’s Shanghai Market, just underwent another revision. I cut something like 10,000 words from it and then added another 2,000. I’m more confident that the pacing is quicker and more urgent and that my character development has improved, but I still question myself. Most writers will tell you that they never really feel like they are finished with a project. I can’t dispute that. I still feel like I need to go back and double check that everything fl

First, I think I found a way to keep my BRILLIANT title (for now): Lana Bong’s Shanghai Market. It has something to do with tieing it in at the very end. Hopefully, some of you will get to read it someday. After that, I started thinking about why I would pick up this novel and read it. I realized it had a lot more to do with the sea life and animal themes that run throughout the piece. While I like the main idea of finishing what someone left behind for you to do, I’m a sucke

Oregon Literary Arts doled out checks and drink tickets to the winners. This year I knew one of the nominees and had read three of the books nominated, two of which, won their awards. The three books I read were The Last to Die – a young adult novel by Kelly Garrett, The Fish Market – nonfiction book by Lee Van Der Voo (she subbed on my co-ed soccer team a few years ago!) and Strange the by Laini Taylor. The latter two won in their category. I highly recommend all three books

Today’s post will be super short. I need to save all of my energy for revisions and a short road trip we are taking this weekend. I’m in the home stretch of my latest round of edits for my current work in progress. I only have about 50 pages left to edit, but they are the ones that need the MOST work! I know this and still, I procrastinate! I feel a little like this turtle . . . I wonder if I will ever truly get there. I don’t want to rush it, but I’m also starting to feel li

Last week the sun popped its head out here and there. I blame it on the energy those sun breaks gave me, but I felt like getting out in the world and supporting my friends and husband in their artistic endeavors. Granted, I’d try to do that no matter what the weather was like, but this week and into the weekend was a busier one than normal. The first event I went to was called Object Stories and was held at the Portland Art Museum. My friend Justin had an exhibit there and al

Okay, so I haven’t blogged in awhile, but today that changes! At least for this post, I’m doing for #RevPit Blog Hop. I love these events because I always meet at least one awesome writer virtually and keep in touch. I have always considered myself a generalist. I want to know a little bit about as much as I can, I would say everything, but that’s impossible, so—my favorite subjects: Dogs Animals Botany Collections & Collectors (matchbooks, spoons, thimbles, etc.) The oce

J Stryker, a writer I met through a twitter pitch party, tagged me for the 777 challenge. He’s got some great book ideas so you should check his stuff out. Thanks for tagging me! Anyway, the objective of the 777 challenge is to share seven lines from page seven of your manuscript, then tag seven more writers.  Here’s my 7 lines (or sentences). . . This excerpt comes from my finished novel, MORT ADDENDUM (currently looking for representation). Background image by T0kkie Pokie

I first met Rebecca in an advanced fiction workshop at Portland State University in the Spring of 2002. I’ll never forget one of the scenes in a short story she had written. A woman is cutting up a cucumber for a salad that she is going to share with her boyfriend. She alternates between thick and thin slices, so she cuts up the cucumber in “thick, thin, thick, thin” slices. The details you put into that scene created an authentic story for me and I feel like that is translat