Saving the Cat

Normally saving the cat is a literary device where a character, early on in the novel, saves the cat so that we bond with that character.

But, how can saving a cat play havoc with novel editing?

Ozzy, our cat

I've been on a real push to finish editing my novel Prophesy (book 1 of the Antigone series -- yes, I finally decided on a name). A few weeks ago, I even had some time to myself when my husband took the kids to go visit their grandparents for a few days.

However, the cat (an older male cat named Ozzy, short for Osiris) had different ideas. One morning, I heard him meowing loudly from the back yard, so I went to investigate. I saw him balancing precariously on the branch of a tree, with one of his back legs stuck between two fence boards. Without thinking, I ran up to him, wrapped one arm around him, then tried to ease his leg out from the fence.

This did not go well.

Ozzy proceeded to scratch my arm to ribbons. I didn't want to drop him, so I stood there and took it, trying to talk soothingly to him through my pain and calm him down. When he stopped, I decided to grit my teeth and try a little more force to get his leg out. His leg didn't seem to be broken and he didn't look like he was in too much pain and I had to get him out of the fence.

This did not work. At all. Ozzy actually bit me several times on both hands. At one point, I had to pry his teeth out from my hand. There was blood everywhere. I was stuck. He was stuck.

I tried to perch the cat back in the tree so I could get a towel to wrap him in and something to pry the fence apart. Nope. Ozzy was not cooperating.

With nothing else left to do, I screamed for help at the top of my lungs. Surely someone nearby had to be home or walking by or something. Before long, one of my neighbours from across the ally came running into the yard and quickly took in the situation. She asked if she could go into my house to get a towel and a crowbar and I said absolutely and told her where they were.

We wrapped the cat up in the towel and my neighbour pried off the fence board. Ozzy jumped away, like nothing had ever happened, not even limping.

My neighbour and I looked at each other. I was covered in blood and my hands and arms were already starting to swell up. "You'd better go get a tetanus shot," she said, then disappeared. I wanted to thank her, but I'm not even sure which house she was from.

I went in to get cleaned up when a delivery guy knocked at the door. I answered, looking like hell, covered in blood. He dropped the parcels, said I didn't have to sign for them after all, then ran off.

Next I called the doctor. Yes, she could squeeze me in that day.

After giving me the tetanus shot, she also gave me antibiotics as my wrists were swelling up so badly I could barely drive. Then she advised me to make sure the cat's vaccinations were up to date. All I could think of was Why, it's not like I bit the cat back.

Then, I went home and collapsed.

By the time my husband and kids got home later that day, my hands looked kind of like latex gloves that had been blown up. I could lift nothing. Typing was out the question. I decided to watch movies.

All in all, it took about two weeks for my hands to heal (oh, and my arms turned green from bruising up, so I even looked like the hulk).

So, this is a long story to say that I am behind in my editing, blogging, etc. However, I am back in full swing now, working to catch up. Not being able to use the computer also gave me time to think about what I want to do about some issues in my novel that were nagging at me.

I also used this time to read more about self publishing. Wow, I am excited about this!!! It makes my heart race even to read about the process of self publishing. Has anyone else gone this route? Or can recommend some good indie authors to read? I would love recommendations of books, blogs, or forums to read. (If you are looking for a good indie middle grade/young adult read, check out my review for Double Cross in my previous post).

Thanks for bearing with me through this long story, but I couldn't resist telling it as one of the adventures on the road to writing my novel.

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A Different Approach

Now that I've set a timeline to self publish Antigone, I've been working like crazy editing and learning all of the things I need to know to self publish. I even decided to get my cover designed and, after much research, am going with Deranged Doctor Design (DDD). Their covers look phenomenal and original and, it would appear from their web site, that they have a great sense of humour.

But, in the process of telling DDD about my book so they could make their design, I realized how unwieldy the story had become. Kind of epic, actually. And epic is not quite what I was looking for in a first novel for a young adult audience. I think that putting the plots of all three of Sophocles' Oedipus plays plus my own retelling and drama into one book is just too much. I'm over 108,000 thousand words and the average novel these days is 65,000. I didn't realize how long it had gotten and how much actually happens. A lot, to say the least.

The solution: break up the novel into three parts, with each part being based on one of the plays. There are natural breaks in the novel and enough material to easily make three novels. I'm hoping this will make the work, as a whole, more approachable.

I'm excited about the change because I will be able to really concentrate on each part as I publish it, giving each of them more time and energy.

It feels like the right decision and I'm learning to trust my gut feelings on these things.

The first installment will come out this fall, hopefully in October. It shouldn't be too long between installments because the whole thing is written, and will only have to be edited to fit the new format.

Now, to figure out a title for each book...

Antigone

Thank you to everyone who has borne with me even though I have been negligent in my blogging. Like the writing process itself, this blog has had some ups and downs. I am hoping to remedy that by revamping the blog and sharing more of what I am doing.

Currently, I am heavily into editing my young adult mythological fiction novel, Antigone: The True Story. This novel is near and dear to my heart, based in the world of ancient Greek mythology. I love Greek mythology. I adore it. It makes me excited. I studied it extensively in university. I read books of it to my kids. I get all tingly just thinking about it.

Antigone by Frederic Leighton, 1882

And not only is this book a story that takes place in ancient Greece, but the main character is Antigone, the daughter of Oedipus. Yes, that Oedipus. The one who killed his father and married his mother. His daughter is not as well known as he is, but I remember being in first year university and reading Antigone, a play by Sophocles.

Wow. Talk about a story. Talk about a character.

Most of the female characters in ancient Greek literature are, shall we say, subservient. Those that aren't are pure evil (think Medea cutting up her children and throwing them overboard to stop her husband from chasing her as she made her escape). Antigone, though, is different. She is a worthy heroine and a match for any ancient Greek man, someone who could stand up for herself. Who violated the laws of the state when her family values and duty to the gods were at risk. A woman who buried her brother with her own two hands, twice. I could envision her, standing tall, shoulders back, chest out, defying her uncle, the king, and refusing to hide away, even when her own life is at stake.

And this, after her mother committed suicide. This after she led her self blinded and exiled father around the countryside until his death.

Sure, Antigone was a princess, but she had scruples and morals and didn't let anyone push her around. So, when I decided to write a novel a few years ago, I chose to write about Antigone.

I didn't know where to begin, so I just started typing. As I wrote, the words started to flow almost effortlessly (at least at first). Out came this story, the "true" story of her life. Connections I hadn't even dreamed of were made in my writing. Unknowingly, I foreshadowed major plot points. I drew heavily on the Oedipus trilogy of plays by Sophocles, using his milestones in my book, but the story is my own and definitely adds another level of fantasy to an already remarkable myth.

I am hoping to have this novel edited soon and to make it available within a few months. In the mean time, I invite you to join my mailing list. When you do, I will email you the first three (mostly edited) chapters of Antigone: The True Story to give you a taste of what's to come.

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