Harry Potter and the Tradition of Kate Perry

Last week when I returned home, I started rereading the Harry Potter books. Why? you may wonder, scratching your head. Well, allow me to elucidate: because it's tradition.

A couple weeks before every new Harry Potter release, I'll pull out all the books and start from the beginning. Not because I don't remember the stories—I do, though some of the finer details escape me until I reread them. I just like the continuity. I do this with all my favorite series.

According to my Kung Fu instructor, Andre, this is weird. But I say Pfft to him and read on. (Um, I don't say Pfft to his face because I value my life.)

This year, since I was gone most of July and didn't want to lug around six hardcover books (three of which are so thick they could be used as weapons) I got a late start. But after a week, I'm on the fifth book and plugging along. I've managed to keep my head buried and not listen to random chatter about what happens in book seven.

Only you know what? I'm not sure I care if I find out who dies before I read the book. At the risk of sounding like a cliché, it's about the journey. I think I already know how it's going to end anyway—I'm reading it for the pleasure of the ride.

There's a life lesson in that if you're paying attention.

Five Things to Do in Arkansas

I spent the past week in Arkansas with my great friend and fellow author Julie Linker. Because I'm sure all of you have dreams of visiting Arkansas, here's a few suggestions on what to do when you're there.

Big thanks to my sister Parisa who covered my blog while I was gone. Even though I'm pretty sure she was making fun of me.

White Space . . . by Parisa Zolfaghari

"Maybe I should have you guest blog for me." My sister Kate looked at me over the top of Rodrigo's monitor.

I raised my eyebrows. "You don't know what to write, do you?"

She pouted. "Sure I do. I always know what to write. I was just thinking I could spice it up a little. People like change."

"You don't know what to write."

"Everyone else is doing it, too. It's the next generation of blogging." She got up from her perch and sat down next to me with her laptop. Turning her screen toward me, Kate said, "Just look at all these guest blogs."

I glanced at the monitor. "I only see one."

Waving her hand in front of the screen, Kate turned her puppy eyes to me. "It's a really good one, though."

I heaved a sigh. "Okay. I'll write one."

So in honor of the blank page...

The Process

Last week I asked you guys if you had topics you' wanted me to cover on this blog—questions and whatnot about anything at all. I got a bunch, and I'll be answering them at my whim over the coming weeks (and perhaps months).

To kick things off, I thought I'd start with a question from Jennifer Elbaum. She asked:

What comes to you first, the "story" of your books or your characters?

Sigh. She always asks the tough ones.

Okay, I can answer this. The answer: it depends.

Grin. But I'm not really kidding. 94.8% of the time, I start with a character. For me, a story is driven by what a character wants and how she goes about getting it. I get an initial flash of a person, and from there I branch out and figure out her goals and the conflicts around those goals.

Like for PROJECT DADDY, I saw a career-driven woman. (Yeah, the first idea is always that vague—just ask Nate.) Originally, Katherine was very hip and fashion-conscious, but when I figured out her goal I realized she had to change to make attaining the goal harder. So she became socially inept. From there I tweaked her backstory, killing off her mom and making her dad a drunk, to make why she turned out so inept plausible plus giving her solid motivation for her goals.

PROJECT DATE started differently. I was flipping through one of my brother-in-law's men's magazines and I saw an article on cyber-spying. So I asked myself: what if a woman spied on her ex-boyfriend through email? Yeah, vague. And even though I started out with an idea for a situation, my immediate next step was to flesh the character out. She had to be techie enough to know how to hack into systems and gutsy enough to do it. She turned into Mena, a MacGyver-loving sys admin.

Really, everyone's different. What works for me may not work for anyone else. The trick is to accept your process and be open to possibilities. Ideas stem from all over the place if you're receptive.

Next week: I'll be gone. Not to worry! My sister, Parisa, will be posting a blog in my place. I know—I'm a little scared too. But whatever she says, rest assured it'll be entertaining.

Blog Events

Everyone has a guest on his/her blog these days, and it's made me want to feature a guest blogger too. So I'm going to—as soon as I figure out how to contact Stan Lee. Because I know he's dying to make a guest appearance here.

In the meantime, I've been thinking about alternative guest bloggers, and I think I have a candidate or two. Stay tuned.

I did want to ask you guys if there was any particular topic you wanted addressed. Because it's been a year that I've been writing this gosh darn thing, and if I'm going to continue to do it for another year I might as well make it useful for y'all. Sometimes at least—I'm not going to be able to stop myself from posting random crap. (Deal with it.)

So ask me questions. Anything. Really. Nothing's taboo (except what kind of underwear Nate wears—his rule, not mine).