Seduced by the Siren Call of Pinterest

Through fellow members of The Lucky 13s, I learned about Pinterest.com, a new social networking site where you create virtual "pin boards" filled with images from around the web. Because Pinterest is so visual compared to other networking sites, it's probably easier to show you a sample board instead of describing one. Here's a collection of inspirational photos and artwork for In the Shadow of Blackbirds:

http://pinterest.com/catwinters/in-the-shadow-of-blackbirds

Basically, the board is what the novel looks like to me. I've also created an In the Shadow of Blackbirds fashion page to show examples of 1918 clothing, as well as boards for recommended ghost tales and historical reads.

Pinterest is highly entertaining, and if you're an author, it's another great way to let people know about upcoming releases. You attract Twitter-like followers, and people seem to find boards rather quickly.

But... the site is ADDICTIVE. If you're having enough trouble focusing on a project without the siren call of Twitter and Facebook luring you away from your work, don't get started over at Pinterest just yet. Once you've created one board, you'll more than likely feel compelled to create another and another and another...

Now that I've dipped my toes into Pinterest's seductive waters, I'm struggling to resist the temptation to keep returning. My boards are there, people are following them, and I've had my fun, but I know I need to refrain from checking in with the site on a constant basis if I want to get anything else done.

The bottom line: Use the site if you absolutely have the time. Otherwise, skip it.

Are you already on Pinterest? Leave your URL in the comments section so my readers and I can find you. Have questions about the site? Ask away.

My Pinterest profile page: Pinterest.com/catwinters.

ADDENDUM: One more pro and con to mention...

Pro: The boards can be extremely useful for gathering research material in one place. This morning, I was digging up info about 1880s clothing for a book project, and I realized I could pin all the useful images to a board specifically for fashion research. The links to the source material always appear below the images.

Con: The issue of copyright. Because I've been hunting down licensing info for images used in In the Shadow of Blackbirds, I've become especially sensitive to the problem of pirated images. There's some controversy over Pinterest and copyright violation. Here are a few articles that discuss the debate: blog.hubpages.com, greekgeek.hubpages.com, and seanlockephotography.com. Truthfully, the copyright issue has me tempted to pull my boards down.

Any thoughts from artists worried about their images appearing on the site?

So...Does IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS Involve a Love Story?

Seeing that it's Valentine's Day, I thought I'd address the issue of romance in my upcoming novel, In the Shadow of Blackbirds. If you've read the mini-synopsis released through Publishers Marketplace, you'll know the book is "the story of a teen girl mourning the loss of her first love in 1918 California, where a flu has turned deadlier than a world war, and spirit communication has become a dark and dangerous obsession."

So, does that mean there's a love story in the book? Is it a depressing love story if there's mourning involved? Is it a Hot Boy A versus Hot Boy B type of young adult love story? Is there even any kissing?

Here are the answers...

Is there a love story in the book?

Yes, definitely.

Is it a depressing love story if there's mourning involved?

It's an emotional story, but I wouldn't call it depressing. The book entails a mystery, the paranormal, a Gothic-style romance, war, and a desperate world. My heroine is too preoccupied to weep nonstop. 

Is it a Hot Boy A versus Hot Boy B type of young adult love story?

There's a rivalry of sorts, and the males involved are highly attractive. Yet my protagonist herself wouldn't say there's a love triangle.

Is there even any kissing? 

Yes. Oh yes.

In honor of my characters' challenging romance in the midst of a troubled world, and to celebrate Valentine's Day, here's one of the songs I've been using for In the Shadow of Blackbirds inspiration: Jill Tracy's "Doomsday Serenade."

The Soar with Your Dreams Conference

I'm thrilled to be participating in Pacific University's Soar with Your Dreams conference for 5th through 8th graders, Saturday, March 3, 2012. The event will be held in Forest Grove, Oregon, west of Portland, and I'll be presenting two writing workshops.

Registration closes February 29, so students need to sign up soon. I'm the author mentioned in Sessions C and D of the brochure.

REGISTRATION INFO

This will be the first of hopefully many events where I'll get to speak to and prepare writing activities for young people. If you don't live in the Portland area, or if you don't fall into the grade level requirements of the conference, please check back later in the year for my other upcoming events. I'll update my brand-new events page once I have more info to share.

A Couple of Quick Announcements before I Burrow into My Writing Hole

First of all, the group of YA and kidlit authors I belong to, The Lucky 13s, now has a Facebook page. You can find news about all of our 2013 releases, plus view our shiny, happy faces, at www.facebook.com/TheLucky13s.

Second, I've created a new page on this site that gives info about my monthly newsletter, which I'll be sending out once I have more In the Shadow of Blackbirds info to share. Behind-the-scenes progress is definitely occurring with the book, but all the fun public stuff—cover reveals, the release of the official synopsis and publication date, giveaways, and other events—is yet to come. To ensure you don't miss out on anything, please sign up at www.catwinters.com/p/newsletter.html.

I'm planning to spend the next couple weeks blogging less and writing more. My kids' school district is getting hit hard by budget cut days this year, and it feels like five-day work weeks have become a rare commodity for me. If you need me, I'll be busily working on Dark & Eerie Historical YA Novel #2 before I need to submerge myself in my upcoming In the Shadow of Blackbirds revisions.

If I don't come up for a breather before February 14, Happy Valentine's Day! My husband and I are planning to see The Woman in Black for a dinner and movie date to celebrate. That's what happens when you marry a writer of Gothic fiction: even romantic holidays often get dominated by ghost tales.

Boo!