Writing A Novel: Excerpt From My Latest Manuscript

The holiday season is always busy for me, and this year was a little crazier than usual since we threw a Chanukah party. Still, I've managed to get a lot of writing done and am now well into my latest novel. November, a.k.a. NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) went well for me and I plan for December to be equally as successful. I'd like to have my novel completed by April, though I also want it to be great. I'm not going to rush my work just to have it out by a certain time.

I'm feeling pretty confident about it, though it's my first draft. I have the characters and ideas down and just need to put everything on the page. Once I have my story's "skeleton," I'll edit through my work and add in the fine details that will help flesh out my characters and round out my book.

As an early holiday gift to you, I present a couple of excerpts from my latest work! Yes, it does have a title, but I'd rather not share it yet. I'd also prefer not to give away too many details. But for now, I will share that a) it's YA/New Adult and takes place during the narrator's freshman year at college b) It follows the story of a friendship between a straight girl, Sadie, and gay guy, Griffin c) The male lead is a track star and super-hot d) The girl plans to be a journalist and writes for her college's paper. e) The two leads attended high school together (Sequoia High, actually -- just like the gang in BAND GEEK!), but didn't hang with the same circles. And with that, here is the scene where she meets her soon-to-be-friend for the first time. Copyright Naomi Rabinowitz 2012:

It was no secret that Griffin was handsome -- he'd been voted "Best Looking" in Sequoia High's yearbook -- but I hadn't realized just how hot the guy was. He wore blue runner's shorts which fit perfectly across his tight butt and sculpted thighs. His wavy brown hair was slightly mussed from running, but fell in an adorable wind-blown swoop across his forehead. His dark eyes and chisled featured tensed with concentration as he stared out across the campus. And oh, yeah, he was shirtless. I guess he'd just finished a run because his well-muscled 6-foot-tall body shined with a coat of sweat. As he tilted his head back and took a sip from his water bottle, his bicep curled -- and my knees went weak. With the sun setting behind him, he looked like a statue that had been lit by God himself.

I continued to stare for a few more minutes, taken in by Griffin's beauty, when he finally turned and looked at me. I cleared my throat and straightened up, trying to pretend as if I hadn't been gaping at him like a lovesick groupie.

And here is the scene where Sadie describes her uh, eccentric artist roommate. Copyright Naomi Rabinowitz 2012

The evening that I had dinner with Griffin, I returned to our room to find her sitting cross-legged on her red-quilted bed, carefully working on one of her projects. Her purple hair was pulled back in a black headband and she wore nothing but a skimpy blue Sex Pistols T-shirt. Her forehead was creased in concentration as she moved something across a large piece of black cardboard. As I got closer, I saw that she had a cup full of toothbrushes next to her canvas. Nailed to the cardboard were dozens of them, lined up according to size and color. I recognized the pink brush on which I'd labeled my initials, "S.A."

"Um, hey, Veronica," I said, leaning over her bed. She looked up at me, her eyes blazing. "Uh, that pink toothbrush... it's mine, you know."

Her mouth opened then shut in protest. "Hruh!" she replied.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "I'd like it back?"

"Nyuh!" (Translation: "No.")

I watched Veronica work for a moment, wondering how I could possibly reason with her; if she didn't want to talk, we could maybe play a game of Charades? But before I got a chance to suggest this, she reached into her dresser and pulled out a couple of tacks. She then pricked two of her fingers and sprinkled the blood over the toothbrushes. I blinked a few times, wondering if I was really seeing my roommate make a bloody Jackson Pollock.

"Hmmph!" she announced. She grinned at me and licked the blood from her fingers.

I grabbed my bag and headed for the door, leaving her alone with her "artwork." "It's okay," I said as I bolted from our room. "You can keep my toothbrush!"

Enjoy! Meantime, please read and review my novel REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD.

Book Recommendations: Books About Gay Teens

First up: my Virtual Book Tour continues, and this time, BAND GEEK is featured at the blog Dream Big ... Read Often. You can read an excerpt of my novel and once again, sign up to win a prize of a free copy of the book, a CD and some handmade music earrings. Go for it -- it only takes a second to click!

Meantime, I'd like to recommend some more Young Adult novels that I think are worth reading. This time, they all have gay, lesbian or transgender protagonists. In the past few years, there have been so many tragic stories about gay teens who were bullied to the point where they killed themselves. Of course, there are many others who haven't made the news, but are also picked on at school or are not accepted at home. You'd think that in 2012 being gay wouldn't be a big deal, but unfortunately, it still is in some circles.

The following LGBT novels tackle some difficult topics, such as what it means to be gay and Christian, or what it means to be a girl trapped in a boy's body. I think that all are books that can help gay teens feel not so alone and can help straight teens understand what their gay friends, siblings and classmates are going through.

The God Box by Alex Sanchez: Sanchez has written several YA novels that star gay teens, but this is my favorite of his. The narrator, Pablo, a.k.a. "Paul" lives the seemingly-perfect life in Texas: he has a steady group of friends, a beautiful and sweet girlfriend and is a devout Christian who's active in his church and school's Bible club. However, his life is turned upside-down when he discovers that he has feelings for his classmate, Manuel, who's out and proud. Paul not only has to come to terms with being gay, but also questions his religious beliefs and his entire identity. This is an LGBT story that digs deeper than a typical "coming out" tale and takes on a rather controversial angle.

Something Like Summer by Jay Bell: A warning before I begin: though this book is YA and has young characters, there are some explicit scenes in this book! I suggest it for older teens, ages 17 and up. Still, while there are some hot sections, the tale is heartfelt and made me cry in parts. The story follows Ben, an out teen who begins a relationship with closeted jock, Tim. The first section shows readers how Ben went after the object of his affection and managed to win Tim's heart. it then goes on to cover the next 10 years or so of their on again/off again relationship. What I liked about this novel was that it wasn't really a coming out story, which is often what YA LGBT books are. Though it did involve on teen accepting his sexuality, the main portion of the novel focused on the characters' love story.

Keeping You A Secret By Julie Anne Peters; This story is similar to The God Box in that the main character, Holland, has a boyfriend and hasn't quite realized that she's gay. She then meets the school's new girl, Cece, who's an out and proud lesbian, and they fall in love. I enjoyed the romance between the girls, but I also liked that the story didn't neatly wrap up every plot. There were some messy scenes that made me want to smack certain characters and cheer for others. It's always a good read for me when characters make me so emotional!

Luna by Julie Anne Peters: In this novel, Peters introduces readers to a main character who's transgender. the story is told from the POV of Regan, whose brother Liam is a female trapped in a male's body. Regan is the only person who knows of "Luna's" secret and she struggles to accept and deal with the fact that her brother identifies himself as her sister. The one thing I wish is that we'd gotten the story from Luna's point of view; perhaps Luna and Regan could've narrated alternating chapters? Still, it's a moving story about love, identity and acceptance.

If you have any favorite LGBT books, feel free to share in the comments! Meantime, please read and review my novel REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD.