Alycia Ripley

Hey everyone!
Hope you all had a great Memorial day weekend with friends and family….the Northeast weather continues to be as temperamental as ever. We’ve had some bright sun and warm rays but this weekend has been sketchy to say the least. The only time I like this is when I have a LOT of writing work to do..which in fact, I do….I’m in the middle of going through the manuscript after getting it back from editors, and making all the necessary corrections, fixing it according to their notes and mine. It’s amazing how when you see a manuscript as written words on the printed page you see so many things you want to change, mostly phrases you want to turn around or flip or add or subtract from….having a printed copy is extremely helpful- after seeing it on the glowing page of a computer my eyes can no longer see things as they are and instead, see them as they want them to be. There’s no sense of continuity because you’re always scrawling down, down,down, and you lose important info. I always love getting the manu. back from editors as it is a chance to see how it reads outside of my own mind and once it is off into the air…it takes a while though, so that’s the step I’m currently on. Fixing it up to send to the blurbists, two very nice artists who have agreed to read the book and give me blurbs for the cover of the book…a very time-consuming but important stage of the writing/marketing process. None of this can be rushed! People want to know when the launch will be but I won’t know until this process is all finished…and sent in to my publisher.

Speaking of the book- I recently had a scare when it came to my website. A while back I sold 100 copies of ‘Traveling With An Eggplant’ to readers that ordered them through my website’s paypal. As I was touring for the novel I didn’t have time and resources to bring envelopes and packing materials with me so I only sold 100 and had my webmaster notate that on the ‘Order Books’ part of the website that selling them through the site was on hold until further notice. I WILL BE SELLING BOOKS THROUGH THE WEBSITE AGAIN ONCE ‘THE FINAL ALICE’ IS RELEASED IN THE FALL but not until then…I don’t have any copies of ANYTHING so I have nothing to send anyone. Unfortunately, a mix-up occurred where the notation was taken down from the website and someone ordered a book…I just want to remind everyone and hope people check out this blog and my Facebook and Twitter pages and see that for right now I’m not selling books personally but will be upon the release of the new novel….

I’ve been asked to speak at a book club tonight- this is one of my favorite things to do so I’m really excited….I was asked to do it through a woman I met and apparently the club is made up of a fun and voracious group of readers, all of which have read ‘Traveling With An Eggplant’ and have questions prepared to ask me. Book clubs are always a lot of fun but also very tiring. It’s tough to think on your feet about complicated themes and angles and images in a book that you wrote years ago especially once your head is deep inside another, newer novel. I’ve had to skim parts of the Eggplant book to remember who I chose certain techniques and imagery in hopes to have all the necessary info on hand tonight to answer questions. The club meets tonight at 7:30 and I will definitely have pix taken and make mention of how things went both on here and on Facebook and Twitter….
If anyone is in a book club and wants a thought provoking novel to read that would inspire lots of thought and conversation, definitely check out ‘Traveling With An Eggplant’- there are so many different angles in it that I’m never sure what people are going to ask me! If interested in having me address your club or group, just give me an email here through the site and either myself or Erin my assistant will get back to you with information….
Have a great Sunday everyone!

Hi everyone-
Thank God for my assistant Erin adding some blogs on here b/c I have been way amiss and way behind. It seems that whenever I’m in the writing process of the novel I can’t bring myself to blog, it’s like I don’t know what to say because I don’t really want to give away anything related to the book or plot or characters but yet can’t seem to get it up to make amusing anecdotes about what’s going on around me and I finally figured out why..it’s because I put it all on Facebook and Twitter and have been ignoring my poor blog! So I think I’ll have Renee my webmaster get this all hooked up to those sites so it’s easy to get any necessary info. But for now…there’s finally..after all the years of me coming on this blog saying, the book is coming well, I can’t wait for you all to read the new book….it’s finally FINISHED and into some editors right NOW! As soon as I return from D.C I’ll be hitting it up to see the notes and make the changes and then it goes into the publisher…..can’t WAIT!!! Erin made a sick sketch of the cover that I’m sending into Lara (who did the cover for ‘Traveling With An Eggplant’ that I swear got as much acclaim as the actual novel ) to do her magic for the front and back and spine design. If any of you are interested in checking out the cover sketch, go to the fan page up on Facebook and you can find it under…Promotional Artwork.

Alot of people are asking me when the book will be released and the launch party will take place..the answer to that is I don’t know. The publishing house joined forces with St Martins, which is great, and I expect that it will only be a matter of months from the time I send the entire disk into them but I don’t have a way of knowing right now. I’m predicting early Fall so let’s stick with that but as for the date/time in exacta, I really don’t know. As soon as I know appromixately I’ll start in with planning the launch which is going to be SICK- I’m thinking the Botanical Gardens, lots of surreal Alice in Wonderland type details…(I’ve already completed lots of the canvas art that will be decorating the various tables..even starting selling these custom pieces, if you’re interested in having one made, just send me an email through Facebook…) costumes, great food, drinks, dessert, ambiance, etc. As much as I WANT to get started on launch details I can’t get too ahead of myself b/c I don’t know a date it will be coming out. So that’s my final comment on that for now, I really don’t know what month the book will be released (probably Sep/Oct) but when I do- you all will be the 1st to know on here, Facebook, Twitter, etc. NO RELEASE DATE AVAILABLE FOR ‘THE FINAL ALICE’ YET BUT WILL SCREAM IT FROM ROOFTOPS WHEN I DO KNOW!!

I’m doing a book club on Sunday June 6th which should be really exciting. I love book clubs but my head is so into the new novel that I have to re-read my own damn first novel to remember plot and images and themes so that I can answer questions….can’t wait to be able to tour and talk about the new one!

There is this quote by Virginia Woolf that I’ve recently become obsessed with. Part of the reason why I’m sharing it is because I can picture Alice saying something like this to the Red King or the rapists or a million other of the minions in the upcoming “The Final Alice”. As a woman and a lover of literature it’s really exciting to know a book is coming out by a talented author where the main character is a legit heroine. I’m really tired of these books where the girl is very naïve and boring and doesn’t have any intelligence or power. Hell I’d be happy with a female character whose entire existence didn’t rest upon a guy (especially if he’s a vampire). Luckily, Alycia has created Alice; a kick ass female with superhuman strength who isn’t afraid of anything. I like Alice because she’s not confident in the beginning. Actually, not to give a lot away, but she’s sort of the extreme opposite. Here’s someone who is completely lost in her own life and I know EVERYONE has felt this way at least once, if not every day, and eventually Alice discovers that she’s meant for greatness. I’m talking Saving The World-greatness. She reminds me a bit of Veronica Mars (who is my hero) and Buffy the Vampire slayer (ugh vampires again… but i love buffy), but even more badass. Something about a female vigilant is a breath of fresh air. This book is violent, there are repercussions from the real world, and yeah, Alice fucks shit up. So here’s that quote that I could see Alice saying. It also reminds me a bit of Clementine’s quote in the book store in Eternal Sunshine about being a fucked up girl looking for her own piece of mind.

“I am an overbearing wench … who is crawling out of her skin with questions that never get answered- and I am down to my last shred of hope that love really does exist. I will fuck your life up, but you knew that before you met me.” Virginia Woolf

Not me, silly. And I never used those Baby on Board octogons from the 80s either..but I figured it was a catchy way to blog about what I’ve been writing. I just finished a fight sequence with Alice and one of her many combatants on an ice cream truck after finding the dead children before bringing them back to life and before a really hilarious sequence with the Talking Deer and meeting this book’s version of Tweedle Dee and Dum who are in this, Nigerian cops. The I Stop for Sex sign is stuck on an ice cream freezer, hiding a newspaper article discussing the childrens’ disappearance. I thought it was perfectly perverted, creepy and really gave the van an ambiance while Alice is hiding in the back, figuring out what to do.
Next up: another fight sequence..this time with the two-headed evil carpenter……

Saw an old video with Michael Jackson where he talked about what inspired him and what made him take his work in a certain direction and found myself relating to it: creating wonderment, an illusion, escapism, magic, making you THINK, something that would blow peoples’ minds, take them by surprise, doing something unexpected, playing off of life and nature/kids/animals, etc.
My stepfather asked me what Erin does while I’m writing….I said, she does research, I bounce ideas off of her, marketing brainstorming, etc and a lot of the work will be when the book is about to come out. But mostly she puts up with me and listens to me no matter how much I loop over the same thing and obsess or go on a writing tangent for 20 minutes. She puts up with me. And that’s work, ladies and gentlemen. I’m no walk in the park.

It’s been an embarassingly long time since I’ve blogged- it’s always tough for me to have anything to say during the writing of a new book, story, or piece. It takes so much energy that I don’t have any left over to write about the WRITING of it. I actually didn’t think anyone would notice if I dropped off the face of the earth for a while and I’m happy (and feel much less alone) to say that I was wrong- I’ve gotten such a kick out of letters to the site wondering what I’ve been up to and working on, so thank you for the enthusiasm and for keeping me honest and on the straight and narrow path of writing. And thanks to everyone who inquired about/wanted/bought ‘My Sweet, Lovely, Dead Babysitter’- thanks to you guys it did really well on the e-book scene- I wanted to test it out and from all your feedback I’d say it’s definitely going to be a project published on its own at some point. I always get these ideas and have to get them done and out there to you so thanks for wanting it/reading it/ and thankfully, liking it. hard to believe the damn thing was inspired simply by a Garbage song….But this book, it’s a hard project, it’s constantly draining, and I feel like I’m killing my brain a little more every time I work on it but maybe the writing about the writing can help me get out of my head for a while, which is something I’m usually lax to do. And now you’ve met Erin, my friend and assistant who you will be hearing a lot more from in the future. We’re in the planning stages while I work on the book- I throw ideas at her and discuss different texts, films or books, that are visually inspiring the new book. Those include the gamut:
Desperately Seeking Susan
Flight of The Navigator
Cherish
Who’s That Girl
The Shining
(We still have to watch Mary Poppins)
Grimms Fairy Tales
Alice in Wonderland

I think I’ve discussed in detail what the new book will be about- and I want to leave some for a surprise. But if anyone is expecting more of the first book…that will definitely not be there. This one is epic in scope- good vs. evil. Modern Alice in Wonderland descendant/frustrated writer takes on…pretty much everyone. I’ll leave you with that for now.

Been super busy with Alycia, running all over the place, searching for Eggplant in local bookstores. Did you know that if her book is sold out they don’t order more immediately? Here’s my idea: To all you fellow Rip-fans, let’s go to our local book stores and tell them to order more copies! If you must lie and say you need it for class, sobeit. If these stores wont order books themselves, we’ll do it for them. Put down Twilight for the eighteenth time and pick up Eggplant.

It’s time to start getting pumped for The Final Alice. The army is forming and the mind-F*ck is about to begin.

Side Note: Listen to Third Eye Blind. If you pay really close attention, you’ll catch Alycia as the muse in a few of their songs.

I’m often referred to as “Little Erin” by Alycia’s friends and family so it seemed fit to sign on as such. I’ve been appointed her intern/assistant/ etc. and as such I’m here to give a quick update on the new book “The Final Alice”. I don’t want to give too much away however I will tell you that if you take The Shining, Desperately Seeking Susan, Halloween, and Mary Poppins mix them together with a true coming-of-age story and tie it together with Alycia’s impeccable knack for writing, you have the inspiration for her novel.
Intrigued yet?

You should be.

Little Erin

Something I haven’t said in at least 6 weeks…”This is so bad it’s gone past good and back to bad again.”

Whenever I think about back to when I lived in NYC at the time I didn’t realize how crazy it was. Now when I look at it as a picture I say, those were some strange times.

Sometimes when you write it feels like it’s not going to happen, like you’re scraping the bottom of the bottle even if you have a complete and total idea of where you want everything to go. And the new book does get complex. I was thinking about that today in the grocery store like, I love it but how did it all of a sudden get so twisty? And I was actually impressed that I was keeping some of it in my head and not messing it up. I think people will like it. I feel more in control of it than I did with my first book. That one felt like it was writing me instead of vice versa. So it works on a lot of different levels. Agents tell me people don’t want that kind of thing anymore. I just choose to ignore them. You can always tell I’m having a good time in my writing whether the story is a valentine or a poison arrow, it’s always fun, crazy, and saying something in a multiple rubiks cube kind of way. Creepiness and grace. And I have to just keep redefining to myself with every story or book, exactly how much of each I want to use to make something new and different.

I’m a weirdly nostalgic person- I find it hard to only look forward; I always look back. The guy who inspired a character in my first book said I had a tendency to live in the past but anyone who read that book knows he wasn’t exactly a Rhodes scholar when it came to social sciences so who cares what he thought even if he had a point. It’s a little like clinging onto a wonderful raft- you start on a big ship and end up clinging to this wonderful raft and frankly, I like the raft.

Nothing beats Kansas. It’s where I’ve always wanted to be- that land of wide open spaces. It seems like I always want to go to places that most people can’t wait to leave. I just want to get lost in Kansas where there’s fields left and right and teeny roads. It’s so exciting- you have no idea what could come out or what could happen or what characters are brewing around and there’s just so much old-school America out there. Even when nothing much is happening I’m just ecstatic.

I decided today that I’m never as happy as I am when I’m writing. From time to time I feel that way and then other things sort of creep up but I realized that even when I’m doing other things, I’m still sort of writing at the same time. Ideas keep going through my head about whatever I’m working on or several things and I’m thinking of names or plot points or colors so I guess I’m sort of always writing so it still ranks up there as my favorite thing to do. And what I love to do to make money and feel fulfilled. No matter what else is going on, I somehow always and only want to do just that. So yesterday I worked for hours on the new book and edited the hell out of it and it’s in such better shape now. I couldn’t get into the violent parts at the end because I wasn’t feeling it, couldn’t quite get it into my head in terms of how I wanted it to go and what exactly I wanted to happen in the altercation so I’m taking a time out on that until I watch ‘Halloween’ again, both the Carpenter and Zombie versions…whenever I get stuck and need some help with creepy ambiance, that’s the movie to beat….So I’m definitely continuing to brew up a devastating concoction of strangeness and surreality and hoping to make a technicolor splash with the ending of this story…

I have to remind myself to listen to Be Your Own Pet, The Virgins, Switches, She Wants Revenge, Par Avion, Ipso Facto, etc….they sound like types of bands that I’d find inspiring when I need a dose of it, esp BYOP. The lead female singer has a Friday the 13th tattoo!!!

I recently re-watched ‘Ghost World’ and forgot how much I liked the phrase “Some people are ok, mostly I just feel like poisoning everybody.”

I had a meeting today and felt like garbage since yesterday morning and just wanted to wear the loosest sweats that said whatever I felt like ‘Time Out’ or something but I groaned to myself that until I’m someone more known, I should make an effort to look nice when meeting with people that are choosing me to be in their movie (even if I can compromise by finding something a little loose and comfortable to wear). It’s funny how when I feel perfect I can spout off pieces of girly wisdom about how its a good idea to inject a dose of old Hollywood glamour into your look and activities but when it’s really necessary I just want to lie around and barely get dressed and groan and can’t even remember my name let alone how to look and feel fantastic. So today I tried to get my nonsense together and put on something nice but easy to move in and earrings and some mascara and bustered down there and felt better. Well maybe not really but I felt like I looked and felt better to other people so that kind of gave me a boost. So, glamour. I love it. And love it best when I can use it to actually boost my mood instead of telling other women to constantly be glamorous when they least want to. So I guess I stepped up instead of writing about stepping up. Whatever. You can see I barely feel any better now regardless of the damn mascara.

Some people say that when they have dark times personally they have dark times creatively but that’s not really the case with me. And I’m beginning to hate the word, ‘dark,’ its starting to get really cheesy. I write pieces intrepreted as dark no matter what is going on in my life. It’s a way to grip the plot and the happenings down to plant them so that it doesn’t turn into a comedy show which my work has also a liking toward. I take incidents or feelings from my life but not really darkness my mind creates- it just takes bits and pieces from things I’ve seen or read and turns it into something else.

The first book and the 2nd have a few similar themes: friendship, creativity, love, but they’re two totally different things really- they feel like completely different journeys which I suppose they are really but I’m laughing to myself right now thinking of when people ask if I’ve grown as a person or writer since the first book. I know I have as a girl for sure but I can’t tell if anything has matured at all! I’m probably a kid and wacky in the same old ways and the writing, the shaping is is probably similar as well. I don’t know though- I’m sure I’m a bad judge- maybe there are signs of growth and and development change, maybe it can’t be helped. I read so damn much that I’m sure different influences have shaped the stories. I read alot of Cormac McCarthy while writing it and strange as it sounds, that’s an influence I can see in the dialogue structure and descriptions. There’s only so different the two books of mine can be, both having a 1st person structure but its alright, as long as they’re recognizable to me and to the people who read what I write.

When you look around at other people who are struggling it makes you fit in and feel better and develop worthwhile ideas and the best idea I got from that was how much more proud I was of my material than other people I encounter are of their material and that surprises me. Alot of what I’ve achieved has been because I believed in what I wrote and that people would enjoy it. Just write it and get it how you want it and then go out and talk about it and be proud of it, get people excited about your hard work. If you believe in it, your enthusiasm will be contagious.

Marie Antoinette is a girl I love. A girl with flair who couldn’t grow up as much as she tried, a hilarious colorful kid in a grownup body that couldn’t seem to please anyone but herself.