I first learned about plagiarism from my mom when I was eight years old. I authored a story for a school assignment that was The Pebble and the Penguin. I hadn’t discovered fanfiction yet. The funny thing is, I doubt I even changed the characters’ names or what happened.
Whenever the topic of plagiarism comes up, I always think Pebble and the Penguin as if in Pavlovian response.
As I’m hoping to publish a novel, I’ve been reading all kinds of novels in the same genre/niche area. “Romance” is such a broad category, and I think it’s often judged based on the old-fashioned, Fabio covers of the past. Not to say that there’s anything wrong with, as my mom calls them, bodice-rippers, but romance novels come in many assorted styles and themes. That’s why it’s still such a popular genre.
My particular niche in the genre is commonly labeled as New Adult Contemporary, meaning the characters are recent college graduates and it takes place in current-ish times. Aside from writing my novel, reading these comparable books has been my favorite part of the getting-published process so far. It’s been a joy to read other works from contemporary romance authors such as Sophie Cousens, Abbi Waxman, and Allison Ashley. What a fantastic way to find inspiration, reassurance, and a sort of camaraderie, even if only through the written pages of others.
This is something I’ve been contemplating a lot recently: although my novel is a romantic story about two young adults finding love, it’s also a love letter to the Internet communities that grow and support each other both online and off. If it weren’t for the Internet, many of my generation and younger wouldn’t have met the people who matter the most in our lives.
There’s an upcoming book that I’m looking forward to reading called Planes, Trains, and All the Feels by Livy Hart. The title makes me so happy. To share my excitement at preordering a copy, I tweeted at her. I’ve never been great at containing my enthusiasm for things I enjoy.
She replied that my tweet made her day. And, in tweeting that to me, she made mine.
Tell us about your favorite pair of shoes, and where they’ve taken you.
My answer is not quite about shoes.
In 2010, I bought some Mythical Shoes to show my support of Rhett & Link. At the time, they had a YouTube channel full of songs and silly sketches. The shoes were green and blue, and quirky with their little “Randler” mascot on the heels and their faces on the inner soles.
I gave myself the Mythical Beast name “Squinchilla,” for half squirrel and half chinchilla. I had a gray-black chinchilla back then named Habichuela (Habi for short,) so I thought it was fitting.
When I met my husband in 2012, I was wearing the shoes. That’s not to say that they contributed to him wanting to continue to see me, and eventually marry me, but it couldn’t have hurt.
When Habi the chinchilla died in 2013, I buried him in the Mythical Shoes box.
I don’t wear the shoes anymore, mostly for fear of them getting beat up beyond recognition. But I still have them, as a small memento of Habi, and of the most pivotal time of my life.
Hi. I wrote a novel. I’m hoping to publish it.
My novel is called DOORS OPENING. It’s a new adult contemporary romance set during the aftermath of the Great Recession of 2007-2009. Shy and awkward millennials Celeste and Javi catch each other’s eye at a social gathering of book nerds. She’s barely ever left her house on her own and suddenly she’s making eyes with a cute stranger! What will her mother say? As it turns out, her mother will say plenty. But the more time they spend together, the more it feels as though destiny or at least luck has brought them together. Can Javi and Celeste’s budding romance survive the pressures of their parents, their nagging milestone clocks, and an economy that seems set up to doom their entire generation?
My name is Sara Mazariegos. I was born in Montana but haven’t been back since I was three years old, so please don’t ask me about moose. My family moved around a lot, thanks to the military, before finally settling in the D.C. area so I could go to high school with kids I already knew. Thanks, Mom and Dad! Meeting new people is scary, especially if you’re a human mouse with social anxiety like me.
I’m what the Internet politely refers to as an “Early Millennial.” That means that I grew up with an email account and no job prospects. I have a wonderfully nerdy husband, and we have a small house and two moderately normal-sized cats. When I’m not reading a new book instead of one of the old ones on my shelf, watching popular streaming shows a few seasons too late, or writing until my vision goes blurry, I work as a marketing administrative assistant to an intellectual property management software company. Which is about as exciting as it sounds.
They say that having a website is good, so you can promote your work and socialize about it. As an Olde Millennial, I’m no stranger to having websites. I made my first website when I was ten years old! It was called Sara’s Moviegoers Page! and it was mostly pictures of pixilated cartoon characters and midi files.
Hopefully this website will be better.
Before diving headfirst into another site, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my other one (https://posthumorously.wordpress.com) – where I’ve posted about my lifelong love of Disney’s Haunted Mansion attraction. I wish I still had my dorky, embarrassing Monkees fan website to also share with you, but alas…
Ever heard of Angelfire? It used to be there.
Anyway, I would like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope I passed the audition.
Sara Mazariegos 