Elle Strauss

The Art of the Satisfying Ending

2012-02-01T04:30:00.000-08:00

Martha Alderson, aka, The Plot Whisper says, the beginning hooks the reader but the ending makes them fans. (She's done a series of videos on plot that are worth watching if you haven't already, plus I hear she scored an agent --Jill Corcoran--and has a book coming out.)

I totally agree. I can't tell you how many books I've read this year where I finished the book with a WTH?

This just happened a few days ago.

If you follow my blog you might remember I won an Amazon card and I asked for help in what book to buy. I listed all the books that were recommended and went to Amazon to read the first page of all the books. Only one book hooked me on page one: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin.

Other books may have turned out to be better, but none of them hooked me on the first page.

And I really enjoyed The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. It was different. I was never sure what was going on, lots of twists and turns and mystery. Plus sizzling hot guy. I was ready to declare love.

Until the end. The author lost my fanship in the last chapter. So sad. Not only was it kind of confusing, I found it hard to track what was going on, but the chapter ended with a sort of cliff hanger with the words, End of Volume One. Agh.

I understand the series craze. For publishers of all sorts it spells money. But just because a book is a series doesn't mean the ending has to suck.

One example of an anticipated series with a complete first book is Veronica Roth's Divergent. It the first book in a series with a SATISFYING ENDING. Book one wraps up nicely, with room for the continuation of the story.

Is it just me? Or are we suffering from a shortage of satisfying endings?

It's a Little Haywire is Live and Free!

2012-01-30T04:30:00.000-08:00

My middle grade IT'S A LITTLE HAYWIRE is FREE on kindle for the next three days.

This is a book that is dear to my heart for a number of reasons. I spent many of my childhood summers in a town similar to Haywire (except a Canadian prairie version). Long hot days trying to find ways to turn the mundane into adventure.

Laura Pauling says "IT'S A LITTLE HAYWIRE reminds me of Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo. It's that good."

(Thanks, Laura :)

http://www.amazon.com/Its-a-Little-Haywire-ebook/dp/B0072Z5DWQ

Owen True is eleven and eleven twelfths and has been “exiled” to the small crazy town of Hayward, WA, aka, Haywire, while his mother is on her honeymoon. All he has to whittle away the time is the company of Gramps, his black lab Daisy, and his Haywire friends, Mason and Mikala Sweet. They don’t look so hot this year, in fact, the whole town has gone to pot since the mill shut down.

Owen has his first encounter with a real life homeless man who ends up needing Owen’s help in more ways than one. But how does a rich city kid help the small town’s suffering citizens?

And what is Owen to make of the fog train and its scary, otherworldy occupants that appears out of thin air on the old tracks behind Gramps’ house? Do they have the answer Owen is looking for?

Comes with illustrations and hyperlinks to Charlie True's golden oldie playlist

Pick up your copy today!

Friday Four or Five

2012-01-27T04:30:00.000-08:00

1. This was me this week:

substitute laptop for computer and pajamas for clothes

- good thing my husband was out of town

2. And a lot of this:

Why do I write historical fiction? It would be so much easier if I didn't have to worry about things like facts.

3. Good news is there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that big pile of papers scattered on the floor in my living room (see last post), is almost gone and I will get ClockwiseR to my lovely betas on schedule. Whoot!

4. IT'S A LITTLE HAYWIRE, is releasing on Monday January 30th and if all goes well, will be FREE for three days. Watch for it!

5. Now with my foray into Middle Grade, I'm interested in posts like this:
Are Tweens a thing?Actually, I was interested in it before I wrote middle grade because I've always thought there was a missing section in the children's genre. I'm glad it's getting some attention now.

How about you? Do you think publishing is missing an important age group?

Happy Weekend everyone!

Monday Musings - All the Plates in the Air

2012-01-23T04:30:00.000-08:00

A lot of things happened this weekend.

1) I got my first big author blurbage for Clockwise, which I'm completely stoked about. This is it:

"I loved Clockwise! A great read, and I love your Casey/Cassandra. Congratulations."
- Wendy Orr, author of Nim's Island

(Nim's Island!)

It was due to a serendipitous meeting on twitter plus the fact that Wendy is just a super nice, down to earth person.

2) CLOCKWISE IS FREE TODAY on Amazon, the last day of five days. I've spent most of that time in the top 100 of the kindle free store, which I'm quite happy about. There are a lot of advantages to free promotion, and I have to attribute #1 on this list in part to that.

3) You don't get a review like this everyday: Banning the bullsh*t. Thanks to Saffi for that.

4) I'm busting my braincells working on ClockwiseR, the sequel to Clockwise.

watch your step

5) I've never been busier but I'm enjoying myself despite semi-regular panic attacks. I've made my own schedule, so my busyness is entirely my fault.

The thing about indie pubbing is you GET to do everything yourself and the other thing about indie pubbing is you HAVE to do everything yourself.

Another thing I'm learning as an indie pubber is that things always take more time than you schedule for them. And that there are a lot of things. SR Johannes has an excellent post for writers considering indie publishing that will scare the pants off you.

How about you? Are you good at pacing your writing tasks?

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE - Tween book by SR Johannes

2012-01-20T04:30:00.000-08:00

Today I'm privileged to be part of author SR Johannes's blog tour of her up coming Tween book,

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE, releasing January 31.

Gabby is a disgruntled tween angel who has just been assigned to protect her school nemesis and ex-beffie. Problem is her ex-beffie is dating Gabby’s longtime crush. Instead of protecting Angela, Gabby pranks her (since when is sticking toilet paper to her shoe or spinach in her teeth a sin?) Soon, Gabby gets out of control and is put on probation by her SKYAgent, who has anger management issues of his own. Determined to right her wrongs, Gabby steals an ancient artifact that allows her to return to Earth for just one day. Without knowing, she kicks off a series of events and learns what can happen when you hate someone to death.

1. What inspired you to write On the Bright Side?

It was Dec 08 at Christmas time. I had just finished reading Cynthia Leitich Smith's Eternal and Lisa Schroeder’s I Heart You, You Haunt Me. I was subbing Untraceable to agents and needed to pass the time. I happened to sit down and watch one of those "Near Death Experience" shows. The man was talking about his "near death experience" and how he felt totally peaceful and happy when he crossed over. He didn't want to come back. I wanted to play with that. What if when we die - we are happy and we aren't sad? What if all those negative feelings end - no matter who you leave behind or what happened in your life. I wondered if I could do a book about death in a humorous way and get away with it.

The question became “what if a disgruntled angel is the only one who isn't happy. What if she is forced to protect someone she doesn’t like?" Brought back all the times I wished I could be a fly on the wall, listening to my crush and eavesdropping on my frenemies. Then I thought about the opposite of death. What if a girl didn't want to be a cool angel? What if she just wanted to be human again?

That became much more interesting. I knew if I was going to do a middle grade, I needed it to be less heavy and more fun and light and hip. Something more like Meg Cabot or Ally Carter.

On the Bright Side is funny and light even though death, loss, forgiveness, and the fear of moving on are at its core.

2. Why did you decide to write tween?

I tend to do mostly YA Thrillers so this one came out of left field. I didn't decide on tween - I guess it just found me. I got this idea for an angel story - to show the dead side. Most books seemed to show the hot angel or the person the angel was going after. I wanted to explore death form a dead person's perspective.It started out as a heavier YA. But the voice sounded funny, which made Gabby sound younger. Trust me, I tried to make it YA. Even tried taking it down to MG. Especially because of all the hoopla about tween not being a shelf at B&N and a hard sell. Editors asked me to age up or down but I couldn't. Gabby was just 14. I must say, it was fun to write and Gabby makes me laugh :) That was nice after Untraceable, which is much heavier and not happy.

3. What are you working on next?

The Indelible's have an Anthology, "In His Eyes" coming out Feb 14th, all short stories from the perspective of hot guys. Mo, from Untraceable, makes an encore as he talks about meeting Grace.

Beyond that, all I see right now is Uncontrollable, the sequel to Untraceable. And I can't wait to get back on it. It's scheduled for some time in the summer.

Oh, I've heard about that anthology, *wink*. On the Bright Side sounds so cute. Can't wait to read it.

Free for the Next Five Days!

2012-01-19T10:25:00.000-08:00

This is a public service announcement.

CLOCKWISE is FREE on Amazon for the next five days!

Go get your copy now!

Bonus: Includes first two chapters of the sequel, ClockwiseR!

Body Image Funnies

2012-01-16T09:38:00.000-08:00

My brain is fried. I have to finish the first draft of the sequel to Clockwise this week and the companion book by the middle of February if I want to make my deadlines. And I have blog tours set up already, so I can't fudge on this.

So, here's the best I can come up with that doesn't require a lot of brain power. Both of these are their own commentary on the modern view of "cool" and beauty.

Funny and scary at the same time.

If you believe in evolution, then you have this to look forward to. :)

And this: Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting...

What Matters Remains

2012-01-13T04:30:00.000-08:00

Four years ago a good friend of ours died. Henk Boesten was a good husband, a good father and a good friend. It was hard to say goodbye.

It's easy to forget what really matters in life, especially when we get so crazy busy with our stuff. I know I do. Every once in a while it's good to be reminded that life is short, to slow down and smell those proverbial roses, whatever that looks like to you.

Last year Henk's son, Nico, had a dream about his dad. It was a profound dream which included these words of wisdom: What matters remains.

Nico wrote a song. Then he told the story. Both videos are here. Stop for a moment, take a look and a listen. Breathe.

You'll be glad you did.

Winner of CLOCKWISE and IT'S A LITTLE HAYWIRE

2012-01-12T04:30:00.000-08:00

First of all, thanks to everyone who dropped in on the Indelibles Blog Hop. So much fun. I had both of my books up for grabs, an e-copy of my YA time travel CLOCKWISE, and my brand new, not officially released, MG, IT'S A LITTLE HAYWIRE.

The winner chosen by Random.org is...

VALERIE!!

Valerie, contact me by email, ellestraussbooks at gmail dot com and I'll make sure to get those to you.

Make sure you check back in with the Indelibles to see if you are the winner of the Kindle Fire!

Introducing the Indelibles- and WIN!

2012-01-08T14:00:00.000-08:00

INDELIBLES ON FIRE!

Welcome to the Indelibles Blog Hop!

In celebration of our official launch, we are giving away a
KINDLE FIRE! If you’d like to start at the beginning of the INDELIBLES ON FIRE GIVEAWAY BLOG HOP, then please start here: http://indeliblewriters.blogspot.com/

If you are already mid-hop, then welcome to your next stop! By following the link at the bottom of this post, you can proceed to the next author (and check out the awesome, individual giveaways we are doing along the way!). If you are entering to win the KINDLE FIRE, don’t forget to make a note of the keyword at the end of every blog post - the words spell out a phrase you will need to enter the contest on the last stop.

Marketing guru Shelli Johannes Wells has teamed up with twenty-four other indie and small press authors to bring you the Indelibles.

“We are indie authors who write middle grade and young adult fiction.

We are dedicated to leaving a permanent mark on the world with our stories and words.

We are The Indelibles.”

Each week, we’ll explore fun, fabulous, and fierce topics for today’s teens, drawing on pop culture and themes from the books we write. Check out our official launch TODAY, January 9th for fun giveaways at http://indeliblewriters.blogspot.com/. We’ll also be having a “blogger” chat on January 11th and a writer/author chat on the 18th to answer questions about self and indie pubbing. See our blog for details.

Who am I?
I'm Elle Strauss, author of the YA Time Travel fantasy, CLOCKWISE and the middle grade contemporary/magic realism book, IT'S A LITTLE HAYWIRE.
You could win both e-books!

A teen time traveler accidentally takes her secret crush back in time. Awkward.

And my brand new baby, not yet officially released!

A rich city boy helps a poor small town when inspired by mystical beings.

Owen True is eleven and eleven twelfths and has been “exiled” to the small crazy town of Hayward, WA, aka Haywire while his mother is on her honeymoon. All he has to whittle away the time is the company of Gramps, his black lab Daisy, and his Haywire friends, Mason and Mikala Sweet. They don’t look so hot this year, in fact the whole town has gone to pot since the mill shut down.

Owen has his first encounter with a real life homeless man who ends up needing Owen’s help in more ways than one. But how does a rich city kid help the small town’s suffering citizens?

And what is Owen to make of the fog train and its scary, otherworldy occupants that appears out of thin air on the old tracks behind Gramps’ house? Do they have the answer Owen is looking for?

Comes with original illustrations and hyperlinks to Charlie True's golden oldies playlist!

Click the It's a Little Haywire tab at the top of my blog to read the first chapter.

Just "like" my author Facebook page (top right of right column), sign up for my newsletter--I promise I won't spam you! (top of left column) and leave a comment with your name and I'll enter you in to win both e-books!

The keyword for this stop on the hop is: FIERCE

Continue the hop and visit the next Indelibles author, JESSIE HARRELL.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Friday Four or Five - Starting Off with a Bang!

2012-01-06T04:30:00.000-08:00

Weather wise, January has been unseasonably mild, but in other ways it's blasting through. I have so much going on writing wise, (and otherwise, but I'll stick to the writing wise) so I'll let you all know what's going one in the immediate future.

1) I've joined this fantastic group of writers called THE INDELIBLES, see the cool button on the right to check out our new website! We are launching in a big way on Monday with a blog hop and a chance to win lots of free books and a KINDLE FIRE.

2) I'm being published in an anthology! IN HIS EYES is a collection of short stories by The Indelibles, featuring our book boyfriends. Curious about how Nate McKenzie from CLOCKWISE felt when he accepted the dare to ask Casey to dance? He was in for the time of his life!

The anthology is being released on February 14th, in time for Valentines Day. :)

3) I'm almost ready to release my new middle grade, IT'S A LITTLE HAYWIRE. Cover reveal coming soon!

4) Check out my newly updated Writing and Publishing Tips tab, where you'll find links to my free, exclusive to Wattpad, book CRAFTING YOUR BEST STORY.

5) As you can see I've been busy. It's one of the reasons I haven't been "present" on the blogosphere as much as usual lately. There is a season for everything, and as I look ahead to all my writing projects and an upcoming move (=a lot of renos=blah=double blah), I will be posting less often on my blog, just until I get caught up.

Have a great weekend everyone, and we'll see you Monday at the Indelibles launch!!

Goals and Confessions Take 3

2012-01-01T04:30:00.000-08:00

Well, it's that time of year again. I can't believe this is my third January 01 post. It's kind of scary looking back at former goals and confessions now that I can track results.

2011 was an interesting year for me. I started off 100% on the track to pursue traditional publishing and half way through jumped rails into self/indie publishing. A couple things brought that on, besides the whole publishing is being turned on its head thing.

1) I had three books go out on submission and none sold.
2) My second agent and I decided to part ways.

Two pretty good reasons to give self-publishing a go.
So, after being in the do-it-yourself throes for half a year, what do I think? I think it's pretty exciting. And I think it's pretty hard.

But not so hard that I won't keep going. I went into it knowing I'd be learning as I went a long, starting from a foundation of knowing basically nil. Now I'm going into 2012 with a foundation of some knowledge, a better strategy and more realistic expectations. I feel like 2012 is opportunity for a do over. I'm not going to waste the first half of the year waiting for someone else to make something happen for me. And what I do do for myself, I'll do smarter.

This doesn't mean I'm done with traditional publishing. I'm still of the philosophy that diversification is a good idea.

If the first part of this post was my confession, this part is my goals.

1) continue to self-publish the Clockwise series
1b) learn how to better market and publicize myself and my books.

2) self-publish middle grade book, It's a Little Haywire

3) pursue traditional publishing with current wip

4) pursue small press pub with historical YA when its ready

I'll stop there. If I can manage these in the year I'll be happy.

How about you? Do you have publishing goals and confessions for 2012?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2011-12-21T04:30:00.000-08:00

I'm signing off for the holidays. I may pop in on Twitter or FB on occasion, but this is my last blog until January 01, 2012. I don't know about you, but I need a couple weeks to process everything that happened in 2011. It certainly didn't go how I'd imagined, but do the years ever?

A recap and new plan will present itself for my blog on the first, but for now I want to take time to enjoy my family, all six of us plus my parents together for the holidays for a couple of weeks before all but my youngest leave again, and to reflect on the reason for the season.

A young Canadian musician hailing from snowy Winnipeg Manitoba recorded a unique version of Little Drummer Boy that has gone viral on you tube. I hear he now has an L.A. agent.

Here it is, so enjoy.

I wish you and your loved ones many blessings and a peaceful and joyous Christmas time.

Elle

Query Critique #9- Elle Style (The Four Step Plan)

2011-12-20T04:30:00.000-08:00

This is a continuation of a series started when I guest blogged for Janice Hardy a while ago about writing queries/ pitches in four easy steps.

Read on to learn from others!

To recap:

1)Who it's about

2)The circumstance

3)The conflict

4)The hook

Kierra

Dear Ms. (name here),

‘Remy, a A seventeen year-old fairy godmother trainee gets a new assignment: The hottest guy—GUY—at school. Easy, right? Wrong.’who it’s about. Already a cute hook. You don't need the single quote marks.

Magically poofing in somebody’s bathroom while that somebody is taking a shower is not the best way to start off a friendship—that, Remy learned the hard way. After screwing up her previous mission months ago, Remy, ~~a teenage fairy godmother trainee~~, gets another assignment~~. And it’s not just another assignment~~: She’ll be having awkward phrasing a MALE ‘godchild. Is this same assignment mentioned in the first sentence? I’d combine these two paragraphs to eliminated repeating yourself.’ To make it worse, he is the school’s hottest guy, a.k.a. Kyle Hughes. Oh, and not to mention that she had a major crush on him since, like, forever. Another repeat. The circumstance.

But when she magically appeared in his shower, everything went wrong. He hated her, he called her a pervert, he was convinced that she was deranged and mentally-retarded perhaps challenged?, and he didn’t want her help. But with Remy’s wish to have a full-on career as a certified fairy godmother at stake, she’ll do just everything to find Kyle’s happily ever after, even if it did involve quite a few tricks, snakes, broken magic wands, more of her famous screw ups, nasty witches who are out to get her, and her heart breaking. The conflict paragraph. There is quite a lot going on here. If possible I’d pick the two main events and elaborate a littel about them.

Question is: What about her happily ever after?

Well, with her magic wand and her awesome poofing skills, anything is possible—NOT.Move this up with previous sentence which becomes a two sentence hook.

A fairy tale with a modern twist, a proof that nobody is too old for fairy tales.

Set in the modern times with a ~~splurge~~ splash of humor and romance thrown together, readers will surely find themselves relating to Remy as she continues to try--and fail, whether it's with her magic, her teenage hormones, or her seemingly harmless crush. ~~Young adults, the target readers, would easily imagine themselves as Remy, minus the magic wand and all.~~ Less is more

I think of myself as someone married to writing. Before I was even a teenager, I think I've fallen in love with words and began writing since then. Most of my stories are posted on the net on some amateur writing sites (Wattpad, Wordpress, Inkpop, etc.). I don't have much experience, but I'm taking this chance to have "Remy Unenchanted" as my debut novel. This is info you can give in your first phone call.

Please let me know if you are interested in reading the full copy of Remy Unenchanted my (insert word count here-word manuscript.

My diagnosis: This is a cute query that just needs to be tightened up, but all the key pieces are there.

Nicole Zoltack

Dear Agent:

Thirteen-year-old wannabe novelist Elena doesn't care about school, only her stories. Who it’s about. It's too bad they never come true… until the day she writes that the class bully gets detention, that is. Coincidence? This sentence is hard to understand. Did she write a story about the class bully getting a detention. Just needs a bit of tweaking to make it clear.Elena doesn't think so after she writes that the secretary has to go to the bathroom, and then he rushes out like he's about to wet his pants. Everything she writes with her new pen comes true. The circumstance

But then the pen writes a story darker than any of Elena’s about a mystical fantasy land being overrun by demons. If that isn't bad enough, a demon crosses over to Earth, kidnaps her family, and hides them in the Land of Imagining. Elena will do whatever she can to save them. The conflict.Unfortunately, it's not as simple as writing a happy ending - whenever Elena uses the pen, someone turns into a demon, and she could be next. The hook

ELENA’S PEN is a 66,000-word upper MG fantasy novel with series potential. Readers of Michael Ende's THE NEVERENDING STORY and Philip Pullman's HIS DARK MATERIALS series will enjoy my book.

My diagnosis: I can tell you've spent a lot of time on this already. It's very close. I don't have a lot to suggest here. I'd give the hook sentence it's own paragraph to set it apart.

If you'd like me to look at your query, you can post it in the comments. I won't be able to get to another critique until the new year.

Cover Reveal for SLEEPERS by Megg Jensen!

2011-12-19T04:30:00.000-08:00

To celebrate the re-launch of SLEEPERS in January of 2012, Megg is
giving it a new cover with artwork from the incredible PhatPuppy.
(phatpuppyart.com)

I love this new cover!

An adoptee raised in a foreign land, sixteen-year-old Lianne
was content with her life as handmaiden to the queen, until a spell
cast on her at birth is activated.

Now she's filled with uncontrollablerage and access to magic she thought had been bled from her people years ago. Even her years of secret training in elite hand-to-hand combat and meditation can’t calm the fires raging inside her.

Her heart is torn between two boys, the one she’s always loved and the
one who always ignored her. But when the kingdom threatens to tear
itself apart due to rumors surrounding the queen’s alleged affair, who
will Lianne protect and who will she destroy?

On sale now for only 99 cents!

Friday Four or Five

2011-12-16T04:30:00.000-08:00

A Christmas tree made of books -- Isn't that fantastic?

2.This is the last Free Song Friday, so Merry Christmas and enjoy.This thing called you and me
Raucous alt/country shenanigans.

3.Goodreads winner: Thank you to the over 1200 people who entered to win Clockwise on Goodreads. The winner is Catherine Feldhaus! Your copy is in the mail.

4. My two oldest sons come home for Christmas today! Can't wait to squeeze them again. Then all six of us will be home until the New Year. Noisy and messy but lovely.

5. I had a lot of great suggestions on Monday on how to spend my gift card, and I promised I'd let you know how I spent it. I bought The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. Thanks @melissaswims for the recommendation!

Happy Weekend everyone!

Query Critique #8- Elle Style (The Four Step Plan)

2011-12-13T04:30:00.000-08:00

How to write a query or pitch in four easy steps.

To recap:
1) who it's about
2) the circumstance
3) the conflict
4) the hook

Sareh said...

Thank you so much for the awesome advice and the critiques! Here's my pitch for my story, The Cursing. Oh and a question, is there a certain length pitches should be? No longer than what could fit on the back of a book.

Fifteen-year-old Princess Tatiana lives in the world of Alfheimr~~, there lives~~ alongside a race of fallen angels known as the Angeni.I added the mc to this sentence to provide the first step, who it’s about. ~~They are a~~ Her people are lost to darkness, misguided by evil spirits called the Ancients. One misstep or wrong action can lead to death or worse -- a sacrifice to the blood thirsty beings -- and no one is safe, not even the Cursed Imperial family.

~~Fifteen-year-old~~ The Princess ~~Tatiana~~ is now only two months away from becoming the High Priestess, which means everything to a girl who has never left the inner sanction of the Temple~~. Her life has been shrouded in lies and deceit for as long as she can remember, but now, the truth is finally starting to come out. And it must; her life, freedom, and her people people depend on it.~~ I cut this because it’s vague statement, and specifics are better in a query. We’re looking for circumstance, which is stated in the first paragraph and the first sentence here.

Suddenly, a dream and a forbidden encounter with her half-sister Minora good detail change everything, and Tatiana is faced with more questions than ever before. She becomes restless, curious, and bold. Bold enough to risk her life to leave the temple early, bold enough to meet the Faerie her sister prophesied about, and bold enough to take on not only her kingdom, but the Ancients themselves. This states the conflicts. All in the name of freedom and love.

~~Yet~~ But will love be strong enough to save them?

My diagnosis: It just needed a little re-organizing of information, but all the pieces are there.

staceylee said...

Fifteen 15-year-old Samantha Young has nowhere to go when her father, a Chinaman, perishes in a blaze that consumes their dry goods store and leaves her an orphan. Who it’s about.So when the richest man in St. Joseph, Missouri, offers her lodging in his hotel, she takes it. Only it’s not a hotel, ~~but~~ it’s a brothel. The circumstance.

When he attempts to ‘test out the goods,’ she bashes him with a scrubbing brush. Now she faces the noose. The law in 1849 will not side with a Chinese girl, even if she killed in self-defense. More circumstance
She flees west with Annamae, a runaway slave. They disguise themselves as young men and join a trio of cowboys bound for the California gold rush.

The unburned half of Father’s life savings is flying down the Oregon Trail with his business partner. If she could recover the money, she could start the language school Father always dreamed of. ~~Maybe it’ll make up for not returning in time to rescue him, all because she wanted to show him how much she hated his plan to move them to the barren west coast.~~ We’re missing the conflict. I crossed out the last sentence because it’s more back story than conflict. We need a few details that show us how difficult it is to catch the business partner, what is it that is getting in her way.

Now if she can only catch the partner before the law catches her . the hook.. .

GOLDEN BOYS is an 83,000 word historical YA fiction novel that follows Samantha’s journey from girl to adult (with a stint as a boy) through the frontier of a changing society.

My diagnosis: The conflict paragraph needs work but the other pieces are there.

Jami Gold said...

Yesterday, Collette’s biggest challenge was trying to be a good wife and mother.

Today, this stay-at-home mom who it’s about is condemned to be a pawn in a coup d'état among immortals. The circumstance

A secret society of immortals has sworn to protect humanity, but a power-hungry traitor among them wants to take control. After he sees a photograph of Collette, the traitor orchestrates her abduction from her family. Just her luck, she resembles the current ruler’s might be better to name him too lost love. More circumstance

The traitor uses her to trick the current lord of the immortals into breaking one of their highest laws. This is the conflict paragraph and could use more details. At least a hint at how he tricks her and what the highest law is. Lord Gabriel, a good and honorable man, doesn’t know of her role in his impending downfall. Who is Lord Gabriel? Is he the current ruler?

Now, she must take sides.how? We’re not quite seeing her conflict. Does she have to make a choice? Between what and what and how it leads to this next question.Which immortal is more likely to allow her to return to her family, her captor or the man she’s unintentionally setting up for destruction?

Along the way, Collette dies—twice. Nice hook.

My diagnosis: The conflict paragraph needs work but the rest is there (the theme today). I’d be happy to look at a revision, Jami. Just post it in the comments.

Tell Me Your Best Read of 2011 -'cuz I got a gift card and I don't know what to buy

2011-12-12T08:45:00.000-08:00

It's kind of a funny story. I won an ARC from the lovey Sara McClung. Many of you probably have too, because she's just so generous and hosts a lot of contests on her blog.

So, I won this great book and she told me to tell her when I got it. It didn't come the first week or the second or the third, so I thought I'd let her know. Dang the postal service in December.

Then I got this URGENT sounding email. There was a good reason why I hadn't yet gotten the book. Somehow it got LOST UNDER THE FRONT SEAT OF HER CAR! So, funny. Like some plot device in those irritating movies where the clue to the mystery just happens to fall to the floor and under the bed.

Anywho, I told her no problem, these things happen. I had a good chuckle and I was fine knowing it was now on its way.

But, being the sweetie that she is, she insisted on sending me an Amazon gift card. I told her she didn't have to but she did, (Thanks, Sara!) so now I have a gift card.

If you know me you'll know that I'm that person at the restaurant who can't decide what to order. There's just too much to choose from. In fact, once I find a dish I like, I just order the same thing every time. You can ask my husband.

This is where you come in. I need help making a book purchase choice. What was your best read of 2011? I promise to tell you what I end up buying.

Thanks for your help! (And thanks again, Sara!)

And before I end here, I just want to let you know about the 12 Days of Christmas big .99 e-book Christmas sale. CLOCKWISE is featured on day 10. The price goes up on Dec 26.

GETTING SIDEWAYS by Lisa Nowack

2011-12-11T04:30:00.000-08:00

Getting Sideways: Book 2 in the Full Throttle Series

Getting shipped off to live with his uncle Race was the best thing that ever happened to fifteen-year-old Cody. Then a wreck at the speedway nearly ruined everything. Cody’s making every effort to get his life back on track—writing for the school paper, searching for the perfect girlfriend, and counting the days until he gets his drivers’ license—but there’s no escaping the nightmares that haunt him.

A chance to build his own car seems like the perfect distraction. Until Cody realizes he’ll have to live up to Race’s legendary status. But that’s the least of his worries, considering he doesn’t have his dad’s permission. All he has to do is the impossible: keep Race from discovering his lie until he can convince his dad that racing’s safe.

Yeah, sure. That’ll be easy.

Haven't read the first book? Running Wide Open is on sale now for 99 cents.

Running Wide Open: Book 1 in the Full Throttle Series

Cody Everett has a temper as hot as the flashpoint of racing fuel, and it's landed him at his uncle's trailer, a last-chance home before military school. But how can he take the guy seriously when he calls himself Race, eats Twinkies for breakfast, and pals around with rednecks who drive in circles every Saturday night?

What Cody doesn't expect is for the arrangement to work. Or for Race to become the friend and mentor he's been looking for all his life. But just as Cody begins to settle in and get a handle on his supercharged temper, a crisis sends his life spinning out of control. Everything he's come to care about is threatened, and he has to choose between falling back on his old, familiar anger or stepping up to prove his loyalty to the only person he's ever dared to trust.

Praise for Running Wide Open:

"It doesn’t matter if you are a racing fan or not, Running Wide Open will captivate you and capture your heart." – Cari J, Amazon reviewer

“The roar of engines practically explodes off the page in this compelling, heart-thumping debut. Cody Everett is a straight-shooter with attitude, smarts, and whip-cracking wit; he doesn’t pull any punches, and neither does author Lisa Nowak. The collision of Cody and the world of stock car racing makes for a great story, one of the best I’ve read in a long time. Running Wide Open is a book not to be missed.” - Christine Fletcher, author of Tallulah Falls and Ten Cents a Dance

"The racing is easy to understand and does not get in the way of a rattling good story. I still couldn’t put it down on a re-read." – Elisabeth Miles, Amazon reviewer

"We race stock cars during the summer and even though this is a recommended read for Young Adults, we are seniors and enjoyed every page. We can hardly wait for the sequel to come out. MUST READING!" – Maxci Jermann, Barnes and Noble reviewer

"I say read this book, it’s fun, it’s beautiful, it’s a very cool read that will give you a feel-good state of mind. Awesome read." - L.E.Olteano, Butterfly-o-meter Books

Author Bio:

In addition to being a YA author, Lisa Nowak is a retired amateur stock car racer, an accomplished cat whisperer, and a professional smartass. She writes coming-of-age books about kids in hard luck situations who learn to appreciate their own value after finding mentors who love them for who they are. She enjoys dark chocolate and stout beer and constantly works toward employing wei wu wei in her life, all the while realizing that the struggle itself is an oxymoron.

Lisa has no spare time, but if she did she’d use it to tend to her expansive perennial garden, watch medical dramas, take long walks after dark, and teach her cats to play poker. For those of you who might be wondering, she is not, and has never been, a diaper-wearing astronaut. She lives in Milwaukie, Oregon, with her husband, four feline companions, and two giant sequoias.

Connect with Lisa online:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Lisa_Nowak
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LisaNowakAuthor
Google +: http://bit.ly/LisaNowakGooglePlus
Blog: http://lisanowak.wordpress.com/
Subscribe to her newsletter for updates about coming attractions: http://bit.ly/LisaNowakNewsletter

Free Song Friday

2011-12-09T04:30:00.000-08:00

Short post today. Busy weekend with family and Christmas stuff. I hope you enjoy the next free song.

Elle

Where Have All The Dreamers Gone? [3:31]

This song written way back in 2003. US had invaded Iraq. With the all the political rhetoric flying around. I was wondering if anyone had any real answers.

UNTRACEABLE by SR Johannes

2011-12-08T04:30:00.000-08:00

It's a been extremely cool getting to know SR Johannes. I'm not even sure how it happened, you know, just one day we were all of a sudden really great writer buddies, and part of the amazing team of writers known as The Indielibles. When you're a crazy writer/publisher, everything just becomes this big swirl.

Today I am reviewing SR's YA adventure/mystery Untraceable. I don't normally do book reviews on my blog per se, but again it was one of those things I actually don't remember signing for, but I'm so glad I did, you know?

Because Untraceable is amazing!

Sixteen year old Grace is the daughter of a local wild life officer who taught her all the survival skills she would ever need, despite her tendency to trip over branches. What her father hadn't bargained for was how badly she would need those skills once he went missing.

Grace isn't the kind of girl to give up easily. Even when he is officially presumed dead, and everyone including the local sheriff, her mother and the town shrink, are telling her to move on with her life, something tells Grace that they're wrong.

The only person who will help her is Wyn, her childhood friend and recent ex-boyfriend. He's not exactly at home in the woods and so his support is of the moral kind.

Then there's Mo, the mysterious boy who rescues Grace from a dangerous encounter in the woods. He likes her and willingly helps her look for her father and track down bear poachers. But who is he, really? Can he be trusted?

Untraceable starts off with a comfortable pace, drawing us into the life of the town and the characters within, building tension with every chapter. And don't think you will be able to stop reading at the end of one. SR is the queen of chapter cliff hangers!

And oh, the ending! You'll have to read it to decide what you think.

I highly recommend Untraceable giving it a strong 4.5 stars out of 5.; This is a book that has stayed with me long after I finished reading it, and I'm definitely looking forward to the next book.

Author Angela Carlie and Loramendi's Story

2011-12-07T04:30:00.000-08:00

Today I'm featuring Angela Carlie author of the successful ebook Loremendi's Story only .99 on Amazon. It sounds like a great book and I can't wait to read it!

1. How long have you been writing?

I've been writing since high school. I kept a journal and would write poetry and short stories, but mostly I'd write about the angst of living the life of a teenager. It wasn't until a few years ago that I wrote an entire novel.

2. What was the first book you ever published?

Dream Smashers is the first book I published in March of this year. That was a hella scary experience. Dream Smashers is a book that's not for everyone, but should be read by all. It was a difficult one to write.

3. Tell us a bit about Loramendi's Story?

Loramendi's Story is a paranormal YA novel with some romance. It's a Lords of Shifters novel and is the story of a girl who discovers that things aren't as they seem. It has shapeshifters, hot windsurfers, good guys, bad guys, fairytale lands, kissing, and mystery. I wrote it for a specific audience, and I'm excited to see that audience gobbling it up. Ha! I really didn't tell you what it's about, did I?

4. How did you come up with the name Loramendi?

You know, I really can't remember. There isn't a cool story to tell about this and I'm sorry about that. I can tell you that Loramendi used to be named Claire. Can you say boring? In fact, the book used to be titled The Dreaded Dawn, but that sounded too much like another famous book, so I changed it.

5. Is it part of a series or a stand alone?

Both. I'm making each book in the Lords of Shifters so that they can stand on their own. If everything goes as planned, Lora's storyline will come up again in book three and book five. The next book due out, Spider Wars, follows Jess' (Lora's best friend) story.

6. Why did you decide to write YA?

I love reading YA. That, and I feel like my emotions are in constant turmoil. I'm an introvert with the fragile mental state of a teen it seems.

7. Do you have anything new coming?

Spider Wars will be available in 2012. I'm not committing to a release date because that would stress me out. I write for fun, not for deadlines.

8. I did catch by the description on Amazon that there is some windsurfing involved. Are you a windsurfer? If not, how did you do your research?

I am not a windsurfer. I do, however, live near the Columbia River Gorge (windsurfing territory). I watch, I read, and I use the internet. ;)

Now for a couple fun ones: Sweet or Savory? Mountains or Plains? Lakes or Oceans? Brad Pitt or Bradley Cooper?

All of the above, except for Brad Pitt and Bradley Cooper. They are too shiny for my taste. ;)

Thanks Angela

Thank YOU for having me on your blog! It's been fun!
Angela Carlie
www.angelacarlie.com
www.angelacarlie.blogspot.com
www.darksidepublishing.com

Query Critique #7- Elle Style (The Four Step Plan)

2011-12-06T04:30:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago I guest posted at Janice Hardy's blog on writing a query or pitch in four easy steps and offered to critique queries posted in the comments. I did two last Tuesday and three more are here today.

To recap:
1) who it's about
2) the circumstance
3) the conflict
4) the hook

Heather

When 16-year-old Becca Ford who it’s about discovers potion-making plants missing from the nursery where she works, she sets herself up as a target for a secret coven in Sugarland. ~~Becca doesn’t think of herself as anything special, but when she and protector Derek Moore take off to save her they discover there’s more to Becca than anyone suspects~~. This para should give us the circumstance. It’s not clear why the discovery of missing plants puts her in danger (becomes a target).

Becca’s ability to glow explains her gift with plants but also makes her a target of the magical government. Now we’re getting the explanation.Derek has ~~been raised with the belief~~ always believed that The Halo is evil, but the girl he’s gotten to know isn’t dangerous. In fact, she’s smart, funny and attractive… at least when she’s away from home. This last sentence doesn’t seem to connect with the previous ones.

~~Becca’s always been one to hide in the background.~~ Fully accepting her gift means she must ~~being thrust into the spotlight to~~ face powerful enemies. And possibly losing the first guy she’s ever been interested in. The hook.

The Halo is a 70,000 word young adult fantasy…

My diagnosis: Two of the four points are not clearly defined. Also, is part of the story told from Derek’s pov? If not, all paragraphs should be about Becca. If so, a query is a little trickier since you need to show the four points from both pov.

The circumstance: Becca works in a nursery. She also has the ability to glow, a gift she has to hide if she doesn’t want to be captured (? What is the nature of the targeting?) by the magical government called The Halo.

The conflict: Becca discovers missing plants and ....still needs forming.

I'd be happy to look at a revision, Heather. Just post in the comments.

Emily Anderson said...

Alisa is she a teenager? College age? It would be good to have a little more here to picture her has her life all planned out: score a 2100 on the SAT, go to Princeton, become CFO of a major corporation. Notice boys did not make the list? She doesn't have time for something as menial as a boyfriend.the circumstance. Would be nice to know if she’s in highschool here, a sense of setting.

But when she wakes up twenty years in the future, ~~in place of her adult self,~~ she finds nothing has gone according to plan. This is the conflict paragraph. Nice first sentence. She has to figure out how to get her life back on trackthis sentence is vague, a detail or two would be good and save her future daughter from a custody battle so she can get home before she loses her chance at the college of her dreams.we need to understand what happened that she might lose her chance at college here, perhaps explained in the life back on track statement.

Then she meets a boy or man? How old is she? who changes all her plans. And any day she could slip back in time and lose him forever. The hook is good.

My diagnosis: the first two points just need a little tweaking. The conflict paragraph is not as clear as it could be. The hook is good.

Natalie Aguirre

I cut quite a bit from the original, but it’s just a suggestion. After reading it I felt it read long and short and snappy is what we’re after.

Thirteen-year-old Jasmine ~~never believed love is stronger than blood~~. Who it’s about.~~But when she~~ convinces her best friend Austin to follow her into the magical land of Myrrdin, she discovers everyone there believes she can cast powerful defensive spells like her mysterious adoptive great-grandmother who once lived there. Much as she wishes it were true, she knows that’s impossible since she was adopted as a baby.

Even so, Jasmine’s excited to study magic. Especially when she starts practicing more complicated spells on her own. Who wouldn’t be!

But then she and Austin uncover Myrrdin’s dark secrets. There they discover Glazdick, a would-be dictator king, is desperately searching for a special wand once used to create an invisible wall around his country to imprison his people. Since it was designed by ~~her~~ Jasmine’s great-grandmother, he erroneously believes Jasmine has the same gift and is convinced he can coerce ~~Jasmine~~ her into wielding its power to destroy the barrier and allow him to overtake Myrrdin. Jasmine worries he’s right. Yet her inner yearning to learn magic drives her to stay in Myrridn even in the face of danger. The circumstance.

She and Austin must find the wand and unravel its mysteries before Glazdick ~~steals it~~ does, because he’ll stop at nothing—even using Austin as a pawn—to make Jasmine help him. If Jasmine can’t discover how her adoptive family’s love unlocks her magical powers, she may lose Austin. The conflict.

Worse still, they may never get home. The hook.

An upper middle grade fantasy, UNLOCKED MAGIC is complete at 69,000.

My diagnosis: All the pieces are here. Some of the front matter slowed the read down, (imho) and cutting it out makes the query quicker and more exciting.

If you'd like me to look at your query, just post it in the comments. I'll do 2 or 3 every Tuesday until Christmas and if there's more than that, I'll resume critiques in the New Year.

Monday Musings - A Jar of Crap

2011-12-05T04:30:00.000-08:00

Our friends from Romania came for the weekend for our annual Romania project budget meeting. We always have a lots of laughs when we get together and this time was no exception. They even brought back a jar of canned Crap!

Aren't you just dying to have a taste of that? ha! Actually, it's carp eggs, a lesser type of caviar, and no, I didn't eat any.

The paperwork behind is the year update of what our organization has done in the medical field in the villages around Brasov with the recent acquisition of a mobile medical unit. A major discovery has been in the area of TB testing, where over 50% of 300 people tested were found to be positive. Because they were diagnosed before severe symptoms had set in, the treatment is shorter and non-disruptive, so important for families where the bread-maker can't afford to miss even one day's work.

Another great outcome of the year is another successful medical training conference where doctors from the west teach doctors from the east how to perform tricky congenital malformation correction surgery. Many children in eastern Europe are still being born with defects as a result of the Chernobyl disaster. Over eighty children have had free corrective surgery by participating in conferences.

Me with a few Romanian farm kids, spring 2011

Another great thing coming in 2012 for me is the opportunity to spend two months in the fall in Brasov teaching English to the children in a couple farm villages. I'll also be helping out with eye testing with the mobile medical unit. I'm really excited to participate in this.

Town square, Brasov Romania

This post isn't specifically writing related, but it does fit with the concept that you need to get out and do stuff, in order to keep creativity alive. What kind of none-writing "stuff" do you do to keep your creative juices flowing?

Friday Four or Five - And Free Song Friday

2011-12-02T04:00:00.000-08:00

1. This week's free song is Wasting Time [3:58]

Written about 4 years ago. A little romantic bluegrass.

2. It's December and that means another year almost gone. 2011 was a surprise for me when it came to my writing goals. I ended up losing an agent for the second time and deciding to self-publish. I'm still trying to process the whole thing, emotionally and practically. Wearing a publisher's hat along with a writer's hat is entirely different than wearing the writer's hat alone. I'm a little nervous to re-read what my New Years goals were last year and not so sure what they're going to be this year. There's enough TNT in this point for it's own post, or two, so I'll leave it for now.

3. No, I'm not ready for Christmas. There is not one decoration to be seen, but my daughter and I have a date to go on our traditional outing to the tree farm where we'll pick a tree and wait in the barn with a cup of hot chocolate while someone else cuts it down. I did a lot of shopping on line this year and presents are starting to arrive in the mail, so I'm liking that.

4. Our friends from Romania are coming today for our annual update meeting. I've blogged about our involvement there before but you can check out www.hftn.ro if you'd like to know more.

5. Paper Artist Calvin Nicholls creates these art pieces with paper. Just paper (thus the reason he's called a Paper Artist :). Amazing.

Have a great weekend everyone!

2011-12-01T04:30:00.000-08:00

A special edition of Heather McCorkle’s The Secret Of Spruce Knoll is releasing from Compass Press this month and she’s doing a special tour to go along with it. The special part, a percentage of the proceeds from every special edition sold (in every format) between its release date and 12-12-2012, will go toward Heather’s favorite charity that protects endangered species. Her goal is to make at least $10,000 for the charity.

Of course there are prizes during the tour which goes from December 1^st through the 17^th. Prizes include a symbolic endangered species adoption of the winner’s choice (a $50 donation by Heather to the charity for the endangered species of the winner’s choice, and cute stuffed animal for the winner!), signed copies of her novels and great swag. For full details, and to enter, go here and click on the contest button on the sidebar. http://heathermccorkle.blogspot.com

For the tour Heather has asked each blog host to pick their favorite endangered species and she will tell us a fun or interesting fact about that animal.

I picked these, white tiger babies!

Heather: I'm thrilled that more than one person has chosen the magnificent white tiger as their favorite. More than just their beautiful color makes them unique. White tigers are larger than their orange and black cousins. Some researchers believe the white gene is carried by the species due not to blend with snowy climates, but for the greater size, in case the species ever had need of being bigger. Of course, such a thing couldn't be proven, but who knows, they could be right.

Make sure you pick up your copy!!

Query Critique #6- Elle Style (The Four Step Plan)

2011-11-29T08:10:00.000-08:00

Last week I guest posted at Janice's Hardy's blog, The Other Side of the Story, on Writing Queries/Pitches in Four Easy Steps. I offered to give gentle critiques for anyone who wanted me to look at theirs and got quite a few brave submissions, so I'll do two a week until I get through them. If anyone else would like me to have a look at their query/pitch, just post it in the comments.

A recap on the four steps:
1) who it's about
2) the circumstance
3) the conflict
4) the hook

Here are the first two:

Kay

Nan Macomb—a spunky thirty-five-year-old Nashville hair stylist who it’s about—works her cut-and-color magic in a tiny home salon while gabby clients keep her up-to-date on the latest hair-raising gossip. Bombarded by one too many anecdotes about music exec Randy Soleman’s cheating heart (and other body parts), she barges into his Music Row office and finds her former lover bludgeoned to death with his own Grammy Award. The circumstance.

Strong evidence implicates Nan, so she recruits her two best friends—a depressed, stay-at-home mom and a country music singer wannabe—to help keep her butt out of jail. The trio combs the Music City, following clues and miscues to uncover theft, infidelity, and deceit in both Randy’s personal and professional worlds. In the process, they encounter more types of addiction than shades of blonde. This is the conflict paragraph, but it feels a little vague. One or two examples of a clue or miscue would be stronger than just a list.

When the apparent suicide of Randy’s brother stymies the police, Nan, a long-time puzzle enthusiast, discovers an encrypted message buried in the words of his suicide note. The message could ensure her freedom . . . if she can get it to the police before the killer gets to her. The hook.

My diagnosis: I think this is very close. It has a great opening that tells me who it’s about (an interesting character), and her everyday world. The middle section on conflict could use tweaking but it’s close. The hook paragraph is really good, with a solid detail “encrypted message buried in the words of his suicide note”, the kind of thing the conflict paragraph needs.

angelaquarles

After reading this over I’m going to suggest some re-arranging of information.

Isabelle Rochon, a modern American working at the British Museum, has met the man of her dreams. Who it’s about. There's only one problem: he lives in a different century. ~~Talk about a long-distance relationship!~~

~~A modern American working at the British Museum~~, ~~Isabelle just wants to know what it was like to live 'back then~~.' ~~But not really.~~ When a silver card case strands her in 1834, she must navigate the pitfalls of a stiffly polite London, find out how to get back, keep her origins a secret, and, oh, resist her growing attraction to Lord Montagu, the Vicious Viscount so hot he curls her toes. The circumstance.

To Lord Montagu nothing makes more sense than to keep his distance from the strange Colonial. However, when his scheme for revenge reaches a stalemate, he needs ~~her~~Isabelle to masquerade as his fiancée. A bargain is struck. What he did not bargain on is being drawn to her ~~mentally~~ intellectually as well as physically. Now, nothing makes more sense than to make their engagement official. Except for the problem of to his fiancée. This is your conflict paragraph. Is this your main conflict? Is part of the story told from Lord Montagu’s pov? It sounds like it from the way this is written. If it is, give us a bit more in the first sentence, tell us a little about him, what makes the Colonial strange and why Montagu feels like he needs to stay away from him. If not, then this needs to be re-written from Isabelle’s view point.

What is Isabelle’s conflict? You want to state this clearly in an additional paragraph. Right now it feels like Lord Montagu’s conflict. (If he’s not a pov character, then re-write this to be Isabelle’s conflict paragraph with her opinions about Lord Montagu and his scheme stated)

Isabelle must find the case, or she'll be stuck in 1834 where they haven't heard of toilet paper or women's lib. The fact that she's falling in love with Lord Montagu isn't helping either. Staying would be the ultimate follow-the boyfriend move and she can't go through that again. This is okay, but needs the hook sentence. Is she facing an ultimatum? Is her life in danger? Does she have to choose between Montagu and flush toilets?

TO OUR FUTURE is a 95,000 word novel featuring such historical figures as Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage. Fans of LOST IN AUSTEN will love the modern woman’s fish out of water foibles, while experiencing a more scientific and mechanical London. It is similar in tone to THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE PINK CARNATION, and Katie Macalister’s contemporary romances. It is a standalone novel with the potential to be a prequel in a series of steampunk romances. Nice wrap up paragraph.

My diagnosis: A common problem when writing pitches and queries is to discern what part of a 95k manuscript to include. It’s easy to say too much, or to miss the real point. My suggestion is to work at pinpointing the conflict paragraph (s, if there are two pov characters), tweak the beginning and nail a sharp hook sentence.

I'll do two more next Tuesday--stay tuned!

Funny reasons why you shouldn't drink and drive (b/c we all know the serious ones, right?)

2011-11-28T04:30:00.000-08:00

Don't drink and drive because this could happen:

or this:

TANGLED TIDES RELEASE CELEBRATION and Free Song Friday

2011-11-25T04:30:00.000-08:00

Before we get to Karen Amanda Hooper's launch, I want to present the next free song in our Free Song Friday giveaway-one free song every Friday until Christmas (my gift to you:)

You Still Move Me by Norm Strauss.
"This one has been a favorite at concerts for years now. I love the Celtic feel of it and the the big chorus tag. It feels good to sing it. I wrote this one for my wife about 6 years ago."

Okay, on to Karen Amanda Hooper and TANGLED TIDES...

Yara Jones doesn’t believe in sea monsters—until she becomes one.

When a hurricane hits her island home and she wakes up with fins, Yara finds herself tangled up in an underwater world of mysterious merfolk and secretive selkies. Both sides believe Yara can save them by fulfilling a broken promise and opening the sealed gateway to their realm, but they are battling over how it should be done. The selkies want to take her life. The merfolk want something far more precious.

Treygan, the stormy-eyed merman who turned Yara mer, will stop at nothing and sacrifice everything to protect his people—until he falls for Yara. The tides turn as Yara fights to save herself, hundreds of sea creatures, and the merman who has her heart. She could lose her soul in the process—or she might open the gateway to a love that’s deeper than the oceans.

In TANGLED TIDES there is a battle going on between the merfolk and the selkies. However, sirens also fly about and gorgons slither their way into the story as well. All the creatures are pretty badass in their own way, but on the 25^th we’re gonna have an Underwater Web War.

Karen is hosting a Twitter contest where she’ll be giving away a signed copy of her book along with some other fun sea creature giveaways. Enter your choice,Merfolk, Selkies, Sirens, or Gorgons, and why, followed by the #TangledTides hashtag.

To find out more about these mythical sea creatures, including fabulous sketches, click on the link which will take you to Karen's blog.

Congratulations Karen, on the launch of your fabulous book!

New Author Blog Hop

2011-11-23T04:30:00.000-08:00

The winner of the ebook of Clockwise is : !! Jacque!! Congrats!

I've joined the new author blog hop. If you're a regular here, then you've seen all this before. This is your opportunity to check out other new authors. Check the list at the bottom of this post. If you're new here, well, Hello!

Just leave a comment for a chance to win an e-book of Clockwise.

Elle Strauss - Author

Promo pic:

Clockwise cover:

Bio:

I write time travel and merfolk chic-lit, light SF and historical YA fiction. I have one husband, four kids and two cats. I'm fond of Lindt's sea salt dark chocolate and hiking in good weather. CLOCKWISE is my first YA release. You can find me on Facebook,twitter @elle_strauss,and my blog at www.ellestraussbooks.blogspot.com
Come say hi!

Product Description :

A teenage time traveler accidentally takes her secret crush back in time. Awkward.
(12+)

Boy watching with her best friend would be enough excitement for fifteen year old Casey Donovan. She doesn't even mind life at the bottom of the Cambridge High social ladder, if only she didn’t have this other much bigger problem. Unscheduled trips to the nineteenth century!

When Casey gets talked into going to the Fall Dance, the unthinkable happens--she accidentally takes Nate Mackenzie, the cutest boy in the school, back in time.

Protocol pressures her to tell their 1860 hosts that he is her brother and when Casey finds she has a handsome, wealthy (and unwanted) suitor, something changes in Nate. Are those romantic sparks or is it just ‘brotherly’ protectiveness?

When they return to the present things go back to the way they were before: Casey at the bottom of the social totem pole and Nate perched on the very the top. Except this time her heart is broken. Plus, her best friend is mad, her parents are split up, and her little brother gets escorted home by the police. The only thing that could make life worse is if, by some strange twist of fate, she took Nate back to the past again.

Which of course, she does.

Blurbs:

“I loved Casey, such an awesomely awkward main character. Clockwise is full of warmth and wit...” Denise Jaden, author of Losing Faith.

“...sharp and witty...A fantastic read for anyone, adolescent or adult.” Talli Roland, author of Watching Willow Watts.

"I love, love, LOVE all your characters! Casey's humorous charm and her particular way she sees things and the way you describe them are just way too funny, and I love how she's like a mixture between an 'average teenage girl' where she drools over the hot guys and hangs out with her best friend, to this 'spit-fire' from the eighteen hundreds." Limitless- teen wattpad reader

"I just read Clockwise cover to cover in the space of an afternoon. Couldn't stop! It was fantastic! I almost NEVER read anything with romance, but you sucked me right in! I absolutely loved the little twist at the end..." BookwormForever - teen wattpad reader

Links:
www.ellestraussbooks.blogspot.com
Twitter: @elle_strauss
Facebook : Elle Strauss - Author

For sale:

Amazon
Paperback 9.99
e-book holiday prices at .99
Barnes & Noble

TEMPEST WINNER!

2011-11-22T16:48:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who celebrated CLOCKWISE by playing #onehourbackintime. It was so interesting to see what kinds of "trips" people would make.

And the winner is of TEMPEST by Julie Cross is:

!! LAURA PAULING!!

While most people entered once or twice, Laura entered a whopping seven times! (And obviously, it worked :)

I'll contact you, Laura, for your address. Happy reading and thanks for showing so much support!

One Hour Back in Time - TEMPEST giveaway

2011-11-21T04:30:00.000-08:00

CLOCKWISE is now available in paperback! Yay!

Woke up to this fantastic 5 Star review of Clockwise, too. Awesome way to start the day!

To celebrate I'm giving away a copy of TEMPEST (another YA time travel novel) by Julie Cross to one fortunate winner.

To enter all you have to do is tweet or fb the answer to this question: If you could go back in time for one hour, when and where would you go and what would you do? Just add the hashtag #onehourbackintime, so I can track your entries.

For instance: I would go to New York in 1924 to the El Fey Club, and dance the Charleston #onehourbackintime

I chose that time and experience because I think it would be cool to see NewYork with all those old (though new), black 1920' Fords, Time Square in its infancy, and dressing like a flapper and dancing the Charleston would just be so much fun!

You don't have to explain your choice, but if you'd like to, feel free to leave your reasons in the comments.

Friday Four or Five - Introducing Free Song Friday

2011-11-18T04:30:00.000-08:00

1. First of all I want to say thanks to everyone who offered words of encouragement on my Hitting the Wall post. I felt lurved and supported. I admit to feeling a little sheepish now, but I also know it's not an uncommon experience. I had artists in other disciplines tell me the same thing happened to them after a big art show or CD release.

One (thanks Amo!) even pointed out that great men of the bible weren't immune.

"Elijah, after he just routed the Baal's priests, he laid down under a bush and said "Okay, God, just let me die!" Whereupon God sent him an angel with food & drink (they didn't have any DVDs in those days, or they would have included one in the care package)."

2. Monday is my "official" launch of the paperback of CLOCKWISE. There will be a hastag contest where I'll give away a copy of TEMPEST by Julie Cross (staying with the time travel theme). All you have to do is tweet or facebook when and where you would go or what you would do if you could go back in time for one hour. For instance: I would go to New York in 1924 to the El Fey Club, and dance the Charleston #onehourbackintime

More on Monday, but you have the whole weekend to think about your answer, When and Where would you go and What would you do?

3. It snowed this week. I don't like winter. Still I offered to shovel the driveway if hubby would cook dinner.

4. I kept number 3 short because I really want to get to this one. You know how in Starbucks you can get the song of the week free download cards? (At least you can in Canada). Well, I happen to know a singer/songwriter and he's going to let me give away one song a week until Christmas! That's six free songs!

I wanted to find a way to show my appreciation for all my blog friends and to give you a special gift for the holidays.

The first song is called Together by Norm Strauss (see, I have pull.)

About Together:

We are now starting to understand this thing called 'global community' a little bit now but the true ramifications of it are still emerging. Right now we have the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street, problems with the Euro Zone economy and nuclear meltdowns in Fukushima. These, along with countless other events are affecting us all. It used to be a long way between continents but now we are standing right next to each other it seems. An unpaid debt in Greece can eventually affect what happens to a guy looking for a job in Iowa. A large wave hitting the Japanese coast can cause a spike in radiation levels in Canada. We are all in this together.

Just click on the link and download it.

Enjoy!

Everything's Amazing & Nobody's Happy

2011-11-17T04:30:00.000-08:00

Do you remember these simpler times? Watch for a good laugh :)

SOLSTICE by P.J. Hoover!

2011-11-16T04:30:00.000-08:00

I'm over at www.missiontoread.com, where I'm being interviewed and reviewed. Check out what Pabkins thinks about Clockwise and what I think about spam (the meat kind). :)

Today I'm promoting my friend and fellow author P.J. Hoover and her new book SOLSTICE. I've just started reading Solstice and I can tell you I'm hooked! Chapter one is amazing and the rest of the book just sounds incredible. If you want to know what I'm talking about, read on!

A little background on PJ:

P. J. Hoover first fell in love with Greek mythology in sixth grade thanks to the book Mythology by Edith Hamilton. After a fifteen year bout as an electrical engineer designing computer chips for a living, P. J. decided to take her own stab at mythology and started writing books for kids and teens. P. J. is a member of THE TEXAS SWEETHEARTS & SCOUNDRELS. When not writing, P. J. spends time with her husband and two kids and enjoys practicing Kung Fu, solving Rubik's cubes, and watching Star Trek. Her first novel for teens, Solstice, takes place in a Global Warming future and explores the parallel world of mythology beside our own. Her middle grade fantasy novels, The Emerald Tablet, The Navel of the World, and The Necropolis, chronicle the adventures of a boy who discovers he’s part of two feuding worlds hidden beneath the sea.

Book Description:
Where Mythology and Dystopia meet...

Piper’s world is dying. Global warming kills every living thing on Earth, and each day brings hotter temperatures and heat bubbles which threaten to destroy humanity. Amid this Global Heating Crisis, Piper lives with her mother who suffocates her more than the chaotic climate. When her mother is called away to meet the father Piper has been running from her entire life, Piper seizes an opportunity for freedom.

But when Piper discovers a world of mythology she never knew existed, she realizes her world is not the only one in crisis. While Gods battle for control of the Underworld, Piper's life spirals into turmoil, and she struggles to find answers to secrets kept from her since birth. And though she’s drawn to her classmate Shayne, he may be more than he claims. Piper has to choose whom she can trust and how she can save the people she loves even if it means the end of everything she’s ever known.

Buying links:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Smashwords

Link to book trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkWezTGdTkg

Blurbs:
"Solstice is the best mythological-based book that I’ve read all year!" -- Imaginary Reads

"Filled with mystery, romance, and betrayal, P.J. Hoover’s SOLSTICE provides a seductive mythological twist on the global warming crisis." -- Joy Preble, author of Dreaming Anastasia and Haunted

"I loved every single moment I've spent as the plot unravels right before my eyes, piece by piece, one secret at a time. SOLSTICE is a page turner, a story that you just can't put down, can't stop reading until you reach the end." -- Amaterasu Reads

"P.J. Hoover’s SOLSTICE is what happens when MATCHED meets THE LIGHTNING THIEF—the memorable characters, intense romance, and clever twists on mythology absolutely blew me away." -- Jessica Lee Anderson, author of Border Crossing

My website:
http://www.pjhoover.com

My blog:
http://pjhoover.blogspot.com

If you haven't checked out SOLSTICE, what are you waiting for? :)

Hitting the Wall

2011-11-14T04:30:00.000-08:00

I hit it on Thursday.

reasonable facsimile--just add pajamas

Since I decided to self-publish, I've pretty much gone non-stop, morning, noon and night, seven days a week. It's very exciting at the beginning. Lots to learn, and a real sense of accomplishment when you figure out things on your own.

But that's the clincher, you're on your own. All be big decisions are up to you. And that's actually part of what's great about independent publishing, you get to call the shots.

And you get to second guess them too. Is this the right cover, the right book tour plan, am I spending too much money on this, is there more I should be doing?

You keep going, making up your mind and changing your mind until finally you have a formatted book, and a cover, and you uploaded it to smashwords, kindle and create space. Suddenly, it's live on Amazon! You're a real author! (and you are).

You pull off an amazing launch, rally all your on-line friends, a huge book tour success. Nothing is more fun than watching your sales ranking grow (lower in number and higher on the chart).

It's awesome, what a high. You did it.

Then comes the part that not many indie pubbers talk about. What I call Post Launch Depression. (Maybe I'm the only one. You can tell me.)

Because the numbers don't stick. It's hard to sustain the launch week sales. Nothing makes you reach for a paper bag to breathe into faster than watching your sales fall.

Panic sets in. I must market better, wiser, smarter. So and so author seems to be doing so well. How did she do it? Look at all those dumb marketing mistakes I made. I'll never recover.

Maybe I'm getting all hormonal here (ahem), but you don't hear too many self-publishing stories where a great start just stalls. From what you read out there, it's only a matter of time before you're raking in major dough.

My financial bar isn't even that high. I want to make a part-time living (even though I know I'll work full time to get it). And I know writing can't just be about the money, but if you want to make writing a career, which I know many of us do, then it has to be a little about the money. Now I'm wondering if I'll break even.

I guess my point for writing this post is that writers who decide to go it alone need to be realistic. It's hard work. No one is promoting your book for you and there are a lot of other books out there.

You might wonder if I'm quitting by how I'm going on here. I'm not.

I fell pretty hard, drank two glasses of wine and watched a movie with Robert Pattison sporting natural color eyes and skin, and a decent hair cut.

I've rallied again, but I've re-aligned my expectations. I've altered my publishing strategies. I like what I've read recently (sorry I don't remember where, if you do, add the credit in the comments) that you shouldn't even bother with marketing until you have three titles out.

I only have one title out. And it's only been out for a month and a half. Perhaps I should cut myself some slack.

So, I made another corporate decision (being CEO has it's quirks). I have a lot of readers asking for a sequel to Clockwise. I'm writing that now. And I have an idea for a third.

Once I have three titles in the same series out, I'll pull out the marketing guns. This of course will take some time.

Maybe I should stop looking at the numbers. #crazymaking

So, you tell me? I'm I truly unique in this experience? Has anyone else had a "hit the wall" moment? How did it turn out for you?

Remembrance Day and Dark Carma Books Launch

2011-11-11T04:30:00.000-08:00

In Canada, our equivalent of Veteran's Day is marked every November 11. We wear red plastic poppies on our lapels and remember the war dead.

My friend Jane Eamon wrote a song about the American Civil war (even though she's Canadian, this is what her muse brought her.) My current #nanowake wip takes place during the civil war too, so I thought it very timely and fitting to post her song here. Enjoy.

And...the girls of Dark Carma are launching their books today!!

What is Dark C.A.R.M.A? Three YA authors determined to keep you up at night reading fantastical fiction about darkness—in the world and the soul. They're throwing a Twitter party at 11:00 AM MST on 11/11/11, where they'll be tweeting under the hashtag DARKCARMA. They've got prizes to give away and would love to have you join them so they can spoil you with some writerly love.
BECOME, by Ali Cross
Sixteen-year old Desolation Black wants nothing more than to stay in Hell where it’s cold and lonely and totally predictable. Instead, she’s sent back to Earth where she must face the evil she despises and the good she always feared. When Desi is forced to embrace her inner demon, she assumes her choice has been made—that she has no hope of being anything other than what her father, Lucifer, has created her to be. What she doesn’t count on, is finding a reason to change—something she’s never had before—a friend.

Add BECOME to your Goodreads list
Buy BECOME on Amazon
Buy BECOME at Barnes and Noble
Buy BECOME on Smashwords

ALI CROSS is the sensei of the Writer's Dojo where she holds a black belt in awesome. She lives in Utah with her kickin' husband, two sparring sons, one ninja cat, two sumo dogs and four zen turtles.

* * *

BOUND, by C.K. Bryant
When a photo shoot ends in tragedy, Kira discovers her best friend, Lydia, has been keeping a secret. Knowing the truth, and accepting it, will change Kira’s life forever and thrust her into a world of ancient curses, magical objects, and savage enemies. What happens next will challenge everything Kira knows about her world, herself and the shape-shifting warrior she’s falling in love with. No longer the timid mouse her mother accused her of being, but a woman who finds the mental and physical strength to endure and survive.
BOUND is a heroic tale of true friendship, infinite sacrifice and untamed love.

Add BOUND to your Goodreads list
Buy BOUND on Amazon
Buy BOUND at Barnes and Noble (coming soon)
Buy BOUND on Smashwords

CHRISTINE BRYANT has always been a writer. Even before she could compose a single word with pen, she scribbled her version of cursive along the open page just to see what it looked like. As a teen, she swiped her dad's old Royal typewriter so her muse could breathe life into what her vivid imagination had created.
She's spent the last twenty-five years married to the man of her dreams and raising their two sons. After helping run the family restaurant for most of their marriage, Christine finally broken away to pursue her dream of being an author.
When she's not with her family or tickling the computer keys, she loves camping, reading, scrapbooking, listening to all kinds of music, and making new friends.
Christine currently living in the middle of sage brush and lava rock with a spectacular view of the Snake River Canyon in South Central Idaho.

* * *

EXILED, by RaShelle Workman
Stubborn, sixteen-year-old Princess Venus of Kelari wants one thing, to become immortal, that is, until someone exiles her to Earth, kills her irrihunter and takes her family.
Now she wants revenge.
First she’s got to get home. But before she can return to Kelari, the Gods have commanded her to help an arrogant boy named Michael find his soul mate.
Only she doesn't know the first thing about love.
Rather quickly, her inexperience with human emotion is obscured by other matters—alien-controlled psychotic teens that are out to kill her, and a government group that is set on capturing and dissecting her.
Worst of all, Venus will suffer a painful death-by-poisoning, thanks to Earth’s atmosphere, if she remains on the planet longer than one week.
Still, Venus is a Princess and she's got a plan. Surely, with her help, Michael will fall in love with a human.
But time is running out and Michael is falling for the wrong girl—her.

RASHELLE WORKMAN lives in Utah with her husband, three children and three dogs. When she gets a quiet moment alone, she enjoys reading about faraway places. And, in case you were wondering, yes, she does believe there is other life out in the Universe.

The Casey and Nate of Clockwise Fame Video! and Nano News

2011-11-10T04:30:00.000-08:00

Karen Amanda Hooper put me on to Xtranormal movie making so I had to make one for Casey and Nate, just for fun!

Too funny, eh? (sneaky insert of stereotypical Canadianism)

I'm being interviewed over at Fairytale nerd today. Find out about my most interesting writing quirk and what scares me the most.

So how is everyone's Nano writing going? If you've been following my blog you'll know that I'm doing #nanowake, a version of nanowrimo, but not nanowrimo.

And it's been hard. I'm forcing myself to make my 1k a day goal (down from a lofty 2k). I'm just not in the zone this year.

Here's my process: write a sentence, check email, write a sentence, check twitter, write a sentence, check Amazon.

I tell you, it's agonizing. But, I do have 10k new words to show for it, and I'm determined to keep going.

How about you? Are you in the zone? Or squeezing water from a stone?

Evolution of a Cover Vlog

2011-11-08T04:30:00.000-08:00

Last week D.L Hammons suggested that I do another vlog talking about the evolution of my cover for my YA novel, Clockwise. I thought that was an interesting idea, especially since so many have asked me about the cover, so here it is!

(sorry about the background buzz. not sure why that's there.)

What do you think? Any questions for me?

Here are the websites of the people mentioned in the vlog.

Kimberly McMechan Photography

Nico Boesten (new website to come)

Norm Strauss (btw, free music to be found there under Songs tab)

CLOCKWISE Is In Print! (and launch details)

2011-11-07T07:55:00.000-08:00

CLOCKWISE is in print--yahoo! My launch date to spring paper-back copies into the world is November 21st. To celebrate I'm giving away a copy on Goodreads (might already be up, go check, be an early bird :), and holding a contest on Wattpad (Lurve my Wattpad fans *waves*)

And yes, I am stroking it. That's not weird, is it?

grainy image makes object appear younger

Plus I'm giving away a copy of TEMPEST by Julie Cross. Yes, another Time Travel book. (I actually just won this book--love winning books--and I'm so happy to spread the time travel love. Just know, it will have been read by me. And probably Sara McClung.)

I'm not alone in my November launching news. Many of my authorly friends are also launching this month and some of them might (will) just be showing up here on my blog to say hi.

So stay tuned!!

Friday Four or Five -Podcasts Are Cool

2011-11-04T04:30:00.000-07:00

1) I wrote the first chapter of my short story for my nanowrimo alternative, nanowake. It took me a whole two days, like pulling teeth even though it's with characters I already know really well. It's been way too long since I tapped into my creative juices like that and for a while there I thought I'd forgotten how to write. I'm still not in the zone by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm hoping it gets easier from here.

2) Hubby leaves again for another tour. Shorter this time, only one week, and he stays in the country. He has to dress up and perform in front of people, while I get to stay in my PJ's and perform in front of my laptop. (I think I've got the better deal, but hey, to each their own).

3) I've joined with a group of talented YA authors called The Indelibles. We hang out on-line a lot brainstorming all kinds of crazy ideas and just have fun getting to know each other. There is a new bar of book titles on the right column featuring our books. Have a look!

4)Last month I had my first (and only) media experience. I wasn't quite up to doing a video interview so we opted for a podcast instead. It was fun, and I don't sound that nervous at all. It ran today on our local internet news site.

I've got a busy weekend/week ahead with nanowake and pub stuff. How about you? What are you busy with?

have a great weekend!

Riding the NaNo Wake

2011-11-02T04:30:00.000-07:00

I'm not officially doing NaNo this year, but I am going to write. A lot. More than in the previous two months, which as far as new writing goes, has been dismal.

So even though I'm not doing NaNo I'm going to ride the NaNo wave. All those people in the NaNo boat? I'm riding on their momentum, their energy...because I can!

this is not me

I was going to jump back into a half finished draft of the companion book for Clockwise, but now I'm all stoked to write a short story based on a few of the characters from Clockwise. (My fans want to know what happened next to the characters they fell in love with. I love saying my fans--getting notes from readers make my day--anywho, off topic here).

Actually, short stories scare me. I don't know why, but I find them more frightening than writing full length novels. Maybe because I'm afraid I won't have enough words to develop something gripping. But, I'm going to give it a go. And with the renewed opportunity to sell short stories as e-books, it just makes sense to me to add more variety to my e-shelf.

So who's with me? Are you doing NaNo, or are you riding the wave?

Launch Party for OPEN MINDS! There are prizes!

2011-11-01T04:30:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to be part of Susan Kaye Quinn's book release party! Today is the launch of her book OPEN MINDS.

As part of the celebrations Susan is guest posting here today.

A Study in Voice, or Silencing Your Inner Critic
by Susan Kaye Quinn
picture credit
Voice is an elusive thing, something difficult to describe because it is unique to each writer. Finding your Voice as a writer is something that takes time, exploration, and a whole lot of words. I've heard several definitions of Voice, from the confidence that a writer exudes when they write (via Bryan Russell) to an eight point definition put forth by Nathan Bransford. I think Voice is an expression of your inner writer self, the one that's a true reflection of who you are, and therefore is as much an exploration of yourself as it is of the stories or characters that you write.

In some ways, it's like Luke going into the cave to face his darkest fears. What's in that dark hole in the ground? What secrets will I find buried deep within me, if I explore my writerly Voice? What if I don't want to go into the hole, because I'm comfortable writing the way I am, thank you very much?

When I set out to write my paranormal/SF novel Open Minds (Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy), I had barely more than an image and a paragraph to start with. It was the ultimate pantser approach. I started the month of November with an idea for a novel and a blank word processor document, determined to "win" at National Novel Writing Month by writing 50,000 words by the end of the month.

And I did. But what happened along the way was much more than the start of a novel. It was a 50,000 word discovery of Voice, both my character's and my own.

Prior to that, I had written a few novels chapter-by-chapter. I would craft the first draft of a chapter and then edit, edit, edit until it was presentable. Beautiful. Perfect! (Ha.) Then I would spend another week writing the next chapter. And so on.

This is a great way to practice your craft, but a terribly slow way to write a novel. You will get there eventually, but all those carefully polished chapters will end up being thrown in the trash bin during revisions. Trust me on this.

I set out to write Open Minds differently. This time I would rush headlong through a story that no plot, no outline, nothing. I would write 50,000 words without stopping to correct so much as a typo.

Why?

Because I had this girl's voice in my head, and I wanted to capture it on paper before I lost it. Kira - a girl who couldn't read minds in a telepathic world - had a voice even from that first paragraph. It was filled with sarcasm, as a defensive weapon in a world that was hostile to her, but tempered with a genuine love for her family and (few) friends. Her voice was part of her character and it spoke to me.

But in order to hear Kira's voice and get it down on paper, I had to silence my Inner Critic, that nasty wench that insisted I get all those chapters polished and beautiful before daring to move on to the next one. My Inner Critic didn't go quietly. In fact, simply locking her in the basement was insufficient. I won't go into the details (and there was no body, so you can't prove anything), but let's just say she didn't bother me for that entire month of November, while I cranked out 50,000 words of Kira's story.

Along the way to finding Kira's voice, I also gained much insight into my own. In the rapid flow of words, I could see eddies where my voice was concentrated, building a beautiful swirl of words and phrases that painted the picture that was trapped in my head. (Some of those words even survived into the final draft.) Other turbulent passages were just a mess of language trying to say something, but badly. I knew I could go back and fix those later, but the euphoria of bringing the story and characters to life on the page had brought out not only Kira’s voice, but my own.

If you’ve never tried fast drafting, I recommend you give it a shot. I highly recommend having an outline first (trust me, this works much better, and is how I’ve written every novel since Open Minds), but if you don’t have an outline, don’t let that stop you. The benefits of finding your character’s voice (and your own) outweigh the dirty deeds that must be done to silence your Inner Critic.
*********************

When everyone reads minds, a secret is a dangerous thing to keep.

Sixteen-year-old Kira Moore is a zero, someone who can’t read thoughts or be read by others. Zeros are outcasts who can’t be trusted, leaving her no chance with Raf, a regular mindreader and the best friend she secretly loves. When she accidentally controls Raf’s mind and nearly kills him, Kira tries to hide her frightening new ability from her family and an increasingly suspicious Raf. But lies tangle around her, and she’s dragged deep into a hidden world of mindjackers, where having to mind control everyone she loves is just the beginning of the deadly choices before her.

Open Minds (Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy) by Susan Kaye Quinn is available for $2.99 in e-book (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords) and $9.99 in print (Amazon, Createspace).

The Story of Open Minds (linked posts)

Ch 1: Where Ideas Come From: A Mind Reading World

Ch 2: A Study in Voice, or Silencing Your Inner Critic

Ch 3: I'm finished! Oh wait. Maybe not.

Ch 4: Write First, Then Outline - Wait, That's Backwards?

Ch 5: Why My Critique Partners Are Smarter Than Me

Ch 6: Facing Revisions When It Feels Like Being on the Rack

Ch 7: How to Know When to Query

Ch 8: A Writer’s Journey - Deciding to Self-Publish Open Minds (Part One)

Ch 9: Owning the Writerly Path - Deciding to Self-Publish Open Minds (Part Two)

Epilogue: Finding Time to Write the Sequel
*********************
PRIZES!
Susan Kaye Quinn is giving away an Open Books/Open Minds t-shirt, mug, and some fun wristbands to celebrate the Virtual Launch Party of Open Minds (Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy)! (Check out the prizes here.)

Three ways to enter (you can have multiple entries):
1) Leave a comment here or at the Virtual Launch Party post
2) Tweet (with tag #keepingOPENMINDS)
Example: When everyone reads minds, a secret is a dangerous thing to keep. #keepingOPENMINDS @susankayequinn #SF #YA avail NOW http://bit.ly/psX1Hh
Example: Celebrate the launch of OPEN MINDS by @susankayequinn #keepingOPENMINDS #SciFi #paranormal #YA avail NOW http://bit.ly/SKQOpenMinds
3) Facebook (tag @AuthorSusanKayeQuinn)
Example: Celebrate the launch of paranormal/SF novel OPEN MINDS by @AuthorSusanKayeQuinn for a chance to win Open Books/Open Minds prizes!
***********************************

Writing + Publishing = Kickbutt Busy!

2011-10-28T04:30:00.000-07:00

I decided last night to set up an Author page. And you know what that means? There's a LIKE button, over there to the right => just above my head. Feel free to click it!

I'm kind of overwhelmed. But in a good way. Let me explain. Back in June, (near the very end, you might as well say July) I decided to indie publish my first book. I knew it would be a lot of work, and it is, but good work.

It's one of those situations where you learn as you go, like being in school (but so much better!) The learning curve I've been on is never ending, it seems but it's all stuff I'm really interested in. I wake up each morning excited about the things I need to do.

The thing is, I'm so busy with publishing, I haven't written a new word since the summer. I did know this would happen going in, that fall would be devoted to developing this new aspect of my career, but it's kind of freaking me out. So, I've determined to surf on the wave known as Nano, not as an official entrant, but just to say, I'm writing in the month of November.

For those of you who have never indie/self published and think that maybe one day you might, I'm going to start blogging about what the process was like for me.

Here's the nutshell version (and it's kind of a big nutshell):

-make a big decision and tell people about it
-prepare blog/web site to drive readers/buyers to
-read and revise ms one more time, and send to beta readers.
-HIRE EDITOR
-work on cover ideas, HIRE COVER DESIGNER
(these are the two most important things you will do when you indie publish, trust me)
-learn to format for Smashwords (not that hard, don't do what I did and hire a third party)
-learn to format for Kindle
-learn to format for Nook (which I don't do as a Canadian b/c they're not friendly that way. I upload to Nook through Smashwords)
-buy ISBN(s) (but if you're Canadian, you get those for free! So there, Nook. You have to register with CISS-google it-but it's easy. It takes a couple weeks to get accepted but after that you can get any ISBN you want in minutes.)
-once you have cover and formatted ms, upload to various sites
-get promo pics taken
-set up blog tour
-make kindle author page look pretty (upload pic, bio, blog, etc)
-apply for Search Inside
-become a Goodreads author
-send out ARC to reviewers (I start with friends then request reviews from book reviewers)
-launch your e- book!!
-learn to format for Create Space or Lightening Source (or both) for print
-hire cover designer to create back cover and spine
-upload and order proof
-edit proof and resend

IN THE MEAN TIME
-gather twitter and fb friends and engage intelligently online
-blog regularly
-consider joining Wattpad (especially if you write YA)
-continue to request reviews (from a list you've been collecting as you participate in blog hops and blogfests)
-connect with other indie authors and cross promote
-contact Overdrive and register as a publisher
-set up a paypal account
-be patient and let things grow

WHAT I'M ACTUALLY BUSY WITH RIGHT NOW
-I'm a featured author on Wattpad, which means I've submitted a blog for Friday (today), and prepping for other Wattpad promotions
-finishing Clockwise proof edits for Create Space and waiting for cover changes from my design guy
-formatting ms of second book Playing with Matches, for Smashwords and Kindle
-waiting for cover for Playing with Matches
-Overdrive declined my application but gave me two links I need to follow up on
-I started the paypal process but haven't finished it
-figure out how to put paypal up on my blog site (to sell signed print copies)
-I joined a new Indie Authors group, which I will be telling you all about soon. Emails flying back and forth.
-create alternate CW book cover for Wattpad cover off
-figure out why my Google profile pic disappeared
-decide if I need a FB author page (update: I decided--see like button above my head and go check it out!)
-decide if I need a static book page
-decide if I need a book trailer
-re-submit Clockwise print ms and cover to Create Space
-upload e-book for PWM
-recruit readers/reviewers for PWM
-launch print book with Wattpad and Goodread contests (set those up)
-launch PWM

And I'm sure there will be more to do, but you get the idea. If you are planning on Indie Publishing, is there anything in particular that you would like me to blog about in more detail? Let me know, I'd love to help!

UPDATE: I forgot an important step for NON-AMERICAN authors when you submit to Create Space. They have to withhold 30% for taxes unless you submit a ITIN (international taxpayer identification number). You have to fill out a W-7 and send it in along with a letter from Create Space (which you can download). When you receive the ITIN you fill out a W-BEN (Create Space gives you the links) and send it to them.

Great other things yet to do list in the comments by Kristie Cook.

Good suggestion made by Amo in the comments, I will post this list in my writing tip tab.

Book Fair!

2011-10-25T04:30:00.000-07:00

What's so great about internet browsing and shopping is that you don't have to get dressed and leave your house to do it! Awesome!!

Well, there's an Internet Book Fair going on today, and CLOCKWISE is part of it. And a big thanks to Susan Kaye Quinn for putting this list of books together. You'll see her book at the top (I put it there) and it looks fantastic! It's not available until her launch on November 01 (which is going to be incredible, also, she's guest posting here) but you can add it to your Goodreads list.

Have fun browsing!!

Young Adult

Open Minds by Susan Kaye Quinn (Paranormal/Science Fiction) Available 11-1-11

When everyone reads minds, a secret is a dangerous thing to keep. Sixteen-year-old Kira Moore is a zero, someone who can’t read thoughts or be read by others. Zeros are outcasts who can’t be trusted, leaving her no chance with Raf, a regular mindreader and the best friend she secretly loves. When she accidentally controls Raf’s mind and nearly kills him, Kira tries to hide her frightening new ability from her family and an increasingly suspicious Raf. But lies tangle around her, and she’s dragged deep into a hidden world of mindjackers, where having to mind control everyone she loves is just the beginning of the deadly choices before her. Add to Goodreads

Bound by C.K. Bryant (Paranormal Romance) Available 11-11-11

When a photo shoot ends in tragedy, Kira discovers her best friend, Lydia,has been keeping a secret. Knowing the truth, and accepting it, will change Kira’s life forever and thrust her into a world of ancient curses, magical objects, and savage enemies. What happens next will challenge everything Kira knows about her world, herself and the shape-shifting warrior she’s falling in love with. No longer the timid mouse her mother accused her of being, but a woman who finds the mental and physical strength to endure and survive. Add to Goodreads

Become by Ali Cross (YA Urban Fantasy) Available 11-11-11

Sixteen-year old Desolation Black wants nothing more than to stay in Hell where it’s cold and lonely and totally predictable. Instead, she’s sent back to Earth where she Becomes the evil she despises and the good she always feared. When Desi is forced to embrace her inner demon, she assumes her Choice has been made—that she has no hope of being anything other than what her father, Lucifer, has created her to be. What she doesn’t count on, is a reason to want to change—something she’s never had before—a friend. Add to Goodreads

Exiled by Rachelle Workman (YA SF Romance) Available 11-11-11

Stubborn, sixteen-year-old Princess Venus of Kelari wants one thing, to become a kelvieri, that is, until someone exiles her to Earth, kills her irrihunter and takes her family. Now she wants revenge. But before she can return to Kelari, the Gods have commanded her to help an arrogant boy named Michael find his soul mate. But time is running out and Michael is falling for the wrong girl—-her.

Add to Goodreads

Breathe by Melanie McCullough (Contemporary) Available 11-11-11

Life's hard. People make it harder. They tether you to them. Make it difficult to breathe, and damn-near impossible to leave...Seventeen year-old Abby Rhoades knows this all too well. Born to a mother who could never love her and who vacillates between a sloppy drunk and a suicidal maniac, Abby's never had it easy. But Abby can swim. And Abby has a plan--win the state championship, earn a free ride to Penn State, and leave her small town and suffocating mother behind. But then the body of Tom Ford, her mother's latest boyfriend and a man Abby adored, washes up along the shore of the Susquehanna River. His injuries suggest murder and suspicion quickly falls on Abby then on her best friend Garrett Scott, both of whom saw Tom the night he died. They both know what happened that night, but neither one is talking. There's too much at stake and the truth could tear them apart. Add to Goodreads

Pigments of My Imagination by Angela Kulig (Dark Fantasty) Available 11-11-11

From the moment Lucia steps into Bayside Art Academy, she is fed a steady stream of lies, but it’s not until she meets Michael that she begins to question the people she trusts. Unraveling fact from fabrication seems impossible until Lucia finds her first painting, and discovers the dead do not lie--at least not to her. A dozen lifetimes ago, Lucia started a war. Not a war with armies or guns, but a bloody war nonetheless. The path leading Lucia to the truth is hidden within lovely art that spans the ages. In this life, however, Lucia doesn't know where to look. Lost, she turns to the one thing she knows with certainty--she is in love with Leo, and has been before. Add to Goodreads

The Secret of Spruce Knoll by Heather McCorkle (Urban Fantasy)

Following the tragic death of her parents, Eren Donovan moves to Spruce Knoll to live with an aunt she’s never met. Little does Eren know the entire town of Spruce Knoll is filled with “channelers”—a magical group of people who immigrated to the small Colorado town when they were driven out of their own lands. Channelers are tied to the fate of the world. As the world slowly dies, so do they—and they alone have the power to stop the destruction of Earth. Soon, Eren learns she not only lives among them, but she is one. When she meets local boy Aiden, his charm convinces her that being a channeler may not be all bad though. $7.96 on Amazon $7.96 on B&N

Clockwise by Elle Strauss (Fantasy)

Casey Donavan doesn't mind life at the bottom of the Cambridge High social ladder, if only she didn’t have this other much bigger problem. Unscheduled trips to the nineteenth century! When Casey gets talked into going to the Fall Dance, she accidentally takes Nate Mackenzie, the cutest boy in the school, back in time. Are those romantic sparks or is it just ‘brotherly’ protectiveness? When they return to the present things go back to the way they were before: Casey at the bottom of the social totem pole and Nate practically the flag flying from the top. Except this time her heart is broken. Plus, her best friend is mad, her parents are split up, and her little brother gets escorted home by the police. The only thing that could make life worse is if, by some strange twist of fate, she took Nate back to the past again. Which, of course, she does. $2.99 on Amazon $2.99 at B&N

Turning Point by Melissa Luznicky Garrett (Suspense/Thriller)

She recalled her mother’s warning: Bad things always happen to nice girls like you. Convinced a fresh start is all she needs to escape the problems at home, seventeen-year-old Jenna Lyons runs away in the middle of the night. But when her car breaks down on the outskirts of La Grange, Missouri, population less than a thousand, she gets sucked into the small town, and one family in particular. Jenna discovers there’s a liar in La Grange, and he’s deceived everyone. Now she must decide whether to run away from the truth, or blow his secret wide open. $3.99 on Amazon $3.99 at B&N

Destined by Jessie Harrell (Retelling) Available 11-17-11

When Psyche receives a prophecy gone horribly wrong, she learns that even the most beautiful girl in Greece can have a hideous future. Her fate? Fall in love with the one creature even the gods fear. As she feels herself slipping closer into the arms of the prophecy, Psyche must choose between the terrifyingly tender touch she feels almost powerless to resist and the one constant she's come to expect out of life: you cannot escape what is destined. Add to Goodreads

Darkspell by Elizabeth Mueller (Paranormal Romance) Available 10-31-11

Winter Sky believes she is everything ordinary . . . until she is kissed by Alex Stormhold. As seer of Stormhold Coven, Alex is sworn to be Winter’s protector against the darkness that hunts her. Violently thrust into a magickal realm she always thought impossible, she stumbles upon a disturbing secret of her own. Will love prove thicker than magick? Add to Goodreads Preorder from author

Anathema by Megg Jensen (Cloud Prophet Trilogy)

Reychel is a slave girl surrounded by magic, lies and manipulation. Her best friend disappears in the middle of the night leaving Reychel to face her fifteenth birthday, the day her master burns his brand into the back of her bald head, alone. She's sheltered from the outside world and doesn't have any hope for escape, but when people desperate for freedom ask for her help can Reychel learn to believe in herself?

$0.99 on Amazon

How to Date an Alien by Magan Vernon (Science Fiction) Releases Dec. 2011

High school senior Alex Bianchi's estranged father gets her an internship at Circe Operations Center to pad her college applications. But Circe isn't your typical military base. It's an alien-run operation center and not all of the aliens are friendly, especially the one that tries to kill Alex on her first day. When Ace, a dark-eyed Caltian, enters and saves the day, she can't help but be drawn to him. Can these star-crossed lovers survive when they're on the brink of intergalactic war? Add to Goodreads

Soulkeepers (Book One) by G.P. Ching (Dark Fantasty)

When fifteen-year-old Jacob Lau is pulled from the crumpled remains of his mother's car, no one can explain why he was driving or why the police can't find his mother's body. Made a ward of his uncle and thousands of miles from home, a beautiful and mysterious neighbor offers to use her unique abilities to help him find his mom. In exchange, she requires Jacob to train as a Soulkeeper, a warrior charged with protecting human souls. He agrees to her demands, desperate for any clue to the mystery of his mother's disappearance. But soon Jacob finds himself trapped in a web of half-truths, and questions her motives for helping him. $2.99 on Amazon

Invisible by Jeanne Bannon (Paranormal)

Lola’s not pretty. Lola’s not popular. Lola wishes she could disappear … and then one day she does just that... For seventeen-year-old Lola Savullo, born to funky parents who are more in than she could ever be, Lola’s dream of becoming a writer makes her an outsider even in her own home. Not only is she freakishly tall, Lola’s a big girl and when forced to wear a bathing suit at her summer job as a camp counselor, Lola’s only escape from deep embarrassment seems to be to literally vanish. Soon after, she discovers the roots of her new “ability”. Slowly, Lola learns to control the new super power. The possibilities are endless. Then, when tragedy strikes, Lola must summon her inner strength, both at home and at school. She has to stand up for herself, despite the temptations and possibilities of her newfound super power. $3.99 on Amazon

Solstice by PJ Hoover (Fantasy)

Where Mythology and Dystopia meet... Piper’s world is dying. Global warming kills every living thing on Earth, and each day brings hotter temperatures and heat bubbles which threaten to destroy humanity. But when Piper discovers a world of mythology she never knew existed, she realizes her world is not the only one in crisis. While Gods battle for control of the Underworld, Piper's life spirals into turmoil, and she struggles to find answers to secrets kept from her since birth. And though she’s drawn to her classmate Shayne, he may be more than he claims. Piper has to choose whom she can trust and how she can save the people she loves even if it means the end of everything she’s ever known. $2.99 on Amazon

The Fairy Godmother Dilemna (Catspell) by Danelle Leafty (Fantasy)

Sixteen-year-old Breena never thought anything could be worse than being forced to leave the faerie realm. Then she got stuck with a fairy godmother. But if she has to choose between the two, she’d leave the Faerie Realm over getting bossed about by a faerie with a pointed stick any day. Unfortunately, her attempt to evade her fairy godmother gives her growing pains in the form of fur, whiskers, and a tail.Turning into a cat is the least of her worries, though. The potion wasn’t meant to bring out her inner feline, it was meant to put her to sleep. Forever. If Breena wants to make it to her Happily Ever After, she’ll have to accept that sometimes a fairy godmother really does come in handy, after all. $3.99 on Amazon

Tangled Tides by Karen Amanda Hooper (Fantasy) Available November 25th!

Yara Jones doesn’t believe in sea monsters—until she becomes one. When a hurricane hits her island home and she wakes up with fins, Yara finds herself tangled up in an underwater world of mysterious merfolk and secretive selkies. Both sides believe Yara can save them by fulfilling a broken promise. The selkies want to take her life. The merfolk want something far more precious. Treygan, the stormy-eyed merman who turned Yara mer, will stop at nothing to protect his people—until he falls for Yara. The tides turn as Yara fights to save herself, hundreds of sea creatures, and the merman who has her heart. She could lose her soul in the process—or she might open the gateway to a love that’s deeper than the oceans. Preorder Now!

Middle Grade

Born to be a Dragon by Eisley Jacobs (Fantasy)

Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup… This is what Lord Edric wants you to believe. He will do anything in his power to see that humans never come in contact with dragons again. However, he doesn't plan for Meia, the foster child who dreams of dragons, believing they are real. Or Deglan, the ten-year-old dragon who bears the ancient mark that threatens everything Lord Edric has worked for. Join these two unlikely friends as they discover the truth behind a legend so extraordinary it will alter each of their lives… forever. $0.99 on Amazon $0.99 at B&N

Noah Zarc by D. Robert Pease (Science Fiction)

Noah lives for piloting spaceships through time, dodging killer robots and saving Earth’s animals from extinction. Life couldn’t be better. However, the twelve-year-old time traveler soon learns it could be a whole lot worse. His mom is abducted and taken to thirty-first century Mars; his dad becomes stranded in the Ice Age; and Noah is attacked at every turn by a foe bent on destroying a newly habitable, post-apocalyptic Earth. Traveling through time in the family’s immense spaceship, Noah, a paraplegic from birth, must somehow care for the thousands of animals on board, while finding a way to rescue his parents. Along the way, he discovers his mother and father aren’t who he thought they were, and there is strength inside him he didn’t know he had. $0.99 on Amazon $0.99 at B&N

A Scary Good Book by Anita Laydon Miller

Two words change 12-year-old Hannah Stone’s life forever: Help me. That’s the first message she finds in a library book, but she quickly finds more. She notifies the police, but isn’t taken seriously. So with her best friend, Ollie, she breaks into a library, gets caught in a kidnappers’s web, and is stalked by her own dad’s hit-and-run killer, all to save a life. But will she lose her own? $0.99 on Amazon

Contemporary (Adult)

Build a Man by Talli Roland (Chick Lit) Releases 12-7-11

Slave to the rich, rude and deluded, cosmetic surgery receptionist Serenity Holland longs for the day she's a high-flying tabloid reporter. Unfortunately, every pitch she sends out disappears like her clients' liposuctioned fat, never to be seen again. Then she meets Jeremy Ritchie -- the hang-dog man determined to be Britain's Most Eligible Bachelor by making himself over from head to toe and everything in between -- giving Serenity a story no editor could resist. With London's biggest tabloid on board and her very own column tracking Jeremy's progress from dud to dude, Serenity is determined to be a success, even going undercover to gain intimate access to Jeremy's life. But when Jeremy's surgery goes drastically wrong and Serenity is ordered to cover all the car-crash goriness, she must decide how far she really will go for her dream job. Add to Goodreads

The Golden Sky by Elisa Hirsch (Memoir) Releases 11-18-11

The night I met Cade I never would’ve thought that two years later, after we were homeless street musicians in Hawaii, we would have a little girl and another baby on the way. Our son was born with the type of birth defects that make televangelists cringe. The “death home” gave him a really nice funeral, the kind I’d never wished to attend. We lost it after that, totally cemented in our grief. Cade got into drugs, joined a rock and roll band, and I kicked him out of the house. That was how I met: Earl (an old man and unlikely best friend), the “big sag” (a middle aged woman who still flashed folks), Todda (the stripper next door), and Chris (a cowboy who fell in love with me). It wasn’t until I killed a rogue skunk, and my daughter nearly choked on a fry, that I gave my husband another chance. But could our marriage recover from the death of our son?

Historical Romance (Adult)

The Lady's Fate by Anne Gallagher (second in The Reluctant Grooms series)

When Lady Violet Flowers becomes governess to the Marquess of Haverlane's daughter, her gentle care and affection for the little girl turn the curmudgeonly Marquess' eye in her direction. However, a woman from his past wants Haverlane and will do anything to get him. Will Fate intervene?

$2.99 on Amazon

Science Fiction and Fantasy (Adult)

Semper Audacia by M Pax (Science Fiction)

Leda is the last living member of the brigade, the sole defender of her world. War took everyone she knew, leaving her in the company of memories and ghosts. In an aging flyer, she ventures out to meet her world's fate, the last stand.

$0.99 on Amazon $0.99 on Smashwords

Promise by Kristie Cook (Paranormal Romance)

When Alexis Ames is attacked by creatures that can’t be real, she decides it’s time she learns who she really is, with or without the help of her mother, who guards their family’s secrets closely. After meeting the inhumanly attractive, multi-talented Tristan Knight, however, Alexis retreats behind her façade of normalcy…until she discovers he’s not exactly normal either. Then their secrets begin to unravel. Their union brings hope and promise to her family’s secret society, the Angels’ army, and to the future of mankind. But it also incites a dangerous pursuit by the enemy – Satan’s minions and Tristan’s creators. After all, Alexis and Tristan are a match made in Heaven and in Hell. $2.99 on Amazon $2.99 at B&N

Between by Cyndi Tefft (Paranormal Romance)

It just figures that the love of Lindsey Water's life isn't alive at all, but the grim reaper, complete with a dimpled smile and Scottish accent. After transporting souls to heaven for the last 300 years, Aiden MacRae has all but given up on finding the one whose love will redeem him and allow him entry through the pearly gates. Torn between her growing attraction to Aiden and heaven's siren song, Lindsey must learn the hard way whether love really can transcend all boundaries. $0.99 on Amazon $0.99 at B&N

Literary Fiction

String Bridge by Jessica Bell Available 11-1-11

Greek cuisine, smog and domestic drudgery was not the life Australian musician, Melody, was expecting when she married a Greek music promoter and settled in Athens, Greece. Keen to play in her new shoes, though, Melody trades her guitar for a 'proper' career and her music for motherhood. That is, until she can bear it no longer and plots a return to the stage—and the person she used to be. However, the obstacles she faces along the way are nothing compared to the tragedy that awaits ... Add to Goodreads ALSO: Soundtrack available 11-1 Music Sample!

Mystery

The Gatsby Game by Anne R. Allen

When Nicky Conway meets Fitzgerald-quoting Alistair at a Princeton mixer in 1969, she falls for his retro, Jazz-Age charm. But she discovers he’s a con man obsessed with his own “Daisy”—British actress Delia Kent. After Alistair manipulates Nicky into nannying for Delia’s daughter on the set of aHollywood film, Delia finds Alistair dead in her motel room. Local police can’t decide if it’s accident, suicide—or murder, in which case, Nicky is the prime suspect. (This novel offers a fictional solution to a real unsolved Hollywood mystery—the death in 1973 of David Whiting during the filming of the Burt Reynolds’ movie, "The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing".) $2.99 on Amazon

Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes by Denise Grover Swank (A Rose Gardner Mystery)

For Rose Gardner, working at the DMV on a Friday afternoon is bad even before she sees a vision of herself dead. When her overbearing momma winds up murdered on her sofa instead, two things are certain: There isn't enough hydrogen peroxide in the state of Arkansas to get that stain out, and Rose is the prime suspect.

$0.99 on Amazon $0.99 at B&N

Winner of PRIDE & POPULARITY!

2011-10-24T04:30:00.000-07:00

*drum roll please....*

Random.org worked its magic once again---

And the winner is !!AMO!!

Congratulations Amo! Click my contacts tab for my email and let me know the best way to get the book to you.

In other news, Online Book Fair starts tomorrow. It's not too late to sign up.

See you there!!

Friday Four or Five

2011-10-21T04:30:00.000-07:00

Busy weekend ahead, but I have time to give you my four or five:

1. I'm over at Shelli Johannes-Wells' blog today. Don't know who she is? Well, you need to get over there pronto and find out. She is a fearless fireball, and is laying out her experiment with indie publishing. Plus she asked me some great questions!

2. Mark your calenders: next Tuesday October 25 there is a book fair, right here in the blogosphere. Lots of great books to check out. If you have a book you'd like to show off, go sign up at M.S Leslie's blog.

3.There's still time to enter to win a signed copy of Jenni James's book, PRIDE & POPULARITY. Just tell me which Jane Austin book is your favorite!

4. In case you haven't seen this, the New York Times weighed in on Amazon vs Traditional Publishing.

Amazon Signs Up Authors, Writing Publishers Out of Deal

Very interesting.

5. DH comes home today after being gone for one month. You probably won't see much of me over the weekend.*winks and grins*

Have a great weekend every one!

When is There No Dust?

2011-10-20T04:30:00.000-07:00

DH comes home in 2 days (yay!) after being away for one month. For those of you who don't yet know DH (aka Norm Strauss) is an indie folk artist and likes to do house concert tours, which was what he was doing in Germany/Switzerland.

Anywho, I spent most of that time acting like a manic workaholic getting Clockwise launched as an e-book, learning about formatting, prepping for the print version, requesting reviews, answering interviews, working on edits on my next book, Playing with Matches (fab edit work done by Leigh T Moore, herself!), formatting PWM and working on a cover with my AI guy, and meeting new indie authors online and making all kinds of grand plans in this fantastic community of collaborators.

Whew! Who had time to get lonely?

Or to do housework?

I know that I like to come home to a clean house when I've been away, so I always planned a big cleaning blitz before DH's arrival.

Somehow the inside of my house had turned into a fuzzy animal. I almost expected it to grunt or snore.

not quite this bad

Why is it that people never actually notice when a house isn't dusty. No one ever says, wow did you see how dust free her house was? But a dusty house, none can ignore.

And truthfully, I enjoy a clean house. There's a certain satisfaction after a major housecleaning blitz, a kind of work out and an (another) excuse to reward oneself by putting one's feet up and sipping a glass of wine.

So on to other "house-keeping" bits of info:

1) I'm being interviewed today by Misha, at My First Book Opportunity. Find out if I'm a pantser or a plotter.

2) There is an online book fair next week and CLOCKWISE will be there! Check back tomorrow for more info.

3) Speaking of tomorrow, tomorrow I am being interviewed by The Shelli Johannes Wells of Market My Words fame. She is a force, I tell you, a force. Find out my biggest mistake in the publishing world and what a book of my life would be called.

What have you been busy with lately?

Author Jenni James and PRIDE & POPULARITY giveaway!

2011-10-18T04:30:00.000-07:00

I'm so stoked to have Jenni James here today. She is the author of The Jane Austen Diaries, the first book being PRIDE & POPULARITY.

First of all, what a great idea. The Jane Austen Diaries consist of a contemporary retelling of each of Jane Austin's famous books.

PRIDE & POPULARITY: Taylor always gets what he wants --until now.

Chloe Elizabeth Hart despises the conceited antics of the popular crowd, or more importantly, one very annoying self-possessed guy, Taylor Anderson, who seems determined to make her the president of his fan club! As if! Every girl in the whole city of Farmington, New Mexico, is in love with him, but he seems to be only interested in Chloe.

This modern high school adaptation of “Pride and Prejudice” is a battle of wits as Chloe desperately tries to remain the only girl who can avoid the inevitable—falling for Taylor. (from Goodreads)

PRIDE & PREJUDICE is my all time favorite fiction book. Love it! So of course I was eager to read Jenni's take.I enjoyed this book. It's a light, fun read with classic Austin social twists and misinterpretations. Suitable for any aged reader.

I had a chance to ask Jenni a few questions.

1) Writing a modern day Jane Austen series is a terrific idea. What inspired you to write the Jane Austen Diaries series? Actually, I didn't realize I was rewriting Jane Austen, until I was talking to my mom about Pride & Popularity and telling her it seemed a lot like Pride and Prejudice. When she said, "Well then, call it Pride & Popularity" everything else clicked into place and I realized I already had several of the other characters that I could do spinoffs with and write their stories too.

2) Which Jane Austen book is your favorite and why? I personally LOVE Persuasion. But I'm a huge sucker for Cinderella-type stories and Persuasion is really like that. Plus it delves a bit deeper, it's one of those books that grabs you by the heart and doesn't let go until you finish the book.

3) Who is your favorite heroine and why? I do love Lizzie Bennet. She's no nonsense and true to herself and her beliefs, even if they're wrong! Lol! As for the Jane Austen Diaries, my favorite heroine so far has to be Lily from Mansfield Ranch, when I went to rewrite Mansfield Park, I made Lily a bit more forthright and outspoken than Jane's Fanny was. She's quite the cowgirl in mine. I love her. :)

4) I feel a theme coming on--who is you're favorite love interest and why? In Jane's I love Persuasion. Captain Wentworth's undeniable love for Anne is just so amazing I can't help but fall in love with him myself. As to mine, I really do like Gregory Wentworth... eep. But I love Taylor too from Pride & Popularity. Oh! And Tony Russo in Northanger Alibi is amazing! And of course, I love Sean Benally so much I used him twice in Persuaded AND in Mansfield Ranch. Oh goodness, and Chase Anderson in Emmalee *sigh* I love him! Yikes. I really don't know... do I have to choose? How about I just say it's whoever I'm reading at the time. Lol!

5) Can you tell us a little bit about the next book in the series and when it's launching? Northanger Alibi is so much fun! It is the funniest book in my series, by far. I took the theme of Northanger Abbey, about a girl so addicted to the Gothic novels of the time, that she believes she's actually walked into her own Gothic novel, and wove it into a modern day setting. I made this girl completely obsessed with the Twilight Saga to the point when she goes to Seattle for her first time away from home, she's positive she's met her very own Edward. What Claire finds out though, is that reality is WAY better than anything she'd ever find in a book! :) Hehe! It's so funny! That one releases in January.

And now, what you've all been waiting for--I have a signed copy of PRIDE & POPULARITY to give away. All you have to do to enter is comment and tell me which Jane Austin book is your favorite.

Eye Bags Like Plum Halves

2011-10-17T04:30:00.001-07:00

Some times I wake up in the middle of the night. When this happens I lift my eye-blinds(You know the masks they give you in first class, which I got when I shared a first class seat with my husband last time I went to Europe. Yeah, he's sweet like that. He had an upgrade but wouldn't take it unless the flight crew let us share. He took the first half with the deluxe dinner and I took the second half with the gourmet breakfast. Back to eye-blinds...) I lifted them enough to get a glimpse of the sky light outside. I can usually gauge by the brightness how close to morning I am, but as we slip into Fall that gets harder to do.

So, I checked my iphone for the time. 3:38am. Darn. I was hoping for at least 5 am. I could get through the day on that. I considered how my day would go if I got up like it was 7:30 instead of 3:30. Could I fool my body and psyche like that? Nah. So I braved the cold room and fumbled my way to the bathroom where I took another melatonin and a calcium/magnesium (hey, it's like warm milk--but not).

Since my iphone was like, right there, I couldn't help but send out words on the two Words with Friends games I play with my friend in Romania. She'd wonder what I was doing up so early. Then I texted my husband who's been in Europe these past three weeks, just because. "I woke up in the middle of the night. What are you doing now?"

I thought he would text me back, but no, FACETIME rings? Hello, I have eye-blinds propped on the top of my bed head, puffy eye bags, black from smudged mascara, that look like day old plum halves and my husband that I haven't seen (in person) for THREE WEEKS is Facetiming me?

I had to answer it, he knew I was awake. I threw off the eye-blinds and my glasses, rubbed under my eyes, but to no avail. I looked like flopped baking. There was only one thing left to do. I turned off my reading light and answered the phone.

"Whoa, it's dark there," he says.
"It's the middle of the night. And I'm not presentable," I say.
"You're always presentable to me."

Ahhh. So we talked at 3:30 in the morning, him in the bright light of day in an apartment in Switzerland with windows overlooking the Alps and me in the darkness of my room with only the light of my iphone to reflect my face.

Sort of a ghoulish version of my normal self.
He didn't seem to mind.
Now that's love.

Pay It Forward Blogfest

2011-10-13T10:17:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I participated in a Blogfest, and when I saw this one, I thought "perfect." I've had so many good things happen for me lately, especially blog buddy support, that I jumped right on the chance to pay it forward.

Pay It Forward Blog Fest is the brain child of Matthew MacNish and Alex J Cavanaugh.

"The idea is to introduce everyone to everyone else. We want this to be an easy post that allows you to meet and follow as many other bloggers as you can. In your post, we would like you to please list, describe, and link to three blogs that you enjoy reading, but that you suspect may fly under the radar of a lot of other bloggers. Or they can be famous blogs, as long as they're awesome."

I know a lot of awesome bloggers, so choosing three is tough. I'm going to pick three who have a low-ish follower count--meaning they're still waiting to be discovered, but are awesome. Here goes.

1)Leigh T Moore at That's Write (okay, her counts aren't low, but you still need to follow her) - because she's super cool, and witty and talented. Her blog is always informative and entertaining, plus she's an awesome freelance editor. And she picked me for her list, which I totally didn't know until I went to her blog to get her link!

2) Liz Reinhardt at Team Unpubbed - she's a fellow indie author, who shares the nitty gritty about her journey. But not only that, she's funny. Go check her out.

3) Fred Lebaron at still seeking allies - Fred's blog is brand new, but he's a librarian and a book reviewer. Plus, he's going to review CLOCKWISE soon. Go follow him!

Okay, I'm off to discovers more cool bloggers!!

Since You Asked

2011-10-10T04:30:00.000-07:00

CANADA!

Happy Thanksgiving, Canada! I had a really nice time with my family, even though three members aren't even home, thanks to modern technology. My daughter, youngest son and I spent time with my husband who's in Germany via Face Time, my eldest son who's at university in New Brunswick via skype and my middle son who's working on the pipe lines in northern BC via cell phone. Then DD, son#3 and I had a nice non-traditional dinner and watched a Harry Potter movie. Just great to spend a day hanging out with each other. It doesn't happen nearly enough.

Friday was question day. I posted the questions and my answers below. I hope you find them interesting.

1) Now that you've e-published your own work, what was the hardest thing you had to do for it? Uploading? Cover? Formatting? Please share.
I'd have to say the hardest thing so far has been marketing, or knowing what to do to keep your book selling once the initial launch is over. I'm experimenting with different things, but it's too early to know what's working or not. I'll keep you posted

2) If time travel was real and affordable would you use it to change anything?
I think I'd be afraid of changing the future or tearing a hole in the universe or something (ahem, I just watched a Dr. Who episode where that very thing happened when Rose went back in time to save her dad.) If I could do it with a guarantee that nothing would change for the worse, I'd go back to high school and DO IT DIFFERENTLY. I'd be oh so much wiser (wouldn't we all?) First thing to go would be the boyfriends and broken hearts, and I'd focus on my friendships and my education. I'd also be more relaxed and patient about everything, and just live in the moment.

3)If you had the chance to be one of your characters for a day, who would you pick and why? :)
I'd definitely be Casey from CLOCKWISE though maybe without the time traveling issue. Besides the fact that I'd love to be taller, she resourceful, resilient and determined. She also has good taste in boys.

4) Do you have any time-saving tricks that help you to find more time for writing?
Yes, teach your kids to drive! ha, I know they have to grow up first, but if you can just hang in there until then, you will have lots more "me" time. :)

5) Did you hire an editor? what about a cover artist?
Yes, always hire an editor. Then ask early review readers to flag errors, because somehow they still get missed, no matter how many times it gets read. I strongly recommend some kind of professional artist. I discovered by happy accident that I had an in house artist perfect for my style of book, but I still needed to hire an expert at Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to complete the work. I'd say that, unless you're a pro at AI/Photoshop, you need to hire out. His work on the title and author name made a huge difference in the end result of CLOCKWISE in my opinion.

6)If you could do anything different regarding the publishing process, what would it be?
Well, since my book's only been out a couple weeks, what I say now might change two months from now. One thing I think I would do different is I would format and upload the ms myself. It was the end of June when I decided to indie-pub, and I wanted to have it out by September, just to be part of the energy that accompanies autumn. So, I decided to go with www.bookbaby.com a company that takes cares of formatting and uploading to four major e-readers, plus takes care of the accounting. At the time it seemed like a good idea because my "to do" list felt overwhelming. It just felt good to give that "complicated" task away.

I'm not saying that Bookbaby or a similar service isn't good for some authors, but in hind sight I just don't think it was good for me. The main reason is there are certain things you lose control over, like the option to edit the text after it's been uploaded or the ability to track daily sales results. This last one is especially frustrating if you're actually actively trying to market your book, but can't access data to see if your efforts are working. The good thing is you can get out and do it on your own later, which I'm working on.

7)What is the best query letter that you have found that works for you? (from FB)

I do small query/pitch writing workshops on my blog, for free (there's an example of my letter there, plus others). Just click the writing tips tab or Queries under labels. Feel free to send me a query for a free critique.

Thanks to everyone who asked questions. If you have any more, feel free to leave them in the comments.

Cheers!

Friday--Bring on the Questions

2011-10-07T04:30:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd open up the floor for questions. Ask me anything, about writing and publishing or anything else you have on your mind. I'll do my best to answer them on Monday. And if nobody asks nothin', well then, I might just do a song and dance for Monday's post and believe me, you don't want that! It could look something like this.

(I'm sort of dancing like this right now b/c CLOCKWISE is now at B & N for nook!)

But the real question is: Do you remember when that song came out?

Happy Weekend!!

When Good Things and Bad Things Happen at the Same Time

2011-10-05T04:30:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, CLOCKWISE was launched out into the world last week. Finally. That was a Good Thing. No, that was a Great Thing. It was fun and I got to hang out with friends and make some new ones. It's an awesome feeling to see your work on Amazon--it is like hanging a novel on the wall.

The bad thing: right at the peak of CLOCKWISE glory, my cat Spiff went missing. If you've been following my blog for any length of time, you will have heard me refer to him, and his pretty face is located on the right side of this blog. It was tough to celebrate the success of the launch without him. He was with me right from the beginning of this blog, cheering me on, telling me I could do this crazy thing. So, yeah, he's gone and I miss him.

A not so good thing, but maybe not a bad thing: Just a couple days before my launch my agent and I parted ways. It was an amicable parting, basically just realizing that we each had different creative goals, and my work and her vision weren't lining up. It's not so surprising, as she was kind of a hand me over agent. Based on her profile and what she's looking for, I wouldn't have queried her, and she likely wouldn't have offered to represent me. I'll be honest and tell you that I felt sucker punched for the first couple days but with the excitement of CLOCKWISE and the prospect of indie publishing further, I started to feel a little -- relieved?

So, what now you ask? A few days ago I would've said I'm all in for Indie Publishing. I love the control it gives me over my own career, and that I don't have to worry about aligning my creative style to one or two people in order to get published.

Then someone who read the next book I'd planned on indie publishing convinced me I should try querying one more time (you know who you are :). I wrestled with that, because I had made peace with doing things on my own, but my daughter agreed I should give it another shot, so I sent out five queries.

Bottom line, I'm going to keep indie publishing, but I might still give traditional publishing a try if the right opportunity presents itself. If not, it's indie all the way, and I'm okay with that.

Book Winners from Launch Week!

2011-10-03T04:30:00.000-07:00

A Big Humungous Thanks to everyone who stopped in along THE Tour! It was so great to see you all there, and I loved all the cheer that went up as we launched CLOCKWISE into the world!!

I listed and numbered all the names from the newsletter sign up, all the commenters on all the blogs and the twitter and facebook mentions. Then I enlisted Random.org to give me five numbers, one for each book. So, here are the winners!

Lydia Kang (commented on Heather's blog) you've won LOSING FAITH by Denise Jaden!

Pabkins (commented on my blog) you've won THE CLEARING by Anne Riley!

Tamara Hart Heiner (commented on my blog) you've won THE SECRET OF SPRUCE KNOLL by Heather McCorkle!

Angela Felsted (signed up for my newsletter) you've won PERILOUS by Tamara Hart Heiner!

Melissa Sarno (tweeted) you've won THE HATING GAME by Talli Rolland!

I've contacted the winners by email.

Congratulations to the winners. *Throws confetti and blows horns*

Friday Launch Week Wrap Up

2011-09-30T04:30:00.000-07:00

It's Friday--final day of Launch Week! Thanks to all my blog hosts for having me, and to everyone who visited. I will be tallying up names this weekend for Random.org to work its magic. It's not too late to enter. Remember:

Five books, five days, five winners!

Today I’m guest blogging over at TalliRoland’s blog on Chic-lit in YA, plus she’s giving a review. If you want to see me live, go to Anne Riley’s blog for my very first VLOG (surprising how nerve wracking it is to talk to your own face on your own laptop--PJ's and wild office mess included! Actually, I'm quite embarrassed--who knew the whole background behind your head showed up?) where I teach on structure and talk a bit about CLOCKWISE.

It's really been a fantastic week, and to end it on a humorous note, I present to you this link from L.A Postcard where Mindy Kaling gives us a guide to women in the movies. Go read it, I guarantee you'll laugh.

This exerpt is hilarious and a good caution to writers to avoid stereotypes.

--
The Woman Who Works in an Art Gallery
How many freakin’ art galleries are out there? Are people buying visual art on a daily basis? This posh/smart/classy profession is a favorite in movies. It’s in the same realm as kindergarten teacher or children’s-book illustrator in terms of accessibility: guys don’t really get it, but it is likable and nonthreatening.

Art Gallery Woman: “Dust off the Warhol. You know, that Campbell’s Soup one in the crazy color! We have an important buyer coming into town, and this is a really big deal for my career. I have no time for this!”

The Gallery Worker character is the rare female movie archetype that has a male counterpart. Whenever you meet a handsome, charming, successful man in a romantic comedy, the heroine’s friend always says the same thing: “He’s really successful. He’s”—say it with me—“an architect!”
There are, like, nine people in the entire world who are architects, and one of them is my dad. None of them look like Patrick Dempsey--

And in case you haven't seen this yet, a little Canadian humour:

Have a great weekend everyone!

Thursday on THE Tour! And my not so secret wish...

2011-09-29T04:30:00.000-07:00

Wow, hard to believe Launch Week is almost over! Today I'm at Leigh Moore’s blog where she is reviewing CLOCKWISE and interviewing me--find out why I chose Boston as my setting. I’m also being interviewed by Elana Johnson where I reveal something that most people don't know about me.

I don't know about you, but I want to get me one of these:

It's times like this that I wished I still lived in the States. Must convince Amazon that life exists north of the 49th!

How about you? Are you planning to buy a new kindle?

Hump Day, Launch Week! Come and see what I'm up to and a Contest!

2011-09-28T04:30:00.000-07:00

I have to say, I'm loving launch week. Thanks to everyone who has already bought a copy of CLOCKWISE--so appreciated!!

There's a lot going on today. I’m guest blogging for Denise Jaden on Why Writing History is Cool.

Heather McCorkle at Heather’s Odyssey and Caroline Starr Rose are interviewing me. Find out what inspired CLOCKWISE and what I'm working on next.

If you want to know if CLOCKWISE is worth reading, these lovely ladies all have read an ARC and are giving a review; Laura Pauling, Sara Larson, Tamara Heiner Hart.

And don't for get the contest--five great books up for grabs!

See you around the blogsophere! *party hat is on!!*

Teaser Tuesday - CLOCKWISE

2011-09-27T04:30:00.000-07:00

It's Teaser Tuesday for the launch week of CLOCKWISE! Here's the third and final one. Let me know what you think. Oh, and I'm over at Laurel at Laurel’s Leaves where she is interviewing me. Find out who I’d choose if I cast the main characters in a movie and more...

I gaped at Nate, aghast.

I spun around and called out to heaven, “You’ve got to be kidding! As if things aren’t bad enough, you have to let him come along?”

I paced in small circles, trampling the grass, which was very uncharacteristic of me when I returned. I was usually poised, on my toes, ready for anything.

“What just happened?” Nate said, still calm. Sure he was calm now, but just wait. “Is this some kind of practical joke?”

I stopped pacing when my pointy heels sunk into a mossy part of the forest floor and faced him. I could see the wheels behind his eyes working; he was trying to figure out how his buddies had gotten him to the middle of the woods without him realizing it. Also, probably, why it was suddenly mid afternoon.

“Um, no,” I squeaked out, still trying to process that I was back in 1860, and Nate Mackenzie was there right in front of me!

“Okay, guys, come out now.” His eyes darted from tree to tree. I could see the panic forming. “Did they put something in my punch?” His voice took on that high edge that accompanies confusion.

“Oh, no,” I moaned. My dress. I was wearing a totally inappropriate dress. And high heels! Could this day get any worse?

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing, it’s my shoes.” I took off one shoe and slammed the heel on a nearby boulder.

“Casey! What are you doing?”

“I’m, (bang) knocking (bang) off (bang) my heels.” Success. I started with the next one.

“Why?”

“Because,” I said in a voice suggesting he should know, though I knew there’s no way he could know, “these are totally inappropriate for what we need to do next.”