Novel Novel Review Blog Tour version

It's that time again, but this time I'm taking part in a blog tour as well as telling you about a great book. I feel honored and I'm happy to be doing this for Joyce. So, let's get to it. =)

Here's a quick reminder of my rating system

A+--I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend this book. In most cases, I passed it on to my child/teen.

A--I enjoyed this book and I might pass it on to my child/teen.

B--I liked this book, but probably won't pass it on to my child/teen.

C--I thought it was okay, but I won't pass it on to my child/teen.

D--I didn't like this book, and won't allow my child/teen to read it.

F--I hope I never have to go here. =D

I will give reasons for my rating in my review, but if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. If you find your book here, don't panic if I rate it below an A. These are my personal preferences and I'm only one small person in a large market. =D

If you'll remember, I also did a review of another book by Joyce, LOYALTY'S WEB, so I was thrilled with the opportunity to read this one as well.

Okay, now here we go.

Illuminations of the Heart by Joyce DiPastena

Rating: A+ I didn't pass it on to my teen (he wasn't interested), but I did pass it on to my mother and sisters who also loved it.

Category: Historical

After the deaths of her husband and brother, Siriol de Calendri is directed by her brother's will to travel to France and live under the guardianship of her brother's friend, Sir Triston de Brielle. Unfortunately, Siri is nearly identical to Triston's late wife, Clothilde, and to make matters worse, her brother's will requested that Triston find a husband for Siri.

Siri wants to put her training in illumination to good use and earn her living in an illuminator's shop, and besides, she has no desire to marry anyone else; she's in love with Triston. But can he get past her resemblance to his first wife and learn to love her for herself?

Using some of the characters introduced in LOYALTY'S WEB, DiPastena paints a tale of sweet romance in twelfth century France. In the classic romance format, the characters lives are entwined and twisted together with difficulties at every turn until the reader isn't sure they'll be unraveled in the end.

It was my pleasure to be drawn in by ILLUMINATIONS OF THE HEART and once I started Siri's journey, I couldn't put it down until I reached the last page . . . and then I still wanted more. While this is an adult title, I believe it's appropriate for teens as well.

As part of the blog tour, if you leave a comment, you'll be entered in a drawing for an autographed copy of ILLUMINATIONS OF THE HEART. You can comment on more than one review (on other blogs) and be entered multiple times.

Here are some blog links you can check out for further information on the contest and the book:

Walnut Springs Press's blog

Joyce's blog

Buy the book at Amazon.com

Write on!

Searching . . .

I put out a call on Verla's message board. I've had some response and may have found a crit partner, but I'm still open to at least one more crit buddy.

Here's the low down:

I'm taking a leaf out of Maggie's book (or off her tree or whatever) and searching for crit partners her way. Maggie's the Queen and one can't go wrong following her, right?

Anyone looking for a crit partner?  If so, let's exchange some critiquing and if we like what we see, we'll keep going, if not, we say thanks for the critique and move on.

I will read and critique the first chapter of anyone's novel if they will do the same for me.

This means, you send me a chapter, I send you a chapter, we critique and if we like what we see, we take it to the next level. If we don't like each other's style, writing, critiquing, etc. we say thanks but no thanks and move on NO QUESTIONS asked.

I write MG and YA (though mostly YA right now) fantasy (though not high fantasy) and the occasional PB. I don't have an agent and I'm unpublished, but I won't hold it against you have an agent or are published.  =)

I'm looking for someone who can give and take an honest critique. While my writing leans more toward fantasy, I have experience in reading and critiquing other genres as well.

I like hearing what works in my MS, but I'm mostly interested in knowing what I need to change to make things better. I'm blunt but not mean and can give a thorough critique.

If you think we might be a good crit match, send an email with your info to justjoan @ officeliveusers.com (without the spaces).

 

Write on.

Fun with art

Today I decided to flex my artistic muscles. Some of you know I do a bit of sketching and those who didn't know .  . . now you do.

Many moons ago I used to oil paint, water color, acrylic paint, but once I had kids, I set these art mediums aside (no time). The one medium I kept was my pencil sketching.

Lately, I've felt the desire to get back into that side of my life, but I didn't know what medium to try. Oil paints are expensive, watercolor and acrylic can also be on the expensive side (brushes, paint, canvas/watercolor paper, etc.).

Last Saturday, I went to a local art gallery to get a piece of glass for a picture frame. I didn't get a piece of glass, but I did buy this:

It's a little wooden box with a rose. Carole Snyder is the artist. The picture doesn't do it justice. I couldn't take my eyes off it. I love roses, but there was something more to it. I couldn't figure out what medium had been used so I asked one of the people in the gallery. It happened to be the artist, herself!

Carole told me she had done it on scratchboard then colored it with ink used for coloring scratch art.

I asked her what the heck scratchboard was and she explained it's a piece of either cardboard or, in the case of the box, claybord covered with black india ink. The image is created by scratching away the black ink. In the case of the rose, Carole then went back with ink and colored the image.

I did some research and discovered it's a relatively inexpensive medium (I found I can get a good start with tools and three 5x7 scratchboards for around $20). I ordered a kit from Amazon.com. It's a picture of a squid attacking a boat. The picture is pre-inked onto the cardboard and a tool is included to scratch away the colored ink, thus revealing the image.

Anyway, the kit included a small square of scratchboard to use for practice (to get the hang of using the tool). I opted not to practice but dove right into the squid picture. After doing it for a bit, I decided it was fairly simple and figured I could use the small "practice" square to do my own art.

I decided to do a unicorn . . . well, a unicorn head. As I started scratching, I discovered the board underneath the ink wasn't white, but silver. It still turned out okay, though I won't be able to color it. Anyway, here it is:

The picture doesn't show all the detail. It's really kind of cool looking. Anyway, it took me about 20 minutes to do and isn't bad for a first attempt, in my opinion. And most of all, it was fun!

So, I think I've found a new medium.

 

Scratch on!

Friday Fraction

I've decided to quit hiding behind my computer screen and really put myself out there . . . well, put my work out there anyway.

So, every Friday (if I remember). I will be posting a fraction of one of my WIPs. Today's fraction comes from my YA fantasy, DESTROYER'S HOPE.

 

The Wisen disappeared into the tangle of black trunks. Tim stood frozen in place until the rope tugged him forward, forcing him to follow. As he lurched into the blackness of the forest, an icy chill spread through his veins.

It took a while for his eyes to adjust to the gloom. As the trees came into focus, their gnarled, black trunks seemed to contort into sinister shapes. It was difficult to discern where one tree's branches ended and another's began. Coiling together, they slithered toward the sky like snakes.

The thick air of Forgietan wrapped around Tim, squeezing the fresh air out of his lungs. His next breath drew in the musty odor of the forest. He coughed it out, but it was no use. His lungs tightened with each breath of stale air.

Was that a footfall?

He glanced over his shoulder. A never-ending coil of trees twisted in every direction. The hairs rose on the back of his neck. He shuddered. His heart thudded against his ribcage as though it could beat itself out of his chest and escape the forest on its own.

The feeling of being pursued continued to haunt him. He shuffled through the blood red needles that had fallen from the trees and scattered across the earth. The spines beneath his feet appeared to scurry over each other like bloody insects searching for a meal.

Was that a growl?

 

And there you have it folks. Your first Fraction. I hope you enjoyed it.

 

Write on.

Technorati Tags: writing,teaser,fraction,friday

School day

I will not have time for much revising today since I have classes from 11-1:30 and then from 6-8:30.

While this makes me kind of sad, I did a lot of great revising yesterday so I still feel a sense of accomplishment. Knowing I'll have time for more writing tomorrow and Friday afternoons also helps. *grin*

I say afternoon because mornings will be spent at the kids' school. Thursday I will be observing a couple of classrooms (homework for my Education course) and Friday is my volunteer morning.

Early this morning I woke up to read the required textbook chapters for my Children's Literature course. The book is CHILDREN'S LITERATURE, BRIEFLY by Michael O. Tunnell and James S. Jacobs (4th Edition). Though it's for a course that focuses on reading books and learning to adapt them to classroom lessons in many different ways, I found the chapters to be extremely informative as a writer.

The first chapter focuses on "Why read?" and discusses unengaged and engaged reading. This was interesting, but as a writer the next two chapters interested me more.

Chapter two is entitled, "What Is A Good Book?" and discusses thirteen elements used to judge literary quality as opposed to personal taste. These thirteen elements are quality, style and language, character, plot, illustrations, pacing, setting, design and layout, mood, accuracy, tone, point of view, and theme. The book says three of the thirteen provide most of the information used to judge quality of fiction.

Those three elements are style and language, character, and plot. "When a book reveals its story in powerful language, contains memorable characters, and follows a compelling plot, the fiction generally can be said to have quality."

And then there is the question of "Taste." An author can pay attention to the elements of writing fiction and create an "accurate" book but still not win the reader's heart because taste varies.

I believe the reverse is also true. An author can not pay attention to all of the elements that define a "good book", but readers can be drawn to it. I've read some books and wondered how they ever got published (as I'm sure most of you have), but now I know why. The agent/editor liked them despite their faults.

Within these flawed pages, something intrigued and connected on a deep level with those in the publishing world. We may not know what it is, in fact, those who read it may not know what it is, but it is there for them.

I suppose this is why we are instructed to write what we want to write; write the story we want to read. The hard part comes in finding an agent/editor who connects with your book on the same level you do.

Difficult? Maybe. Impossible? Not always.

Write on.

Revision is yummy!

Okay, I spent the brownie cooking and cooling times revising the first chapter of my YA . Not WOLFSBANE AT MIDNIGHT, but DESTROYER'S HOPE. Some of you know I set DH aside to work on WAM and haven't gone back to it.

"Why now?" you ask.

I'm currently re-writing WAM into first person (and then back to third) and was curious what would happen if I re-wrote DH in first person. The result? A much better book (so far). I think I will leave DH in first person except the part where Raychel reads Tim's story from the book; that will remain in third person.

Yeah, now I'm all excited and want to work on them both. I think I'll have to set up a schedule for re-writing WAM and DH and doing homework and housework. But, hey, I have more hours in my day than the rest of you, so it won't be a problem, right? =p

Really, I'm going to make this work!

And because I did so good on my revision, I treated myself to this:

 

Here is the lovely pan of brownies  before I cut into it. I used two packages of mix for the deep dish recipe because I like me some thick, chocolaty brownies.

 

Here's the lovely pan of brownies after I cut into it and took a piece. Yes, I ate the little chunks from the other pieces that stuck to the knife. You have to, it's a rule! And yes, I took a piece from the middle . . . it's a thing I have . . . I can't eat an edge piece first. I'm sick, I know. And yes, in the upper left corner is a glimpse of the pink cup of milk I had to go with the brownies. You can't eat brownies without having milk too . . . at least, I can't. =D

And here's me taking my first bite (ignore the bad hair day and lack of make-up . . . it's revision day so I don't have to look nice and that's a rule too).

 

Oh, that brownie tastes SOOO good!

 

I know, I'm a horrible person for posting brownie porn. If it makes you feel any better, as I was trying to maneuver the camera with my right hand and eat the brownie with my left hand, a corner of the brownie broke off and fell down my shirt.

And NO, I won't be posting a picture of that. I didn't even take a picture of that, thank you very much. =p I said brownie porn, nothing else!

Now, everyone get busy and bake up some brownies in honor of Karen's birthday . . . and anyone else who has a birthday today (and if you know of anyone, let me know so I can have an excuse to eat more brownies).

Back to revising!

 

Write on.

Ten o'clock and all is . . . well . . .

Okay, by the time I get this posted, it will no longer be ten o'clock, but I promise I started this at precisely ten.

First of all, I'm supposed to be working on revisions. I promised myself I'd start revising at ten o'clock to give myself time to read and comment on my friends' blogs as well as do a post on my own blog. However, things didn't go according to plan. Yes, I read some friends' blogs and commented on them (even replied to comments after they commented on my comment), but I'm not finished yet.

I have a good excuse though. I decided to take a few minutes (about 15 .  . . at least that's the amount of time I'm counting) to make some brownies in honor of Karen's birthday. I know she won't be able to eat any of them since she lives a million miles (give or take some) away from me, but I'll be sure to eat her share for her.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAREN!!

In all honesty, I may have made brownies anyway, but this way is better for me. Everyone knows if you make brownies in honor of someone's birthday and then have to eat the birthday person's share, the brownies have ZERO calories. It's true! And even if it's not, I must believe it's true so I won't gain any weight when I devour the entire pan of brownies later today.

So, help me out by clapping your hands and saying three times, "I believe in zero calorie brownies. I believe in zero calorie brownies. I believer in zero calorie brownies."

Hey, if it can bring Tinker Bell back to life, it can take calories from brownies! *grin*

And with that, my fifteen minutes are nearly up. I better get this posted and get busy revising.

 

Write on.

Create your own . . .

YA debut cover. I found this fun meme on Maggie's blog. I know I shouldn't have wasted precious writing time to do this, but it was fun. *grin*

Here's what you do:

CREATE YOUR DEBUT YA COVER

1 – Go to “Fake Name Generator” or click

http://www.fakenamegenerator.com/
The name that appears is your author name.

2 – Go to “Random Word Generator” or click

http://www.websitestyle.com/parser/randomword.shtml
The word listed under “Random Verb” is your title.

3 – Go to “FlickrCC” or click

http://flickrcc.bluemountains.net/index.php
Type your title into the search box. The first photo that contains a person is your cover.

4 – Use Photoshop,

Picnik, or similar to put it all together. Be sure to crop and/or zoom in.
5 – Post it to your site along with this text.

And this is my new YA debut cover:

I doubt I'll ever write this novel, but hey, I have a cover for it if I ever do.

Write on.

What a character!

Before I get into my character post, let's get the whole school thing out of the way.

I started classes last night. Things went well and I even saw some people I know (which is always nice). The class promises to be interesting, not too tough, but not easy either. We have a research paper to write, 10 hours of class time to observe (to make notes on teaching style and classroom management skills), and a chapter to teach (each student in the class has to teach one of the chapters in the textbook . . . I chose chapter 10).

Anyway, I'm looking forward to it and yet am a bit nervous (especially about the teaching a chapter part). I'm currently taking two courses, but am thinking of adding a third.

Here's why:

The instructor of last night's class also teaches a children's literature class. I had debated taking the course from the beginning. It looked like an interesting class, but it's not required for my degree (and I'm not sure it would even count for anything). After talking with the instructor last night (she teaches at my kids' school and taught my oldest son when he was in third grade so we know each other pretty well), she thinks it would be beneficial to have someone in the class who is familiar with the author side of children's literature. Right now, the class focuses on the different genre's of children's literature and each student will choose a book in the discussed genre to read and then discuss with the class.

My first thought was, "Wow, I could promote some of my blogger friends' books" . . . it's awful of me to think that, right? Well, if you're one of my blogger friends, you may think that's a great thought. ;-) So, I'm once again considering the class as an option.

Okay, so that's school life . . . On to the character aspect of this post.

As I caught up on blogs this morning, I came across one in particular that got me thinking. annastan posed the question, "How unique should a character be?" You can go here to read her thoughts on the subject (and I think you should).

Characterization is one of my many weaknesses (at least I think so). I'm great at plotting and action scenes (that's what I've been told), but I've always had a difficult time transferring my characters onto the page.

I've wondered why. It's not that I don't care about them, I do. Still, I tend to concentrate on plotting and action (a bit too much perhaps) in my first revisions. Maybe I should concentrate more on the characters first and then worry about plotting.?!

I usually have a vague idea of the characters (what they want, why they want it), but mostly it's the plot (what if this happened to someone in this situation) that comes to me first. The characters are fleshed out as the plot comes along.At least it seems that way to me.  Maybe I only think I do it this way. Maybe the characters are more in my mind from the beginning than I think they are. For example, with my current WIP (Wolfsbane at Midnight), the character and plot came to my mind at the same time . . . in a way.

Here's what happened (as Mr. Monk would say):

One morning last year while driving my oldest and some of his friends to school, we were talking about fairy tales. I can't remember the conversation exactly, but I vaguely recall getting on the subject of bedtime stories and fairy tales. I think someone must have mentioned warping fairy tales and then one of son's friends--we'll call her Mary to protect her identity--mentioned Little Red Riding Hood. I thought, "Now there would be a fun story to change up." and the what if's began.

What if the big bad wolf were a werewolf? What if Little Red fell in love with the one who killed her grandmother (not knowing he was a werewolf, of course).

And when I got home, I came up with Scarlet for Little Red's name, researched names for the other characters, and had more what if questions (What if Little Red came from a long line of witches but didn't have any powers herself? What if being a werewolf were a curse with a cure? Etc.). Then I did a basic chapter by chapter outline. I researched herbs and witches, etc. and when November came, I used NaNoWriMo to write. And WOLFSBANE AT MIDNIGHT was born.

So maybe my characters do come in some form at first, but I still have trouble getting my characters transferred from my mind to the page.

Anyway, I wondered how others do it. You've probably been asked before (and maybe even by me), but what comes first for you, character or plot?

 

Write on.

Magical ARC Contest

I know you've all been waiting for this moment (I have). The time has come. Fabulousfrock is having a contest for an ARC of MAGIC UNDER GLASS (and other fab prizes).

Have you seen the cover? It's so amazing!

Anyway, be sure to enter the contest. Best of luck to everyone, but if you win and I don't, I may have to hunt you down (I'm mostly kidding).  ;-)

Here's some info about the amazing book and the contest:

Coming 12/22/09 from Bloomsbury...

Nimira is a music-hall girl used to dancing for pennies. So when wealthy sorcerer Hollin Parry hires her to sing accompaniment to a mysterious piano-playing automaton, Nimira believes it will be the start of a better life. In Parry's world, long-buried secrets are about to stir. Unsettling rumors begin to swirl about ghosts, a madwoman roaming the halls, and Parry’s involvement in a group of corrupt sorcerers for whom the rules of the living and dead are meant to be broken for greater power. When Nimira discovers the spirit of a dashing fairy gentleman is trapped within the automaton, she is determined to break the curse. But even as the two fall into a love that seems hopeless, breaking the curse becomes a perilous race against time. Because it's not just the future of these star-crossed lovers that's at stake, but the fate of the entire magical world.

Want to win an ARC with original sketches from the author inside? See http://fabulousfrock.livejournal.com for details!




Write on!

All (good?) things . . .

It's official. I went to work for the last time today. I got my last paycheck. I thought about shedding a tear of regret, but the joy of being finished overwhelmed me and I couldn't muster a tear of sorrow. Maybe later. *grin*

I enjoyed the time I spent on the project and here is what Archiving taught me:

1. Reading other people's letters is fascinating and fun

2. Taking notes on other people's letters is not so much fun

3. Seeing history through another person's eyes is way better than reading about it in a history book

4. Seeing personal history through another person's eyes can be too much of a good thing

5. Professional archivists hired to teach us what to do may not know what they're talking about

6. With a bit of research and the wonderful world wide web, someone who knows nothing about archiving can access some of the best references in the world  and teach themselves what to do

7. Deciding on doing a project one way and going forward can pay off in the end when the decision is made to scrap the old way and start new

8. Scrapping the old way and starting over pays well but is frustrating

9. Archiving is an adventure

10. Adventure isn't all it's cracked up to be

 

Seriously though there were many good things from this project and I'm very blessed to have been a part of it. I'll miss it in a way, but I'm still relieved to be finished.

And now for another good thing. A trailer for BALLAD! Even if you found the rest of this post boring, you're being rewarded for enduring because now you get to see this:

 

Write on!

I am finished . . .

. . . for the most part.

After two long years, my job is coming to a close. I finished the last major project in my job on Friday. *insert cheering, weeping for joy, and insane laughter here*

I will likely go in to work on Monday to tie up a few random loose ends, but that's all, my friends. That is all!

While I know I shouldn't be excited about this in such a troubled economy, I'm happy to be finished. It was a long two years of work on this project and while I will miss it in a way, I'm relieved.

Initially, my plan was to have more writing time once my job was done. This plan is not a complete failure as I DO believe I will have more writing time. However, some of this writing time may be taken up with homework.

Yes, my friends, I'm going back to school. Years ago just after my oldest son was born I began taking college classes and working toward an AAS in Medical Transcription. I was close to being finished when I dropped out to work at the local video store (I was a single parent and wanted to have a job with steady income to provide for my child).

However, things have changed over the years, and I no longer have a desire to go into medical transcription. Thankfully, some of my credits will transfer and count toward my new goal. I have decided to get a degree in Elementary Education and become a Reading Specialist. What better way to combine my love of learning and reading?

So a chapter of my life has ended and a new chapter has begun. I'm not sure what kind of chapter it will be (adventure, comedy, drama), but hopefully it will be well worth the writing in the end. ;-)

HOWEVER, with the exception of one, my classes are in the evening this semester. Therefore, I will still have the daytime for my writing and I'm hoping I can spend most of it working on my novels as opposed to homework. =D

 

Write on.

In Memoriam

My high school English teacher, Miss Cunningham, passed away yesterday. She taught at the high school for something like 41 years or so and will be greatly missed. She introduced me to reading classic literature (I mean the "real" classics like Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, etc.) and made Shakespeare understandable and even fun.

So today I am blogging some of the Shakespeare quotes we had to recite in her class (I'll only post portions of the speeches, but we had to memorize and recite the entire speech).

From Julius Cesar, we have Antony's speech from Act 3 Scene 2:

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones;
So let it be with Caesar.

From Hamlet, we have in Act 3 Scene 1, Hamlet's famous speech:

To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them?

The study of Macbeth found us reciting his speech from Act 2 Scene 1:

Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?

And Act 2 Scene 2 of Romeo and Juliet provided us reason to recite:

But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief,
That thou her maid art far more fair than she:
Be not her maid, since she is envious;
Her vestal livery is but sick and green
And none but fools do wear it; cast it off.

And though I don't believe we had to recite it in class, I seem to remember memorizing Katharina's speech from Act 5 Scene 2 of Taming of the Shrew (maybe I needed extra credit or something):

Fie, fie! unknit that threatening unkind brow,
And dart not scornful glances from those eyes,
To wound thy lord, thy king, thy governor:
It blots thy beauty as frosts do bite the meads,
Confounds thy fame as whirlwinds shake fair buds,
And in no sense is meet or amiable.
A woman moved is like a fountain troubled,
Muddy, ill-seeming, thick, bereft of beauty;
And while it is so, none so dry or thirsty
Will deign to sip or touch one drop of it.

Yes, those are some good memories. Though things weren't always happy in her class. She did have a tendency to make our homework bleed. Oh the countless red pens who willingly placed themselves in Miss Cunningham's hands and selflessly gave their ink to correct our numerous mistakes.

Her tough love and endless homework made her students more knowledgeable and prepared them for their futures, but it was her love and compassion for each one of us that made us love her and this is the Miss Cunningham we will miss most. She was never to busy for a student who needed to talk.

These words from Macbeth (Act 5 Scene 5) I also seem to remember reciting (probably more extra credit) and were never more appropriate than now:

She should have died hereafter;
There would have been a time for such a word.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more . . .

And now Miss C is free from the earthly binds of teaching hard headed students and grading endless papers. May she rest in peace.

I can't help but feel sorry for the students who will never get to be in her class now (she had planned to continue teaching this year)

=(

Write on.

Whose story is this?

I love sending my work out for critique. Not only because I have some great critique buddies, but because I enjoy seeing how other people critique. At an ANWA retreat I attended last weekend, Sarah M. Eden gave a fun talk in which she said there are three types of writing buddies:

a. Mom—always loves it

b. Ruthless editor—mangles MS and rips it apart

c. Pep rally—cheer for you and support you

She also said you need all three types of buddies and one person can be more than one type.

Yes, critiques are lovely and critique buddies are fabulous at pointing out our strengths and weaknesses. We couldn't do this without them!

However (you saw that coming, right?), I think we have to be selective in what advice we use and what we don't. I've found myself becoming a minimalist in that I cut down my words and tighten up my sentences to delete unnecessary words . . . but it's gotten to the point where I think I've lost my voice along the way. I've taken so much advice and incorporated so much into my work that I'm no longer sure whose story I'm writing. And I'm so concerned with minimizing that I've minimized most of the emotion, characterization, and scene building right out of my novel!

The story I wanted to tell isn't the story I ended up with.

I'm not saying we should all dump our crit buddies (whatever you do, don't go there), or ignore all their suggestions . . . we all know they give great suggestions . . . but we need to remember whose story we are writing. We don't want to revise so much or take another's advice so completely that we lose our voice. While we revise, we shouldn't lose sight of the story we started telling in the first place (unless it's so horrible that it needs an overhaul . . . I'm afraid my current WIP may fall into this category).

And speaking of voice (pretend we were), at the same retreat, Janette Rallison gave a talk about POV in which she suggested a good way to find your character's voice is to rewrite in first person (assuming you wrote in a different POV) and then go back and change it to third person.

Of course, she also suggested writing a first draft then putting it aside and re-writing the story from scratch. This confirmed my suspicion that she is completely insane. I mean who ignores all that beautiful word count and starts all over? Okay, she did say you could cut and paste scenes . . . but still . . .

Seriously though, I think this is an excellent suggestion, but I'm not brave enough to try it (see me over here doing the chicken dance?).

I am brave enough to rewrite my novel in first person and this is what I've been working on since last weekend. I haven't gotten very far (since I'm still working . . . yeah, that's fodder for another post). I'm using my previous draft as a guide (so I don't get too far off track), but I'm liking the new version so far. At this point, I plan to change it back to third person . . . but we'll see how it goes.

So what do you all think? Have you ever found yourself losing your story/voice because of too many revisions? Have you ever done as Janette suggested and completely rewritten a novel? Have you tried rewriting in a different POV? Have I asked enough questions?

Another important thing I learned at the ANWA retreat . . . bring a camera . . . no that wasn't it . . . bring earplugs . . . no there was something else . . . oh yeah! Try not to be so painfully shy that you miss out on meeting all the wonderful people . . . but at the same time, don't babble and make a fool of yourself. I'm afraid I went from one extreme to the other. Yeah, I don't do well with meeting new people. *sigh*

 

Write on.

Which book trailer?

"Lipstick Apology" by Jennifer Jabaley launches August 6th and now you can watch some book trailers.

 

Jennifer posted a choice of two trailers on her blog. I picked this one as my favorite.

 

I liked the other one as well, but it moved too fast for me to read all of the text.

 

So, check them out and choose your favorite!

 

Write on.

Novel Novel Review

It's that time again. Here's a quick reminder of my rating system

A+--I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend this book. In most cases, I passed it on to my child/teen.

A--I enjoyed this book and I might pass it on to my child/teen.

B--I liked this book, but probably won't pass it on to my child/teen.

C--I thought it was okay, but I won't pass it on to my child/teen.

D--I didn't like this book, and won't allow my child/teen to read it.

F--I hope I never have to go here. =D

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. If you find your book here, don't panic if I rate it below an A. These are my personal preferences and I'm only one small person in a large market.

Okay, here we go.

 

Loyalty's Web by Joyce DiPastena

Rating: A+

Category: Historical Romance

Age Recommendation: 14+

 

The Earl of Gunthar has been sent by King Henry II of England to assure obedience to the terms of the peace treaty with Prince Richard and his rebellious followers. Because eighteen-year-old Heléne de Laurant's father was one of Richard's supporters, King Henry believes an arranged marriage between Gunthar and Heléne's sister is the only way to assure Laurant's loyalty.

But loyalties are questioned when several assassination attempts are made on Gunthar's life and are linked to people close the Laurant family. Now Heléne must try to prove her loved ones' innocence by revealing the true killer in their midst.

As she struggles to unravel the truth, she discovers secrets, blackmail, intrigue, and finds herself drawn to a forbidden romance. Heléne becomes tangled in a web of loyalty and is unsure whether to reveal the secrets of loved ones or keep quiet and risk losing the man she loves.

DiPastena has woven a wonderful tale set in twelfth century France. Full of action, romance, and conspiracy, LOYALTY'S WEB drew me in and held me as I traversed the maze of twists and turns to the very last page. I believe this sweet romance with ingenious plot twists will appeal to both adults and teens.

It was my pleasure to be ensnared in LOYALTY'S WEB, and I look forward to DiPastena's next novel, ILLUMINATIONS OF THE HEART.

Write on!

To listen . . .

. . . perchance to be inspired?

Maggie put out a call for help in compiling some mood music to help her get through her rough draft. She received many fantastic suggestions. As I clicked on a few of the links and listened to some amazingly inspirational arrangements, I wondered . . .

WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?

I've heard many authors discuss their play lists and I never ever considered trying to write while listening to music. I know I'm not the only one  who prefers a cone of silence while writing, but, as I really stopped to think about it, I realized I never have a cone of silence.

During the day, my usual "mood music" is Spongebob Squarepants, Wonder Pets, Wizards of Waverly Place, or whatever the kiddies have decided to put on the television. We have a TV in the living room, but they insist on coming into my bedroom/office and turning on the squawk box in here any time I sit down to write. And I allow it to assuage my guilt at sitting in front of my laptop instead of running around the yard with them (though I do that sometimes too).

If it's not the kiddies, it's hubby flicking through the channels. And if by some miraculous twist of fate hubby decides to take the kiddies away and leave me to write in "peace" I've still got the dogs barking and the macaw babbling . . . so technically I don't work in silence anyway. Now I'm considering the possibility of finding some "mood music" that's actually, you know, MUSIC.

Of course, I have no idea where to begin. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to work with vocals blaring in my ears, but some nice instrumental inspiration might be okay.

I do have access to iTunes and I'm not afraid to spend a few hundred dollars on some good music . . . but what if I go to all the trouble and find out I can't work with music serenading me? Or what if I pick the wrong songs and end up going WAY off the path of where I originally intended to go?

And here's where I beg knowledge from my friends/enemies/stalkers/who-ever-has-an-opinion-about-such-things.

For those of you who DON'T write with mood music, why don't you? Have you tried it? Was it horrible?

For those of you who DO write with mood music, why do you? What made you do it? How does it work for you? Have you ever been thrown off track by choosing the wrong music for a particular scene?

For those who know my writing, what type of instrumental do you think would be appropriate for my "mood music?"

 

Listen on?

Shiver Trailer

Maggie spent hours upon hours upon hours upon . . . well you get the idea . . . to make this unique Book trailer for Shiver.

Not only did she make the cutouts and photograph it, but she also composed the music to go with it. Have I mentioned how amazing Maggie is? *grin*

So click on one of the links for the Shiver trailer or watch below (if I embedded it right).

Write on!

Warning: Exhaustion induced post

So as I was browsing the net this morning (I know, I should be doing revisions!) I came across this advertisement:

 

 

And I went, "What the heck? Isn't that the picture from My Fair Godmother?" And I pulled out my copy and I was right!

Obviously there are some differences between the pictures, and I'm not sure it's a big deal, but I'm tired and am proud of myself for recognizing the picture in the first place. *grin*

 

And why am I tired? For the last week, I've been kicking it in and working madly on revisions of WaM. I'm also way behind on my reading/reviewing so I've been madly trying to catch up on that as well. I'm still going to work (though for only one more week . . . YAY) so my revising/reading must be done after hours. Therefore, I have stayed up past my bedtime every night this week . . . and sometimes well past midnight (like last night).

The results? I've managed to read four books and begin two more (yeah, I'm reading two books at the same time . . . I'm an idiot), write reviews for two of said books, and I have about thirty pages left to revise in WaM. Oh, and I'm exhausted . . . but it's the good kind of I've-accomplished-something exhaustion.

And it doesn't help that I trimmed the hedges yesterday after work before diving in to revisions . . . now my arms are sore! Yeah, I'm short, the hedges are tall, and the stupid hedge trimmer is HEAVY! So imagine me lifting the trimmer almost above my head and swinging it back and forth for about an hour (hey, I had to pause once in a while . . . did I mention the trimmer is heavy?).

I don't mind trimming the hedges . . . especially since if I don't, I can't see the road when I'm trying to back out of the driveway. I know DH would have gotten around to the hedges eventually, but I was in one of those get-it-done-now-so-you-don't-have-to-keep-risking-your-life-as-you-back-out-of-the-driveway moods. ;-)

Anyway, I must get back to those last thirty pages . . . and then get everything ready to go visit my parents and siblings (we're celebrating the June birthdays) . . . which means getting a cake (S1 turned 16 on the 22nd) and the hamburger/hotdog buns from hubby (our contribution to the meal). And since I've done no housework, I have to wash laundry so we'll have some clean clothes to wear.

What the heck am I doing blogging?

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

 

Write on.

IMO . . . yeah, it's one of THOSE posts

There has been quite a bit of chatter about confidence, insecurity, jealousy, etc. Maggie appears to have started it all and Jackie, Carrie, and Karen were all inspired in one way or another to blog their thoughts. I've been avoiding sharing my thoughts, but I feel like diving in now (hope I don't drown).

Be prepared for a deep (long) post. If you can't swim, I don't recommend jumping in.

My thoughts . . .

Of Confidence (no, this isn't a Sir Francis Bacon essay)

First of all, I am not always confident, neither am I always insecure. In all honesty, I don't believe anyone is always one or the other. Before you jump down my throat (I have a sensitive gag reflex so I'm not sure how far you'd get anyway), let me explain.

You can have confidence and be confident about certain aspects in your life, but there is no way I'll believe you if you tell me you are a confident person all the time. You may be more confident than you are insecure, but you are both.

You have to be, and here's why (going all religious on you now). There is opposition in all things and this is the way the world was created. Look in your thesaurus or dictionary and you'll find a funny little word "antonym" which means (basically) opposite. Everything feeling has an opposite (in some form or another) and unless you've felt both, you wouldn't be able to recognize either.

Say what?

Yeah, think about it. If you have never been insecure or lacked self confidence, you would never be able to know security and confidence. It's impossible to know how it feels to be confident if you've never felt insecure just as it's impossible to feel happy if you've never felt sad (unless you're a Vulcan or an android reading this, and then you've never felt any emotion . . . but you're not real anyway so you wouldn't be reading this).

While some people are confident most of the time, they've been insecure, and I believe they still have insecure moments to remind them how it feels. We are all this way or we'd never be able to relate to characters in books.

Emotions are the whole point of reading and writing. Why do we relate to a character? Because we see a little bit of ourselves in them. Otherwise, we wouldn't read the dang book in the first place. Often in our desire to escape our lives by reading about someone else's we really work through our own emotions and feelings. This is the mark of a good book and what I think we are all striving for when we tell a story (but this is fodder for another day).

There are different stages of emotion and while I could go into all of them, I won't (because this post is going to be long enough as it is). But I do want to give my opinion on jealousy.

Of Jealousy and Envy (still not Sir Francis Bacon)

According to Francine Prose (contributing editor to the Oxford American Thesaurus for Writers), jealousy used to have only a sexual or romantic connotation but has since become synonymous with envy. I agree with Francine Prose and I, too, believe they should remain separate so I can honestly say I've never been jealous of someone who got an agent/editor or a book deal. *grin*

However, I have been envious and I don't believe any author hasn't. That is not to say we can't still be thrilled and happy for the authors who get an agent/editor or book deal. We certainly can and do feel happiness and joy for them. They worked for it and struggled along the path to publication. But we all struggle along the same path, and it's perfectly acceptable to feel like, "dang, I wish it were me" or similar emotions.

Yes, that's right, I just said it was acceptable ,and I stand by it. Feel those emotions, let them depress you (you heard me)! These emotions are true and must be felt . . . but they must also be dealt with and this is where the problem occurs.

It's what you do with the emotions that makes the difference. If you choose to dwell on the negative aspect of envy, you will eventually fall into the pit of covetousness and this, my friends, is where it goes bad. Coveting can turn you bitter, angry, resentful, and a whole host of other really dark emotions.

On the other hand, if you use the envy to motivate yourself to try harder, to learn more, to improve your writing, it can be a positive thing. It can give you the determination to reach a goal. Seriously, why do we set goals in the first place? Because something inspired us. And if we are honest and really think about it, that "inspiration" was often motivated by envy in the form of "I want that" or "I can write that" or something similar . . . and those thoughts are forms of envy.

But, as I said, I truly believe you can be envious of another author's success and still be happy for them, but only if you keep a leash on your envy so it doesn't bite you (or someone close to you) in the . . .  well, you know.

 

And now it's time to kick our legs back to the surface, take a deep breath and praise God (or whatever/whoever you worship) that we're still alive after diving into this post.

 

Write on.

It's all good

I'm way behind on reviews and while this isn't exactly a review, I just had to post a blog before I head off to work this morning.

Yesterday a package from Amazon.com was waiting for me when I got home from work. Excitement filled the air as my children stood around to see what it could be. I told them the package contained the books I ordered, but this did not send them scurrying from the room. Nay, they still hung about like vultures. I opened the box and took out the packaging material to reveal . . . .

Books! (I told ya so.)

While not all the books I ordered were in the package, there was one more than I expected. Somewhere in my clicking I must have added an extra copy, because there in the box was not one, but TWO shiny copies of PARIS PAN TAKES THE DARE by Cynthea Liu. Why I needed two copies, I'll never know, but there they were all new and shiny and smelling like the brand new books they were.

I logged on to Amazon to check (I thought they may have made an error) and sure enough, I had mistakenly ordered two copies. I debated about sending one back, but since I had ordered them from Cynthea's website as part of her Dare to Care, I figured it's all good and I'll keep the extra copy to pass on to someone else.

Anyway, I did a tad bit of revising, but dang if those two shiny books didn't keep daring me to read them (or at least one of them). So I read last night until 11:00 when my poor exhausted body insisted I close my peepers and get some sleep (cause I do have to function at work today).

I obeyed and slept until 4:35am. Upon waking, I took myself to the restroom (because my bladder insisted on being emptied) and snuggled back into bed to try to get some more sleep. But sleep would not come because right next to my bed were those two shiny new books and the one with the bookmark kept tempting me.

Book: "Come on, you know you want to read me."

Me: "I need some more sleep."

Book: "But look how far you've already read. Remember, you stopped right at Chapter 10 and you were about to find out more about Mayo's plan."

Me: "Yeah, but I have to work later and I need more sleep."

Book: "But don't you want to know what happens next?"

Me: "Of course I do, but I also want to be able to stay awake at work."

Book: "Well, it's your loss, but I promise you there are great things waiting for you in the next chapters."

Me: "Really? They can't be that great. You're just trying to get me to pick you up."

Book: "Nope, I'm telling you, great stuff."

Me: "But it's too dark in here to read and if I turn on the light, it will wake hubby up."

 

And so the conversation went for the next hour and a little bit. When hubby finally got up just before six o'clock, I grabbed the book, flipped on the light, and continued reading.

You know what? The book was right. GREAT STUFF! I'll have to write a proper review later, but dang I L-O-V-E-D this book! =D

If you haven't yet read PARIS PAN TAKES THE DARE, you ought to.

 

Now I've got to jump into the shower and get to work in half an hour!

 

Write on!

Revisions, reading, reviewing, writing

I've had a pretty productive week so far. I managed to get a couple of books read and one review written (still need to write one more). I'm not sure if I'll be posting both reviews on my blog . . . we'll see . . .

I also managed to write a rhyming PB. Now, I don't claim to be a poet and I'm not sure how great it is, but it's written, revised, and ready. I'm not sure what I'll do with it . . .

Also, I've managed to get some revision done in the last couple of days! Now I know revisions never end and there will always be more things to tweak, but I'm happy to have reached page 81 of 211. This may not seem like much, but these are major revisions so they take some time. I seem to be adding more than I'm cutting at this point, but I knew this was likely as there were some tricky spots I had skipped over when I initially wrote it.

I've even gone back to the beginning a couple of times to add a few more little details. So I'm proud of the work I've accomplished these last several days. My goal is to be finished with these major revisions before June 27th. I've set this goal because I have a few beta readers I've promised to get manuscripts to on that date.

It seems like I'll reach this goal with no problem, but I go back to work tomorrow (I've been off due to the sickness S1 brought home from camp) and I won't have as much time. Hopefully I'll still get it finished.

Speaking of work, I've told my boss that I will no longer be coming in to work after June 30th. I know it seems horrible to stop working in this economy when jobs are scarce, but I will still be working a little . . . I just won't be going in to work every day. I'll be working from home when I have spare time from my writing, reading, reviewing, etc. I'm basically done with my portion of the project with only a bit of organizing of images to complete (and I can do that on my computer at home). And remember, this was supposed to be a 3-6 month job and I've been working for almost 2 years.

As you can tell by my rationalization, I feel kind of guilty about my decision because so many friends and family are being laid off. But it is the best decision for my family, myself, and my writing. It's time for me to concentrate on getting published. =)

And now I better get back to revising because I don't have much time today as we are taking the kiddies to see a movie this afternoon.

 

Write on.

I dare you to care!

Cynthea Liu is having an auction and other fun ways to support a Title I school in her area. Please go here to help support the kids of  Tulakes Elementary and qualify for fun prizes in the process! I dare you to go here and check it out.

 

Dare on!

Scout camp is sickening!

Well, oldest son brought home a lovely bug from Scout camp. It was NOT food poisoning after all. D2 got sick last night and kept us awake, and now D1 has it as well. *sigh* I'm sure sometime tonight S2 will get it as well and then probably hubby.

I refuse to get it! I'm wiping door knobs, light switches, sinks, toilet seats, etc. with Clorox/Lysol wipes (whichever I grab first because we have both) and praying that I can kill the nasty little germs before they take over my entire house.

But the good news (if you can find good in puking children) is I had to call into work and my boss said not to come back until the kids are better (because they don't believe in "bring your germs to work day"). So I spent some time doing some work from home, and then I managed to get some writing stuff done.

So, minus puking kids, it was a good day.

 

Write on.

Who wants to win a book?

Angela Cerrito is having a contest and giving away two copies of Fran Cannon Slayton's WHEN THE WHISTLE BLOWS.

I truly loved this book and highly recommend it! So go on over to Angela's blog and see how to win (hint, it involves some creative writing).

Write on!

Ghostly Giveaway

The fantastic megancrewe is having a contest on her blog. She is giving away a signed copy of her book, "GIVE UP THE GHOST" and also a couple of other books to go with it . . . as well as another little nifty prize.

So, go here and check it out!

Write on!

Scout Camp . . . BLAH!

Oldest son went to Scout camp this week. He came home this morning sick as sick can be. We hope it's food poisoning and not something more serious . . . like flu. Lots of the other campers got sick as well, but they couldn't find a common thing they all ate/drank.

While that's not good, what is good is that they all got sick around the same time last night so chances of it being food poisoning are better.

Not that we want him to be sick, but if he does have to be sick we'd rather it be something relatively minor.

Anyway, hopefully he'll get feeling better this afternoon.

Write on.

Book contests and other stuff

Here are some great contests in which you can win the greatest prizes of all . . . books!

To win copies of Shiver, Catching Fire, and Liar visit Presenting Lenore.

To win a copy of Shiver, visit The Shady Glade.

 

I may be having a contest of my own in the near future . . . stay tuned for details.

 

In other stuff news . . . I've been printing stuff for work all day and burning through ink like nobody's business . . . I even have one of those Kodak printers that uses less ink and still the ink cartridges are sucked dry rather quickly. Of course, it's mostly the black ink cartridge with a little color ink used as well, but I know had I used my Lexmark printer, I'd be using WAY more ink.

What the heck am I printing that would take so much ink? Well, over the last year or so (I can't remember for sure when I began this portion of the project), I've been painstakingly reading every letter written from Fran to Irene (her mother), and from Irene to Fran. And as I read said letters, I summarized each one and highlighted important people, places, events, etc. While reading letters may seem like no big deal, remember this was from 1928-1975 and letter writing was the thing . . . we have eight boxes of these letters just between Fran and Irene (the entire collection is over 100 boxes).

My notes on boxes 1-8 are an impressive 241,105-words. Yeah . . . see how many novels I could have written had I not been working? *wink*

Why am I using my own printer? Because it uses less ink than the ones at work, of course. Plus my oldest is at Scout camp and I don't have a babysitter so I can't go in to work.

And about the printer situation,I highly recommend the Kodak ESP 5 All in One Printer. The only drawback is my having to either leave my laptop on the shelf with the printer, or move the printer to my bed (which I did today) so I can plug it in with the little USB cord. So, if you are going to buy one and you have wireless capabilities, buy the wireless Kodak printer . . . wish I had.

Anyway, while these notes have been printing (I have to print 22 copies) this morning, I've been catching up on email and blogs. Now I'm going to start in on some revisions! I know, I can't believe it myself.

So, stop updating your blogs so I can get some work done, people. LOL

Write on.

I'm so happy!

No, I haven't found an agent yet, but today on goadingthepen's blog she had a wonderful recipe for Snow-cone syrup!

While you may think this is no bid deal, it's a huge thing to me! We have an ice shaver and during the summer we use it . . . well, probably WAY too much. Anyway, that's not the point (and yes I do  have one) . . . the point is that I have a difficult time finding the syrup and even if I can find it, I don't particularly care for the flavors offered.

But now I am saved! Check out the recipe:

Sno-Cone Syrup
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 cup unsweetened kool-aid pack (your favorite flavor)
Boil sugar and water. Add kool-aid pack. Cool and refrigerate. Pour over shaved ice. Depending on how sweet or thick you like your syrup you can add more or less sugar and or water. For a stronger flavor double the kool-aid.

If you don't have an ice shaver, put ice in a sturdy ziploc, cover with a towel and let kids bash with a rubber mallet.
To store syrup use a sports bottle with a pull up top for easy pouring. Or use a refillable type condiment bottle. This stores in the fridge for months.

Can you believe it?! Now I can make my own syrup and have the flavors I want (plus a few mixed up ones . . . cause we like mixing our Kool-aid flavors)!

Yes, my friends, happiness is in the small things. June is off to a great start. Can it get better than this? We'll see . . .

Write on.

Another Slush Pile contest

Slushy is having another contest. Here are the details (from slushy's blog):

It's time to Bait Me!

What is Bait Me? Many in the industry call it a hook, but, to me, a hook is a one line blurb. I'm a smart fish and I need something on the hook before I'll bite.  I consider the bait to be the lines preceding your hook.

So, friends, writers, bloggers, send me your bait and hook. This is a contest but I'll get to the prize later. First, please be sure you understand the rules.

Send your bait and hook (no more than five sentences) to crit_write @ officeliveusers . com in the following format:

Screen Name: (won't be posted)

Title:

Genre:

Bait and hook:

Now to the prize:

The winner of the contest will receive a one chapter critique.

I was fortunate enough to win a chapter critique from Slushy in a previous contest. While it stung a little, it was an honest critique and quite helpful. I'll be entering this contest (with a different MS) . . . so how about giving me a little competition? *grin*

Write on.

Auction for a great cause

Have you been to the Bridget Zinn auction? I first learned about this fantastic cause from Lisa Schroeder's blog.

There are so many auction items I can't begin to list them all, but they include manuscript critiques (including one from Kristin Nelson), signed copies of books, artwork, and so much more.

Please go check out the auction and see if you can help Bridget. But hurry, it ends tonight.

And if you'd like to read Bridget's blog to find out a bit more about what an amazing person she is go here.

Write on.

Thursday Things

Today I left work at noon. We loaded the kids into hubby's truck and drove for about an hour to a lake where we spent a couple of hours fishing. It had been ten years since we went to this lake (Black Canyon) to fish.

The kids had fun, hubby had fun, I had fun . . . but I did get a little sunburned on my face (forgot the sunscreen there DUH).

All total, we kept eleven rainbow trout (we caught many more but put them back). Hubby taught me how to clean them. This may not seem like a huge thing to some of you, but I had never cleaned a fish in my life. It was a huge step for me (being an animal lover and all) and I'm proud of myself.

After we got home, I spent the next hour removing scales from all eleven trout. I de-boned two of them and then gave up (we'll pick the bones out after they've cooked). Right now the trout are baking in the oven (because I didn't feel like standing over a pan to fry them).

All in all, it was a good day . . . except for the sunburn.

In writing news, I've sent a few e-queries out into the world . . . we'll see what happens.

Now I've got to get some critiques done.

 

Write on.

Novel Novel Review

It's that time again. Here's a quick reminder of my rating system

A+--I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend this book. In most cases, I passed it on to my child/teen.

A--I enjoyed this book and I might pass it on to my child/teen.

B--I liked this book, but probably won't pass it on to my child/teen.

C--I thought it was okay, but I won't pass it on to my child/teen.

D--I didn't like this book, and won't allow my child/teen to read it.

F--I hope I never have to go here. =D

I will give reasons for my rating in my review, but if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. If you find your book here, don't panic if I rate it below an A. These are my personal preferences and I'm only one small person in a large market. =D

Okay, now here we go.

 

Horse Diaries: Elska by Catherine Hapka

Rating: A+

Category: Contemporary

Age Recommendation: 6+

Elska is a horse story like no other. Mainly because this story comes straight from the horse's mouth. That's right; Hapka lets Elska tell her own story.

The book begins with Elska's birth and follows her as she grows and learns the way of an Icelandic mare. Jump into this book and follow this magnificent horse through training, growing, and even a daring rescue.

Reading HORSE DIARIES: ELSKA took me back to my childhood when I read horse books by Marguerite Henry. I have to say, I enjoyed Hapka's story as much today as I would have back then . . . maybe more.

If you have a horse lover in your life, trot on out and pick up a copy of this book for them. I am passing this book on to my nine year old and I'm sure she'll love it. I look forward to future HORSE DIARIES books.

Write on!

Novel Novel Review

It's that time again. Here's a quick reminder of my rating system

A+--I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend this book. In most cases, I passed it on to my teen.

A--I enjoyed this book and I might pass it on to my teen.

B--I liked this book, but probably won't pass it on to my teen.

C--I thought it was okay, but I won't pass it on to my teen.

D--I didn't like this book, and won't allow my teen to read it.

F--I hope I never have to go here. =D

I will give reasons for my rating in my review, but if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. If you find your book here, don't panic if I rate it below an A. These are my personal preferences and I'm only one small person in a large market. =D

Okay, now here we go.

Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon

Rating: A

Category: Fantasy

Age Recommendation: 14+

Ai Ling's father was summoned to the Emperor's palace and has yet to return. Determined to find him, she leaves home. Unfortunately, she's not alone.

Mythical demons hunt her wherever she goes.

Chen Yong wants to know who he is. As he journeys to the Emperor's palace in hopes of finding answers to his past, he meets Ai Ling, but he only finds more questions.

Ai Ling has been marked by the Immortals to destroy a soul stealing evil, and Chen Yong's fate is intertwined with hers. Their astounding journey leads them places no mortal has ever been.

Pon takes the reader on a fantastical jaunt through ancient China. Filled with twists, turns, and tummy tempting descriptions of food, SILVER PHOENIX is a thrilling journey of discovery.

 

Write on!

Team Raving Pen rocks!

We are doing well in the Maggie Stiefvater contest. Look at all the fantastic people who have already joined Team Raving Pen:

1. ravelda
2. goadingthepen
3. jessica_shea
4. britlitfantwin
5. shanasilver
6. music_lover3
7. fabulousfrock
8. edgyauthor
9. robinellen
10. juliakarr
11. lisa_schroeder
12. authorwithin
13. kbaccellia
14. latteya
15. eclectic_writer
16. carriejones
17. __bac__
18. sruble
19. gag01001
20. cyn2write
21. afraclose
22. azang
23. inkbabies
24. kathys_shadow
25. crzywritermindi
26. aliensplicer
27. dragonflame_05
28. veschwab
29. denisejaden
30. brian_ohio
31. jeniwrites
32. tmthomas
33. coloradowriter
34. mandywriter
35. carrie_boo
36. heatherkb
37. lillpluta
38. tamarak
39. janel_harrison
40. lalam
41. miladyinsanity
42. kristydempsey
43. elissadcruz
44. sixverstein
45. ecm_sketches
46. pamm
47. aerinrose
48. lux-st-clare.blogspot.com
49. http://www.myspace.com/lookingforalaskamusic
50. bonibleauxdesigns.blogspot.com
51. learningtoread
52. arya_darcy
53. lindajsingleton
54. futuredoctor19
55.astres
56. ebenstone
57. slush_one
58. zibeth
59. confusedlook
60. sarahlepstein
61. fandoria
62. http://bleauxleaux.blogspot.com/
63. sboman
64. bbovenguy
65. suzelle
66. sahm2
67. dawn_metcalf

 

But it's not too late! By joining Team Raving Pen you'll help us keep the lead and not only will you get a crit of your first five pages from Maggie Stiefvater, but you'll also be entered for the following:

3 ARC of Shiver to Share!
8 signed copies of Lament to draw for.
1 copy of Eyes Like Stars + theatre package.

All you have to do is Join Team Raving Pen in the Maggie Stiefvater Shiver contest...as long as we keep our lead until 8PM Tonight. EVERYONE on board gets a critique and is entered for the other prizes. The more people who join in the better our chances.
So what are you waiting for? Come on it is only one little post and one little reply!

Here's what to do:

Karen has made it really easy. Go Here and copy the code she has on her post:
http://ravelda.livejournal.com/342338.html

Paste it onto your blog in a post.

Then go here:

http://m-stiefvater.livejournal.com/105279.html

Let Maggie know you posted one for Team Raving Pen!

It's that simple! So get to posting and help us kick it in for the win!

 

Post on!

Come on, join the team!

Team Raving Pen needs your help! So all my friends out there in blogging land, if you haven't already joined a team, please join Team Raving Pen. We are up to about 30 team members and we are shooting for at least 50 to double the ARC love.

Team Goading The Pen and Ravelda have formed an alliance.  Here is what you get if you join our team Raving Pen!
Everybody on the new team is entered for a giveaway for an ARC of EYES LIKE STARS.

Everybody on the new team shares the ARC of SHIVER, determined by random number. (Starting with #1 the first person reads and then mails to the next person on the list and so on. Last person on the list will get to keep the ARC)

Everybody on the new team is entered to decide who gets one of 4 signed copies of Lament. (We are giving away all four.)

Come on, join the team!

Here are the details of Maggie's contest:

Maggie Stiefvater is having a contest here: A Better Way To Get a Shiver ARC

Winner gets:
- a signed ARC of SHIVER
- 4 signed copies of LAMENT
- and for each of the friends that you got to comment, a critique of the first 5 pages of any of their manuscripts.

And if any single person manages to get over 50 friends to comment, I'll make it 3 ARCs of SHIVER and 8 copies of LAMENT. (With your help we can do this! Just copy and paste this entire post into your blog and then go comment on Maggie's blog that you did it for Team Raving Pen!)
In Short the person who gets the most people to join there team by posting:
1. A picture of the Shiver Book Cover
2. A description of Shiver
3. A link to the pre-order page
4. Letting her know that they have posted and who they are posting for: HERE

Copy and Paste this post and post on your blog. Then go here:
http://m-stiefvater.livejournal.com/105279.html
And let Maggie know you posted for Team Raving Pen!

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can’t seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human…until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It’s her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human—or risk losing himself, and Grace forever.

Pre-Order Shiver Here:

http://www.amazon.com/Shiver-Maggie-Stiefvater/dp/0545123267/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241744679&sr=1-2

 

Post on, my friends!

Clarification and critique stuff

Yesterday I posted the winner of my Slushy contest . . . the contest in which I asked you to help spread the word about slushy_one's contest. This may have caused some confusion so I want to take a moment to let you know,  Slushy's contest is NOT over. You can enter that contest until May 18th.

Whew! I've been enjoying reading critiques on slushy's blog; some great insight  on the first 250 words. Though slushy's critiques carry a bit of bite, they are honest and this is the type of critique I love. Slushy pointed out a few things in my entry (I won't say which one is mine, but some of you may recognize it anyway) no one else noticed in all the years of critiques . . . of course that may have been because there were so many OTHER mistakes for those first poor crit-er's to comment on. =)

Anyway, it has been worth it to me and I'm glad I went for it. I hope slushy has more critiquing contests in the future . . .

So, if you want to go check out the entries on slushy's blog and maybe leave a comment or two, go for it! So far there are only four entries . . . not sure if slushy has more in the queue or not, but I hope so.

 

Write on.

My Slush Pile contest winner

Sorry I didn't get on here yesterday to make the announcement, but I'm here today!

 

The winner is:

 

Learningtoread!

 

PM me (or leave a comment here) to let me know if you want an Amazon.com or BN.com gift card.

Thanks so much for helping spread the word about the contest.

 

Write on.

Helping Slushy

Just a reminder about The Slush Pile "Mother May I?" contest. Here's info from my previous post about the contest:

 

The Slush Pile is a new blog, and to launch the blog, there is a contest. I know slushy_one from another blog, and have promised to keep his/her identity secret.

The contest sounds pretty cool so I entered (plus Slushy gives a great critique). You can get your first 250 words critiqued by Slushy and other posters on the site, and you have the chance to win a slushy_one critique of your first chapter . . . plus a $25 gift card to Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.com.

I know how you all love contests so go to  The Slush Pile for details.

 

And don't forget that if you post about Slushy's contest on your blog and leave a comment on my previous post or even THIS post with a link to your post about Slushy's contest, you'll be entered in a drawing for a $25 gift card from Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.com . . . but you have to hurry because my promotional contest ends on Monday, May 11th (as soon as I get home from work . . . which will be about 4:00 Arizona time . . . which is 7:00 EST . . . I think . . . darn time changes always mess me up)!

And while you're at it, enter Slushy's contest for your chance at a critique! And, believe me, Slushy's critiques are amazing!

So if you win Slushy's contest AND my contest, you'll end up with TWO $25 gift cards!! That could buy some fun stuff.

Write on.

Helping Goadingthepen

I'm not sure if I'm doing this right, but goadingthepen put a call for help on her blog. she entered Maggie's contest and needs help winning. You can check out her blog post for more information.

All you have to do is copy and paste everything from below here onto your blog! Then go to Maggie's blog and tell her you did it. Don't forget to mention goadingthepen sent you!

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can’t seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human…until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It’s her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human—or risk losing himself, and Grace forever.

Pre-Order Shiver Here:

http://www.amazon.com/Shiver-Maggie-Stiefvater/dp/0545123267/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241744679&sr=1-2

Posting because of

goadingthepen

The Slush Pile contest

The Slush Pile is a new blog, and to launch the blog, there is a contest. I know slushy_one from another blog, and have promised to keep his/her identity secret.

The contest sounds pretty cool so I entered (plus Slushy gives a great critique). You can get your first 250 words critiqued by Slushy and other posters on the site, and you have the chance to win a slushy_one critique of your first chapter . . . plus a $25 gift card to Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.com.

I know how you all love contests so go to  The Slush Pile for details.

And to help launch the site and contest, I got permission from slushy_one to have a promotional contest of my own.

All you have to do is help spread the word by posting a link to Slushy's contest on your blog. Leave a comment below with a link to your post promoting the contest and your automatically entered!

I'll put all entries in a hat and draw the winner on May 11th. What can you win? I'm offering a $25 gift card to your choice of either Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.com . . . 'cause I know you people love to buy books! I mean, who doesn't?

 

Write on!

Silver Phoenix Contest

What could be better than a contest? Well, how about a completely AWESOME contest? The wonderful Cindy Pon is having a contest to celebrate the upcoming release (May 1st) of her debut novel:

 

And what can you win? Oh, my friends, you DON'T want to miss this!

First of all, you could win one of Cindy's original framed brush paintings! If you have not seen Cindy's brush painting, go here. I am blessed enough to own one of her amazingly beautiful paintings (Peach Blossoms).

But that's not all! Though it's hard to top a painting, Cindy is also offering a signed copy of her novel along with the painting. That's right, you get them BOTH!

But she's not done yet . . . nope, there's even more! In case you win and are crazy enough not to want one of her paintings, she's offering a $100 gift card to a bookstore of your choice with a signed copy of her novel.

And she may give away more than one painting/gift card prize depending on number of entries!

So, what do you have to do? Well, she is fantastic enough to offer you SEVERAL opportunities to earn a "raffle" ticket. There are too many to list here so please don't hesitate to click on the link and visit Cindy's blog.

And while you're clicking around, why not go check out the book trailer Madison did for "Silver Phoenix" . . . go on, get clicking!

 

Write on!

Win a book!

Want a chance to win?

Of course you do! head on over to Marybeth Kelsey's blog to find out how to win! It's really easy to enter. What are you waiting for?

Write on.

Cheerios Stories Posted

If you want to read the first prize winning stories in the Cheerios contest, go here. I still can't believe they chose mine . . . and after you read it, you all may  not believe it either. ;-)

 

Write on.

Novel Novel Review

It's that time again. Here's a quick reminder of my rating system

A+--I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend this book. In most cases, I passed it on to my teen.

A--I enjoyed this book and I might pass it on to my teen.

B--I liked this book, but probably won't pass it on to my teen.

C--I thought it was okay, but I won't pass it on to my teen.

D--I didn't like this book, and won't allow my teen to read it.

F--I hope I never have to go here. =D

I will give reasons for my rating in my review, but if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. If you find your book here, don't panic if I rate it below an A. These are my personal preferences and I'm only one small person in a large market. =D

Okay, now here we go.

This is not my usual genre (you all know I'm more of a Fantasy reader/writer), but I have to tell you, I've very much enjoyed stepping outside my comfort zone. This novel is brilliant!

WINNIE'S WAR by Jenny Moss

Rating: A+

Category: Historical Fiction

Age Recommendation: 9+

During the Spanish Influenza epidemic of 1918, Winnie struggles to keep her family and friends safe. But how can she fight something she can't see?

In this time of illness, Winnie learns tough lessons about life, death, and a mother and grandmother she never fully understood.

WINNIE'S WAR kept me reading as I suffered with and cheered Winnie on. With such likeable and relatable characters, Moss pulled me effortlessly into Coward Creek Texas in the fall of 1918. I emotionally connected with Winnie and grew with her as she lived through a terrible time in history.

Through her beautiful prose, Moss brings this little known epidemic out of the past and shares the poignant story of Winnie's life. I will definitely recommend this book to others (including a few history teachers I know), and I look forward to reading future books by Jenny Moss.

 

If you haven't read WINNIE'S WAR, go . . . read . . . enjoy. I have a feeling this won't be the last time I pick up this novel.

Write on!

Critique Group openings

Hello all!
Works in Progress (WIP) critique group is accepting new member applications. We are a group of intermediate to advanced writers committed to helping each other reach our publication goals and improve our writing one critique at a time. We prefer MG, YA, but accept some PB authors.

Here's a bit about our set-up:

Two members per month submit one chapter or equivalent (no more than 5000 words) the first week of the month (assigned schedule) via email. Members are given two weeks to complete the month's critiques (remember, there are only two) and on the fourth week, the members have an open discussion about the month's critiques (so we can all learn). We do provide for emergency submissions (for agent/editor revisions, contest entries, etc.).

If you're interested in joining, please send a brief bio about yourself (including writing experience) and a sample of your writing (no more than 500 words) to worksinprogress at officeliveusers dot com.

Write on.