Celebrate the Small Things 30-5-14

This post is part of VikLit's blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things. Head on over there to join up! 

So, what am I celebrating this week?




The big thing?  I just typed THE END on my manuscript.  It's a great big steaming pile of poop, but it's finished.  So now I can take a week or so off, think about what I want it to be, then go back and revise.  I feel like what I started off wanting to write, and what I finished up wanting to write, are two very different things.  So there's a lot of revising in my future. Yay!

For the first time since I started my new job in November, I actually managed to get through everything on my 'to do' list today.  Well, almost everything...  There was one little job I decided I'd be better of leaving until I was sure exactly who was going to be working in my kitchen before doing.  But I was close, okay?

Now that I've finally finished Lana (okay, almost,  I know I need to revise), I can turn my attention to the new story that's tugging at my hand.  It's going to be quite different to anything I've written before, but I'm excited for the challenge.  I hope to be able to write myself some notes over then next week, so while I'm waiting for feedback for my CPs on Lana, I can start writing the new one.  The first chapter is already crystal clear in my  mind, and for someone who usually starts in the middle, that's very unusual...

What are you celebrating this week?

Have you heard about WRiTE Club?

Have you heard about WRiTE CLUB?  It's a fantastic writing contest where anonymous 500 word snippets go head to head.  The public votes for their favorite piece in each round, and the winners go through to another head to head round.  And this keeps happening until there is one 500 word piece left standing.

Submissions for this year's contest close on May 31st, so if you haven't already entered, head on over to DL Hammond's blog and get in there.  I was a competitor last year and it was a ton of fun.

So, dig out your best 500 words and send them in.  The worst that can happen is that you won't get selected.  The best?  Winning and all the glory that it brings!

My Writing Process Blog Hop

I was just tagged in this blog hop by two lovely ladies who write together as a mother-daughter team.  Helen and Lorrie write as HL Carpenter and we are all published by Musa.  You can find them over here.  

Now, I have a feeling I've already done this blog-hop, but I figure it can't hurt to do it again.  A different day may bring different answers.....

What are you currently working on?

I'm trying desperately to finish the book I dropped when I started edits on An Unstill Life.  It's slow going because I'm struggling to find my way back into it.  But with any luck, I should be done by the end of the week.  I'm calling it Finding Lana Jones, and it's about a girl who has been in juvenile prison since she was eleven and has just been released at eighteen with a new identity.

How does your writing process work?

I'm weird.  I don't write beginning to end, but start somewhere near the middle.  There's always one scene that sparks a book for me, so I write that first.  Then I work both ways from there.

How does your work differ from others of its genre?

I think I'm willing to push things further.  I don't always let the sex happen off screen or flinch away from subject matter that might make people uncomfortable.

Why do you write what you do?

I wrote a whole post on this over at the Musa Blog just a few weeks ago!  I write YA because I love the newness of everything and the uncertainty as people discover who and what they are.

Now, because I've already done this, and passed it on once, I think I'll leave it up to my readers to decide if they want to be a part of it.  So if you want to, grab the questions above and answer them on your own blog.  Just let me know in the comments so I can come and see what your process is like!

Celebrate the small things 23-5-14

This post is part of VikLit's blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things. Head on over there to join up! 

So, what am I celebrating this week?




I've been at a conference for the last 3 days, and while it has been fun, I'm glad it's over.  I don't even want to think about how much work is waiting for me back at the cinema...  But I guess I'll find out in a couple of hours.  It's quite amazing how passionate and committed people who work in the movies are, and how few people ever leave the business once they get into it.  I've been there 22 years now, and many of the people I saw at the conference, I've been working with the whole time!

With all the conference dinners etc, I haven't done any writing this week.  My goal for next week is to finish my draft of Lana (and to make it to the gym again).

What are you celebrating this week?

Congratulations!

I'm thrilled to announce that the winner of the book in this giveaway is.... Danika, The Accidental Novelist.  Congratulations, Danika!  I so hope you enjoy the book.

Celebrate the small things 16-5-14

This post is part of VikLit's blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things. Head on over there to join up! 

So, what am I celebrating this week?




I had a day off!  I know that probably doesn't sound like something so momentous, but after working 11 days straight, it really felt like it.  Plus, it was my birthday, so it was extra special.  I had a lovely time just wandering around town, doing a little shopping for myself for a change.

I've managed to get quite a bit of writing done this week.  I think I'm about 2 chapters from the end of the book now.  It's going to need a crap-ton of editing because it's a mess, but at least the first draft is almost done.

And that's about it for this week.  What are you celebrating?

Kid-Lit Giveaway Hop - Win a book!

As part of Children's Book Week, I'm giving you the chance to win a copy of An Unstill Life.  All you need to do is comment on this post, and on May 19th I'll use a random number generator to pick a winner.  Easy, huh?

About An Unstill Life...

Things at home are rough for fifteen-year-old Livvie Quinn. Jules, her beloved older sister is sick again after being cancer free for almost ten years.  Her mom becomes more frantic and unapproachable every day. School isn’t much better.  Just when she needs them most, her closest friends get boyfriends and have little time for Livvie – except to set her up on a series of disastrous blind dates.

Livvie seeks refuge in the art room - the one place her synesthesia helps rather than hinders her - and finds Bianca, the school ‘freak’.  Free-spirited and confident, Bianca is everything Livvie isn’t. Shaken by her mom’s desperation, her sister’s deteriorating condition, and abandoned by her friends, Livvie finds comfort and an attraction she never felt before with Bianca.

When their relationship is discovered, Livvie and Bianca become victims of persecution and bullying. School authorities won’t help and even forbid the pair to attend the Winter Formal as a couple. If Livvie defies them and goes, she risks expulsion and further ridicule from her classmates. At home, her mother’s behavior escalates to new levels of crazy and Jules is begging for help to end the pain once and for all.

While searching for the strength to make her life her own, Livvie must decide how far she’s willing to go for the people she loves  

And why not go and check out all the other books you could win on this hop?

Are you a children's book or teen literature blogger, an author, a publisher, or a publicist looking to share copies of a fabulous book?  Mother Daughter Book Reviews  and Youth Literature Reviews  are joining forces to provide you with the opportunity to take part in the Children's Book Week Giveaway Hop 2014, featuring links to giveaways for fabulous children/teen's books, gift cards, cash, or other prizes.  What better way to celebrate Children's Book Week?

Celebrate the Small Things 9-5-14

This post is part of VikLit's blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things. Head on over there to join up! 

So, what am I celebrating this week?




I actually got some writing done.  Not an enormous amount, but around 2K, which, at the moment, is a lot for me.  I'm aiming for 6K next week...

I entered a Twitter Pitch party and got a request that turned into a full request by the next day.  This week it was The Sidewalk's Regrets turn for some love.

The kids went back to school after over 2 weeks on vacation.

What are you celebrating this week?

What's up?

I think I've recovered sufficiently from the A-Z to actually come back here and write a regular blog post.  It feels weird to be talking about real life stuff again after a month of reviews!

Now all that craziness is behind us, let's focus back on what's really happening.  Once again, I'm going to ask you to hold me accountable so I can actually finish writing this stupid book.  I'm so close to the end, but there's something really wrong with it.  Partly, I'm lacking inspiration.  This one felt like a great idea when I started it, but since dropping it for 6 months, I'm struggling to find my way back into it.  I also think there are some major problems with my MC.

But that's what revision is for, right?  But I can't revise if I don't finish.  My goal is (optimistically) to get this draft finished by the end of the month.  That gives me about 3 more weeks.  I should be able to do it, but this month is a little crazy because I have a three day conference to go to for work, and I've taken a second job over this weekend to try and boost our financial situation.  Plus my birthday is coming up.  And the regular job doesn't leave me much time to breathe.

That's where you come in.  Keep nagging me to work on it.  If I can get 1K a day written, it'll be done. Even if I do miss a day here and there.  I figure I'm about 8K from the end.  Maybe 10 if things don't go as planned.

So are you in?  Are you going to drive me to finish this piece of crap?  Because I need to finish it.  I have another story brewing in my head and I want to write it.  But I won't let myself start that until I finish this one.

What are you up to at the moment?

Something nice for Mothers' Day

My awesome publisher is running a fantastic contest for Mothers' Day, so if your mom likes to read, or if you are a mom who likes to read, you should enter this one right now! They're adult books, not YA, but I guess most moms are (at least supposedly) grown ups...

Celebrate Mom with Musa Publishing

Grand Prize

$10.00 Musa Gift Certificate

6 Paperback Books

Beyond the Third Garden by I.J. Sarfeh

Outlaws by William Wendy

Seducing Kate by Emilia Mancini

Send Off For A Snitch by KM Rockwood

Typical Day by Gary K. Wolf

Unforgettable You by Marci Boudreaux

1st Place Winner

$5.00 Musa Gift Certificate 6 Paperback Books

The Andersen Ancestry by Addie J. King

For His Love by Nya Rayne

Outlaws by William Wendy

Seducing Kate by Emilia Mancini

Send Off For A Snitch by KM Rockwood

Typical Day by Gary K. Wolf

2nd Place Winner

5 Paperback Books

Outlaws by William Wendy

Seducing Kate by Emilia Mancini

Send Off For A Snitch by KM Rockwood

Typical Day by Gary K. Wolf

Wilder Mage by CD Coffelt

Plus

2 new winners are drawn daily. Each one will receive 3 books.

And

All participants receive a download of Cooking with Musa.

All entrants are eligible for Grand Prize Drawing May 10, 2014

Winners announced May 11, 2014

Enter daily to win!

No particular order to the daily drawings for the books below

Baiting the Hook by Mary S. Palmer and David Wilton 3.99 by Richard Satterlie Amanda's Return by June Kramin Buried Biker by KM Rockwood Enter to Win by Kirsten Janey

ICE blue by Susan Rae Lies in Wait by Donna Del Oro

Love Lies Bleeding by Lainie Giles More Tomasewski by Del Staecker Random Survival by Ray Wenck Runt Wade by Robert G. Rogers

Steeled for Murder by KM Rockwood Tales of Tomasewski by Del Staecker Annabel Horton, Lost Witch of Salem by Vera Jane Cook 2012: The Rising by Joanne Hirase Crazy Greta by David Hardy The Dominus Runes by Peter Lukes The Grimm Legacy by Addie J. King Reunion by Joanna Fay a Rafflecopter giveaway Winners who reside outside the Continental United States will receive their prize in e-book format. All must be claimed by May 15, 2014 or they are forfeited. Prizes will be shipped May 17, 2014. Giveaway begins May 1, 2014 and ends midnight CST May 10, 2014

Celebrate the Small Things 2-5-14

This post is part of VikLit's blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things. Head on over there to join up! 

So, what am I celebrating this week?




Firstly, I'm celebrating finishing the A-Z challenge.  This is my third year doing it, and every year I swear I'll never do it again.  But yet, every year I wind up back again.  It's fun, but definitely a time-suck.  I tried to visit a lot of different blogs this year by randomly scrolling down the sign-up list and visiting whatever blog my cursor fell on.  There are a lot of interesting people out there!

I'm also celebrating a successful week in contests.  I submitted a pitch to Spencer Hill Contemporary via Brenda Drake's blog and got a request, and I made the Vegas round in Pitch Slam which got me 3 more requests.  All four were for STUMPED which makes me all kinds of happy because I so totally love that book.  I have every finger and toe crossed that the requests will lead somewhere because I really want Ozzy's story out in the world where you can all read it.

I'm celebrating (hopefully) having time to write again. Now that all that April nonsense is out of the way, it's time to actually write again.  I'm vacillating between trying to knuckle down and get inspired by my almost-finished WIP that's been languishing since October while I revised and edited and did other things, or to dive into something new and shiny.  I have an idea I like and a style I want to experiment with for it, but it feels like cheating to leave Lana hanging while I run off with a new character.  Especially since I'm probably less than 20K from the end of her story.

What are you celebrating this week?