COVER REVEAL: A Tale of Two Centuries by Rachel Harris

YAY! It's a cover reveal! Today I get to help the super sweet Rachel Harris (Entangled Pub. sister and all-around awesome person) with the cover reveal for her second novel, A TALE OF TWO CENTURIES!

Let's check out the blurb, shall we?

Alessandra D’Angeli is in need of an adventure. Tired of her sixteenth-century life in Italy and homesick for her time-traveling cousin, Cat, who visited her for a magical week and dazzled her with tales of the future, Alessandra is lost. Until the stars hear her plea.

One mystical spell later, Alessandra appears on Cat’s Beverly Hills doorstep five hundred years in the future. Surrounded by confusing gadgets, scary transportation, and scandalous clothing, Less is hesitant to live the life of a twenty-first century teen…until she meets the infuriating—and infuriatingly handsome—surfer Austin Michaels. Austin challenges everything she believes in…and introduces her to a world filled with possibility.

With the clock ticking, Less knows she must live every moment of her modern life while she still can. But how will she return to the drab life of her past when the future is what holds everything she’s come to love?

*drool* Sounds awesome, right?! Oh and, Austin, HEY BOY HEY!

Now for the COVER!!!

Go on, pet the pretty... You know you want to!

PLUS, there's an excerpt! Squee!

Austin pushes the red and black Jet Ski into the water, past the first few crashing waves, then throws a leg over the side. He turns to me, extending an upturned palm, but as I watch the water pound against his legs, I slowly shake my head and inch away. Forget the confusion of the past few minutes or my concern if riding wrapped around Austin is appropriate…are jet skis even safe? So far, my experience with modern machines has taught me that they travel at terrifying speeds. What if I were to accidently let go and fly off? I don’t know how to swim!

Austin’s face gentles and he curls his fingers, coaxing me closer to the watery death trap. “I’ve got you, Alessandra,” he says. “I promise nothing’s gonna hurt you. You can trust me.”

The sardonic guise he hides behind drops for just a moment, but it is enough.

I say a quick prayer and place my hand in his.

With my legs straddling the seat, my arms wrapped tightly around Austin’s firm stomach, and my chest and face pressed against his back, I do not need the extra layer my wetsuit provides. I am quite warm without it. Under me, the engine rumbles. Austin grabs my clasped hands, ensuring my death grip. And then we are flying.

Fear is left behind me on the beach. My laughter is swallowed by the wind. And I hold onto Austin. The rest of the world falls away as he powers the machine forward. Whistling sound envelops us yet there’s also silence in the midst of the roar. Out here, there’s no room for worrisome thoughts about the future or about the past. No time for concerns over when I will return or how much I miss my family. In this bubble of Austin, wind, and water, all I can do is live and breathe and smile.

Austin spins us in circles and then we fly straight ahead, free as the winged creatures overhead. He bounces us over a swell and a spray of water splashes my face, tickling the skin left exposed from my wetsuit. I squeal, and under my clasped hands, I feel his taut stomach muscles shake with laughter. Then he takes off again in another sharp turn, racing in the opposite direction of which we came. Excitement has me screaming, asking him to go faster. I close my eyes against the sting of the salty air and the lash of my hair and tilt my head back, feeling more uninhibited than I ever have before.

More free, more alive…just more.

As a teen, Rachel Harris threw raging parties that shook her parents’ walls and created embarrassing fodder for future YA novels. As an adult, she reads and writes obsessively, rehashes said embarrassing fodder, and dreams up characters who become her own grown up version of imaginary friends.

When she's not typing furiously or flipping pages in an enthralling romance, you can find her homeschooling her two beautiful princesses, hanging out with her amazing husband, or taking a hot bubble bath…next to a pile of chocolate. A Tale of Two Centuries is her second novel. 

Follower her (cuz she's amaze-balls):  

Twitter 

Facebook

PRE-ORDER: Amazon..... B&N...

There's one more thing. That's right, A GIVEAWAY!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congrats on the gorgeous cover, Rachel!!! Can't wait to read about Less and Austin! 

DEAR CASSIE Cover Reveal

Got a beautiful cover from the awesome Lisa Burstein to show you today!

But first, in addition to the DEAR CASSIE cover reveal, Lisa is hosting an EPIC CONTEST to celebrate DEAR CASSIE’ s cover reveal.  Lisa wants you guys to share diary entries of your favorite fictional characters with her. That’s right, choose ANY character from books, TV, movies, a cereal box and write a 500-750 length diary entry from their point of view.

She'll will choose the top 5 and then let the masses vote on their favorite. The favorite will be published in the final version of DEAR CASSIE. You read that right, published with the author’s name! The additional four will win $20 book buying gift cards.

So get diary-ing! Send your entries to prettyamystories@yahoo.com by January 1st!

Voting for the top 5 will begin January 7th, with the winner being announced January 14th!

Now on to the COVER!!!

Gorgeous, right?!

Blurb: What if the last place you should fall in love is the first place that you do?

You’d think getting sent to Turning Pines Wilderness Camp for a month-long rehabilitation “retreat” and being forced to re-live it in this journal would be the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.

You’d be wrong.

There’s the reason I was sent to Turning Pines in the first place: I got arrested. On prom night. With my two best friends, who I haven’t talked to since and probably never will again. And then there’s the real reason I was sent here. The thing I can’t talk about with the guy I can’t even think about.

What if the moment you’ve closed yourself off is the moment you start to break open?

                                                                                                                                 

But there’s this guy here. Ben. And the more I swear he won’t—he can’t—the deeper under my skin he’s getting. After the thing that happened, I promised I’d never fall for another boy’s lies.

And yet I can’t help but wonder…what if?

AND there's an excerpt! 

Excerpt: We kept walking on the lake trail, the bullfrogs croaking. There was also a humming in my ears from the nicotine.

 It could only be from the nicotine. It had nothing to do with being outside, at night, alone with Ben. It had nothing to do with Ben coming to the cabin and taking me instead of Nez and it definitely had nothing to do with the stars above us shining like they were the sky’s tiara. 

I stopped on the trail and looked up, taking them in, when all of a sudden bright colored lights exploded in the sky—fireworks, one after another, on top of each other, huge kaleidoscopes of light, like sparkling rainbow spiders.

“How did you know?” I asked, my voice going softer, like if I talked too loudly they would stop. It was so beautiful, after weeks of so much ugly. 

Ben turned to look at me, the colored lights in the sky turning his skin pink, blue, green. “I’m magic.” He shrugged.

I geared up to tell him to fuck off, because that was some corny-ass shit, but then I realized that he really kind of was. In that moment he was able to actually make me forget being me.

 “I would try to kiss you,” he said, “but I’m afraid you’d kick me in the balls.”

“I probably would.” I laughed, the sky filling with noisy color like paint launching from a giant popcorn popper. “But like I said, it wouldn’t be about you.”

“I guess I’ll have to figure out how to make it about me,” he said, taking off his boots and socks and standing. “Come on.”

“There is no way I am getting near that water again,” I said.

“I’ll make sure nothing happens to you,” he said, holding his hand out to help me up.

            I looked at his palm, open, waiting, just wanting to hold mine. For once, I didn’t think about anything except that there was a cute, sweet, smart-ass boy standing in front of me with his hand out.

I pulled off my boots and socks and took it.  

We stood at the lakeshore, our hands still clasped, the water licking our feet, fireworks decorating the sky.

I turned to him. He was looking up, his mouth open in wonder like he was trying to swallow the moment.

It was definitely one worth keeping.

DEAR CASSIE pre-buy links:

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13628374-dear-cassie

The Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/Dear-Cassie-Lisa-Burstein/9781620612545

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Dear-Cassie-Lisa-Burstein/dp/1620612542/

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dear-cassie-lisa-burstein/1113610316

PRETTY AMY Links:

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13375237-pretty-amy

Powells: http://www.powells.com/biblio/62-9781620611197-0

The Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/Pretty-Amy-Lisa-Burstein/9781620611197

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Pretty-Amy-Lisa-Burstein/dp/1620611198/

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pretty-amy-lisa-burstein/1108930786

About the Author: Lisa Burstein is a tea seller by day and a writer by night. She received her MFA in Fiction from the Inland Northwest Center for Writers at Eastern Washington University. She lives in Portland, OR, with her very patient husband, a neurotic dog and two cats. Dear Cassie is her second novel.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#%21/LisaBurstein

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LisaBursteinAuthor

Website: http://www.lisaburstein.com

So, what do you guys think? I love it! All the words! And the guy looks cute ;) Let me know in the comments!

How to kickstart your muse

I was in a slight slump the other day. I wanted my mind to wander, to imagine all those lovely, awesome new book ideas, but my brain just didn't want to cooperate. So, I asked Twitter and the fantastic ladies over on the WrAHM Facebook group if anyone had tips or tricks for getting the muse into gear. I received tons of great responses, and here they are! (Please click on their tweets to go to their twitters. Then follow these ladies because they're AWESOME!)

(Click on these ladies' names to head over to their blogs, or in some cases, their twitters, for more amazing content!)

Shallee McArthur says, "I have a playlist on YouTube for each book and use it to help me 'get in the mood' before I start writing (when I'm drafting, I can't listen to music while writing). When rewriting, I often have a song on the list for specific scenes, and I listen to that song while I work on the rewrite."

Bethany Crandell has a unique suggestion ;) : "My muse loves it when I blow my hair dry. Must be all the white noise and fumes from the hair product."

Tristina Wright says, "Pinterest inspiration boards! I have a board for each of my books plus generic writing and character boards where I keep ideas for future stories."

Melissa Brady King agrees with Bethany: "The hair dryer has some weird connection to my brain. It blows ideas in my ears or something. Good ideas sometimes occur when I'm folding laundry, but I often get inspired while running and listening to my WIP playlist."

Katherine Ernst recommends asking a lot of "What if?" questions. "Even when I think I know where the plot is going, I like to ask myself questions about whether this plot element or that character choice could be changed or modified. Could this twist be added, or that character be different. Many ideas get thrown away, but sometimes asking those sorts of questions leads to really interesting story choices that wouldn't have been discovered otherwise."

Melissa Blanco also likes listening to her playlist and going for a run. She also says, "Whenever I sit down to write, I read over the last scene I wrote." (I also like doing this. I feel like it gets me back into the story and I might catch a few typos in the process.)

H.E. Gryphus likes Pinterest, as well, and adds, "Staring at a fire... Seriously... I did it this weekend and kept running back to the house to write down notes."

Erica Covey says, "Listening to music or going outside/playing with the kids works best for me. Actually doing anything that prevents me from writing down notes (shower, rocking baby to sleep, baking) is sure to give me a few ideas." (THIS happens to me all the time, too! Which is why I put a voice recorder app on my phone!)

Jessica Opfer has this same thing happen to her, too. "I tend to play scenes in my head while I am swimming laps, walking the dog, or feeding the baby. So yeah, any time I can't actually write things down is pretty much when the best thinking happens. Go figure!"

Robin Lucas goes for a nap. Sometimes our brain just needs to recharge, I think.

Melissa Hurst says, "I use a notepad to write ideas down when I start a scene and I don't know where I'm heading. I include anything that comes to mind no matter how weird it sounds." (I love this suggestion because one never knows what thoughts are going to lead to that AMAZING idea!)

Alexandra O'Connor recommends a shower (I'm on the shower team too!). "Seriously, all my good ideas come to me when I don't have a dang thing to write them on. I have to keep repeating key phrases over and over until I'm done."

Do you have any suggestions for kickstarting the muse??? Please, leave them in the comments!

OPAL by Jennifer L. Armentrout Reveal

No one is like Daemon Black.
When he set out to prove his feelings for me, he wasn’t fooling around. Doubting him isn’t something I’ll do again, and now that we’ve made it through the rough patches, well... There’s a lot of spontaneous combustion going on.But even he can’t protect his family from the danger of trying to free those they love. After everything, I’m no longer the same Katy. I’m different... And I’m not sure what that will mean in the end. When each step we take in discovering the truth puts us in the path of the secret organization responsible for torturing and testing hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I’m capable of. The death of someone close still lingers, help comes from the most unlikely source, and friends will become the deadliest of enemies, but we won’t turn back. Even if the outcome will shatter our worlds forever.

Together we’re stronger... and they know it.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Follow this link to an ~~~ EPIC CONTEST ~~~ Announcement. You will want to bookmark this page!

http://jenniferarmentrout.blogspot.com/p/october-1-2012.html

USA TODAY Bestselling author, Jennifer L. Armentrout, lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell, Loki. Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She also writes adult romance under the name J. Lynn.

Find Jennifer on: Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Website | Blog

Cover Reveal - The Collector by Victoria Scott

Okay guys, I've been waiting for this one! The Collector by Victoria Scott, Entangled Teen sister!

Here's a little about it:

Dante Walker is flippin’ awesome, and he knows it. His good looks, killer charm, and stellar confidence have made him one of hell’s best—a soul collector. His job is simple, weed through humanity and label those round rears with a big red good or bad stamp. Old Saint Nick gets the good guys, and he gets the fun ones. Bag-and-tag.

Sealing souls is nothing personal. Dante’s an equal opportunity collector and doesn’t want it any other way. But he’ll have to adjust, because Boss Man has given him a new assignment:

Collect Charlie Cooper’s soul within 10 days.

Dante doesn’t know why Boss Man wants Charlie, nor does he care. This assignment means only one thing to him, and that’s a permanent ticket out of hell. But after Dante meets the quirky, Nerd Alert chick he’s come to collect—he realizes this assignment will test his abilities as a collector, and uncover emotions deeply buried.
 

Mmmmm, sounds yummy, yes?! But wait, there's more! We have a few quotes from the main man himself, Dante Walker!

And now for the reveal. Drumroll, please!

Author Interview with Lisa Burstein

Yay! Lisa Burstein has agreed to be my very first interview! Isn't she brave?!

Greta and the Goblin King Cover Reveal!!!

Y'all are going to LOVE this one! I was gobsmacked by this covers beauty! GRETA AND THE GOBLIN KING by Entangled sister Chloe Jacobs releases November 13, 2012, and is about, well... Here, read this:


While trying to save her brother four years ago, Greta was thrown into the witch’s fire herself, falling through a portal to a dangerous world where humans are the enemy, and every ogre, goblin, and ghoul has a dark side that comes out with the full moon.


To survive, seventeen-year-old Greta has hidden her humanity and taken the job of bounty hunter—and she’s good at what she does. So good, she’s caught the attention of Mylena’s young Goblin King, the darkly enticing Isaac, who invades her dreams and undermines her determination to escape.


But Greta’s not the only one looking to get out of Mylena. The full moon is mere days away, and an ancient evil knows she’s the key to opening the portal. If Greta fails, she and the lost boys of Mylena will die. If she succeeds, no world will be safe from what follows her back…


Doesn't that sound freaking AWESOME?!?!?! And here's what you've been waiting for. Rest your weary eyes on this:

Stefanie is Bedazzled!

Once upon a time, there was a girl who went searching for a writer buddy. After meeting a few people, this girl thought she would never find "The One". Nobody was clicking with her. In an act of desperation, the girl posted on the AbsoluteWrite.com forums, titling the post "Can a girl get a writer buddy :)". The heavens shined down on her then. Her savior came in the form of a girl who wrote awesome YA and was funny and just as silly as the girl was. It was the start of a beautiful friendship.

Okay, maybe that was a little dramatic, but considering the impact this writer buddy has had on me, the dramatics are warranted. I first started exchanging emails with Stefanie Gaither back on March 27, 2011. Over the past year, Stef has become not only a writer buddy, but also a dear friend. I even had a dream once in which we met at a writing conference. When we saw each other in said dream, there was lots of hugging and girly squealing (later, when I told Stef about the dream she said she would have tackle hugged me, lol). After the hugs, we became detectives to find the person trying to sabotage our writing... But back to the point of this blog post.

Without Stef's help, my writing would not be what it is today. She taught me the difference between its and it's. She opened my eyes to the wonders of the semi-colon and the emdash. She's tried to help me with my comma problems, but that is a lost cause. She has always been honest about my writing without being harsh. She's helped me out of many writer blocks including one last night. She listened to me rant about how hard writing is and life in general. We have stayed up into the early morning hours just being crazy.

Needless to say, Stef will be getting a very heartfelt acknowledgement at the end of THE SUMMER I BECAME A NERD  because, if not for her, the book would be crap.

Here's just a small collection of things we've traded in chat sessions (of which, there have been "many" or that's what gmail says, apparently there are too many to count), emails, through facebook, and twitter. Enjoy the crazy!

Lucky 7-ish

I've been tagged by a couple of cool mamma-jammas with this, but I haven't gotten to page 77 on my WIP yet so I wasn't going to do it. But, after reading all the other fantasticness, I can't help myself. So I figure, since I don't have a page 77 yet, then I can pick from anywhere. Right, we'll go with that!

The Rules:

1. Go to page 77 of your current MS.
2. Go to line 7.
3. Copy down the next 7 lines/sentences, and post them as they’re written. No cheating.
4. Tag 7 other victims …er, authors.

Excerpt:

 Just when I'm about to give up the ghost and betray my beliefs by saying that I never really saw what the big fuss was about when it came to The Lord of the Rings, she shocks the hell out of me.

“How did you know Two Towers is my favorite one?”

My eyes widen and the next few sounds out of my mouth could never, ever be construed as actual words. “Guh... Uhh... Bah?”

Her hands start to dance nervously over the plastic pages of the binder as she says, “I mean, yeah,” she shrugs, “we could watch that.”

Thanks to Kate Avelynn, Tracy Rohlfing, and Tiffany Truitt for tagging me!

I only have a couple of people I'm going to tag because I can't think of anyone else who hasn't been tagged and even these people have probably been tagged and I just don't know it. So, if you haven't been tagged yet and want to participate, just say so in the comments and I'll add you to the list here! Cool? Cool!

Ophelia London

Suze W

A Bookish Fangirl Friday!

Happy Birthday to Juliette Binoche! Happy one day early Birthday to Jon Hamm and Rick Rubin!

I've been doing a lot of reading lately, and man, have I struck gold. The first book that blew me away was:

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith (Click image for Goodreads page)

Such a lovely story. I will definitely be adding other books by this author to my TBR pile. This is exactly what it's supposed to be. A love story. The characters are deep and well-developed even though the story only happens in maybe 2 days. Worth the read if you're into love stories and cute British boys.

And just because it's fun to look at covers and especially those from other countries, here's a few for this book.

Pretty Amy Cover Reveal is Pretty!

I've been waiting on this one, folks, and I have not been disappointed!


Here's a little about this awesome upcoming book:


PRETTY AMY releasing May 15th


Amy is fine living in the shadows of beautiful Lila and uber-cool Cassie, because at least she?s somewhat beautiful and uber-cool by association. But when their dates stand them up for prom, and the girls take matters into their own hands?earning them a night in jail outfitted in satin, stilettos, and Spanx?Amy discovers even a prom spent in handcuffs might be better than the humiliating ?rehabilitation techniques? now filling up her summer. Worse, with Lila and Cassie parentally banned, Amy feels like she has nothing?like she is nothing.


Navigating unlikely alliances with her new coworker, two very different boys, and possibly even her parents, Amy struggles to decide if it?s worth being a best friend when it makes you a public enemy. Bringing readers along on an often hilarious and heartwarming journey, Amy finds that maybe getting a life only happens once you think your life is over.


And ze COVER!

Fangirl Friday!

Happy Birthday to Billy Zane, Edward James Olmos, and Barry Bostwick!

So, I'm sure you've heard, but I must talk about this awesome news: J.K. Rowling will release a new adult book! Here's GalleyCat's announcment: http://t.co/DrMt9OHV

I mean, seriously people, I can't wait! I wonder if it will have any fantastical aspects. Or if it will just be straight up real things happening to real people. In my mind, J.K. can do no wrong. She could write about how to make haggis and I'd read it. And probably love it.

And there's your LOL for the day. You're welcome. I got this from my Pinterest. Harry Potter memes are my new obsession. Check it out :)

Oh yeah, and there's this:

AW YEAH! Are you kidding me?! How awesome does that look?!

And that's it. Post in the comments, tell me what you're fangirl/guy squealing about!

(Cover Reveal) 7 Awesome Things About Tara Fuller's INBETWEEN

Number 1: The blurb for INBETWEEN (Kissed by Death, #1) by Tara Fuller coming out August 7, 2012:


Since the car crash that took her father’s life three years ago, Emma’s
life has been a freaky—and unending—lesson in caution. Surviving
“accidents” has taken priority over being a normal seventeen-year-old, so
Emma spends her days taking pictures of life instead of living it. Falling
in love with a boy was never part of the plan. Falling for a reaper who
makes her chest ache and her head spin? Not an option.

It’s not easy being dead, especially for a reaper in love with a girl fate
has put on his list not once, but twice. Finn’s fellow reapers give him
hell about spending time with Emma, but Finn couldn't let her die before,
and he’s not about to let her die now. He will protect the girl he loves
from the evil he accidentally unleashed, even if it means sacrificing the
only thing he has left…his soul.


Number 2: There is no way you can tell me that doesn't make you want more! *swoon* 


Number 3: The cover:

Fangirl Friday!

I know, Fangirl Friday seems to be the only posts I'm doing lately, but things have been busy in Leahland. I promise to work up some other stuff soon :)

Happy Birthday to Elizabeth Banks, Robert Wagner, and Emma Roberts!

New The Avengers stuff!!! ....homina, homina, homina....

"I have an army." "We have a Hulk." *fangirl squealllll*

Speaking of comics, for the longest time I've kind of been avoiding reading the new Astonishing X-Men due to the absence of Jean Grey (my FAVORITE comic character), but I finally gave in when my brother insisted I catch up. And, you guys... WOW! As much as I hate to admit it because of the whole Jean Grey issue, it is awesome! I highly recommend it even if you've never been into comics. I mean, just look:

Day 80: I Open The Red Pens *Dun, Dun, Duuuuunnnn*

I thought that when I finally finished my first draft it would be all unicorns and rainbows. The heavens would open up and shine down upon me, warming my writerly heart with relief.

Yeah, not so much.

I felt deflated. I felt scared and worried. Here I have this thick stack of utter crap which I must now polish and coax into a shimmering diamond. What the hell have I gotten myself into???

There are whole side plots that I know I want to add and I haven't even created them yet. I'm starting to lose confidence in my first five pages (is it really writer suicide to begin with a dream?). And on top of all this, I have to write the most amazing, spectacular query letter and a synopsis. I have to research agents, which is kind of fun at first but quickly becomes intimidating. I'm not even going to talk about all the mother/wifey stuff I still have to take care of. (But you just did talk about it, Leah. Yeah, I know. Hush.)

After discussing all this with the DH (who is completely amazing, BTW), he said, "Go take a hot shower and don't think about it for a while."

See, I have a theory about hot showers. I was watching Food Network one day. They were doing a special on spicy food and this scientist guy comes on and says something like, "The reason people like spicy food is because when the heat hits our mouth, the body interprets this as pain and sends out endorphins to help us handle it." I believe the same thing happens when you take a nice, hot shower. I believe this because during that shower I thought something I hadn't thought in weeks.

"I have a good idea. This is a good story. I just need to improve it."

Later, after everyone passed out, I grabbed my newly printed stack of utter crap, opened the brand new pack of red pens, and began reading. Next thing I knew, it was forty minutes later and I'd practically covered five pages in red ink. Let's see, 187 pages divided by 5 is 37.4, 37.4 times 40 minutes is 1496 minutes which is 24.93333333333 hours. This shouldn't be too bad.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that sometimes I freak out but in the end I know that I just have to do the thing that I'm freaking out about and get over it.

Suck it up, Miller! You better get back to reading every post on QueryShark and EvilEditor! You continue to stalk all those agent blogs! And, for the love of all that is holy, don't be afraid to strike through that entire sentence you slaved over last month because it just doesn't serve the story!

Good work out there, Miller, now hit the showers.

*As a side note, I'd like to give a big shout out to Myra McEntire whose blog is great. To know that she's about to release her first novel and it wasn't long ago that she was dealing with the same things I'm dealing with now, well... It just makes me feel a ton better. Plus, she's hilarious.

Day 72: Good To Be Informed, Right?

Ah, the internet. It is a never ending stream of information. It is an ocean of knowledge. It makes me want to pull my freakin' hair out!!!

I've read I don't know how many "How to get your book published" blog posts. The good ones, done by people I like and pretty much trust their opinion (Kiersten White and Gretchen McNeil to name a couple), seem to say the same things. Write, write, write, edit, edit, edit, query, query, query, and, above all, don't give up. Great advice that I intend on following! It's the query, query, query part that gets me frustrated.

I go through spurts of wanting to learn as much about the publishing industry as I can. I visit recommended sites like Agentquery.com and Querytracker.net and I search for YA agents. Agentquery gives me 346 and Querytracker gives me 342 (*at the time of this blog's posting). So, I start at the beginning, going to the first agent's blog. Lots of info to take in there which is good since a querying writer should investigate any potential agents thoroughly so said writer can tell if they will gel with said agents. I glance at her blogroll and notice a plethora of other agent and writing blogs.

"Oh, that looks good. I'll check it out," I say.

Before I know it, I have twenty tabs open and I feel more confused than when I started! *sigh*

After having this particular scenario happen multiple times in the past couple of months, I've realized some things.

1. I need to focus. Don't get distracted by the shiny blog about publishing trends or the fun website that can tell you what famous author you write like (I'm like Stephen King, woot!).
2. This calls for more new office supplies. (I can always find a reason why a new endeavor deserves a brand new notebook. Preferably one with college ruled paper, spiral binding, and very stiff backing. I hate a floppy notebook.)
3. This is going to take FOREVER!

So, I'll leave the agent sites alone for today because I haven't bought my new notebook yet (this purchase will also include some type of chocolate, I'm sure) and I'll get back to what really matters: THE WRITING. Because it doesn't matter how much research you do or how convinced you are that you've found the agent that will "get you". What matters is that you write that book! The book that will have agents chomping at the bit to represent you!

Well, a girl can dream...

Day 70: Reading in Preparation...

As I finish this last part of my first draft, I've decided to do some reading in preparation for editing. I really think it is helping. I started reading Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. Really good so far. She has an interesting voice and I'm loving her descriptions. It is helping me see what is lacking in my writing. I'm already planning on how to make my stuff better. I also plan on rereading some books that I've found especially good recently. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, The Fallen Series by Lauren Kate, among others.

I'm promising myself that I will NOT look at these awesome books and say, "I should just throw in the towel. This is so much better than mine.", like I did at the beginning of this process. I've come to believe I have a great idea and I don't think anything could put me off of it now *knocks on wood*.

I also plan on ordering the biggest, bestest Thesaurus available!

In other news, I have to put out into the intraweb universe that I LOVE An Idiot Abroad!

Happy Oscar Day, ya'll!

Day 60: Music...

After reading Stephanie Perkins's blog post yesterday, I went on a music hunt. She posted a completely amazing song that hit a nerve with me and my WIP.

So, I thought maybe discovering some new music would get me out of this writing slump I'm in. I was looking for weird, unique, dreamy, and pretty music. I hit up my Facebook friends and got a lot of good suggestions. Here's some of the stuff I came up with.

Got anymore suggestions for me? Is there music that you always listen to when you write? Or does it depend on what you're writing?