Book Expo America 2013!

I am at BEA this weekend! 

And I will be doing my first book signing ever!!!

I will do a follow up post to talk all about the amazing fun I had while I was there, and posting pictures! Until then, follow BEA on Facebook here:

https://www.facebook.com/bookexpoamerica?fref=ts

and Twitter here:

https://twitter.com/BookExpoAmerica

so you can follow along with us! Have a great weekend!

5 Website Resources for YA Writers

As I am currently in the midst of querying one project, polishing another, and making notes on a rewrite for this summer I have been hitting the internet for help. I thought I would share five resources I seem to be using a lot lately.

1. QueryTracker - By far one of the best sites for fiction writers. You can create a free profile (or upgrade for more features with a paid subscription). From there you can research agents, publishers, find critique partners, and get query critiques, among other helpful advice.

2. The Bookshelf Muse - I love this site! Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi run this blog helping fellow writers with all of their descriptive needs. From weather, color, settings, emotions, physical traits, character traits, to symbolism they have you covered.

3. Guide to Literary Agents - Chuck Sambuchino runs this Writer's Digest blog helping fiction writers find an agent. He spotlights new agents regularly and lists their current interests. Really helpful, especially if you are in the query process.

4. Adventures in YA Publishing - I really enjoy this blog run by Martina Boone, Jan Lewis, Clara Kensie, and Lisa Gail Green. Not only do they host a First Five Pages Workshop monthly, but they also keep readers up to date with publishing news, book releases, contests, and craft tips. 

5. 101 of the Best Fiction Writing Tips - This is a four-part blog series I stumbled upon recently on Write It Sideways. In this series links are provided to blog posts regarding a myriad of writing tips.

What websites do you highly recommend?

Contest Winner!!!

THE WINNER OF THE SIXTH COUNTDOWN TO THE RELEASE OF TRIANGLES CONTEST IS:

EDNAH!!!

Congratulations!

Thanks to everyone who read the blog and followed my characters these past months! Triangles comes out next month! I appreciate your support and excitement and look forward to the release and beyond!

I've Been Tagged!

My critique partner, Heather Simone, tagged me on a fun blog hop where we all get to talk about our WIP's. My WIP is still a newborn - an outline and a few chapters - so I was got a little superstitious about answering these questions. I mean, what if I start talking about it and the magic of writing the thing just goes POOF!

Ah, shucks! I'm a writer. I know how to live on the edge :) So here goes nothing...

Here are the questions! 

What is the working title of your book?
Miraculous Meggie

Where did the idea come from for the book?
I've had this idea for a LOOOONG time. I wanted to tell the story about a girl whose mother was a life coach, but didn't know where to go from there.

What genre does your book fall under?
Middle Grade Contemporary

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
I haven't started thinking about this. Someone young of course since my character is 11 y.o. She is an average kid. Cute, a little too serious for her own good. Have any ideas?

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? Meggie dreams of being the perfect big sister, but when her little sister, Dolly, is born with medical issues, Meggie turns to her crazy classmate, Wanda Huffnagle, to get her a miracle.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? The publisher of my first book, Holiday House, would be a great fit for this book I think. But I'm open.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? Uhm...still working on that :)

What other books would you compare this story to in your genre? I try not to compare because this is MY book, but I do love Rebecca Stead's style.

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest? Uhm...it takes place in Brooklyn, where I grew up and it's a lot of fun remembering my own childhood memories from that place. Here's one memory of a hot summer day in Brooklyn!

                                                           

Making the Cut

I did something recently that made me cringe. I cut a scene I truly loved. It was a scene that I thought was great, but two of my critique partners made comments asking what it's purpose was. I mulled it over, for months.

I mean, I loved that scene. It was fun, my characters let loose, and the setting was beautiful.

How could it not be working?

I decided I was going to keep it. Yet, there was a lingering sliver of doubt zinging around in my head. It wouldn't go away. They were right. There was something amiss with that scene. It didn't work. No conflict. No tension. Nothing building or moving the story forward. It might have been fun and I might have loved it, but it didn't work.

Then came the millions of questions trying to figure out how to revise the scene, to make it fit. Nothing I tried worked. I just couldn't seem to get the scene right.

Courtesy www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

So I did something that made me crazy. I deleted the scene.

And something amazing happened. The story didn't fall apart. Surprisingly I think it's stronger without that scene.

I still have that scene on file, saved just in case. But it isn't in the final version.

Have you ever had to cut a scene you loved? 

One Month Countdown to the Release of Triangles!

TRIANGLES comes out next month!!! It's coming fast! Today, the last character introduction is Dr. Harriett Hardy. Read on, and check out the contest that follows!

Hello. I’m Dr. Harriett Hardy. I’m the doctor on the cruise ship who helps the victims of the Bermuda Triangle. I can’t tell you much about myself, but I’ve been affected by the Triangle for quite some time. I do what I can to help people through it, but they really have to help themselves. 

I wish I could do more to help the suffering each person goes through, but I can’t. Until I can solve my own mystery and beat the Triangle, I’m stuck.

TODAY’S Giveaway:

1. Comment on this blog post about whatever YA books you have read this year that you want us to know about!

2. Please tweet about this contest using the hashtag #MysteriousBermudaTriangle. The link to that tweet may be included in your comment. If you don't have Twitter, you can do a status update on Facebook. Include that link. Doing both would be even better!

3. If you’d like, add Triangles to your Goodreads to-read list here: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13610402-triangles

 And/or

Like the Triangles page on Facebook here:

https://www.facebook.com/TrianglesYA?ref=hl

 

That's it!

Now for the prize:

Your choice of a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card!

Giveaway details:

Contest starts May 2, 2013, and ends May 15, 2013, 11:59pm EST. Winner will be announced May 16 on this blog.

Contest is for US readers only.

You must be 18 years old to enter.

Winner will be chosen using random.org.

For a complete list of rules, see our contest/giveaway policy page.