Liebster Award

The lovely Emilyann Girdner gave me a Liebster Award! Which means I finally have something to blog about. Thanks Emilyann, and all my blog followers! Y'all mean a lot to me. <3

The Liebster Blog Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. “Liebster” is German for “favorite”. This award is considered a "favorite blog award."



The rules of the Liebster Award are:Answer the blogger's eleven questions.Think of eleven questions of your own.Choose eleven worthy bloggers (with fewer than 200 followers) to pay it forward.

1. What is your favorite song?
Favorite ever? Oh my goodness. I'm gonna go with To Build a Home by The Cinematic Orchestra. But my current favorite is State of Grace by Taylor Swift. It's perfection.

2. Cats or Dogs? Why?
Dogs. Puppies--especially yorkshire terriers--are the most adorable things ever. Though kittens are a close second.

3. What is your favorite book from childhood?
The Giver by Lois Lowry

4. If you had to pick a different occupation, what would it be?
Singing/songwriting

5. Do you have a favorite flower?
Not really...pansies are pretty.

6. Mac or PC?
I LOVE my Macbook Pro. <3

7. Who would you pick if you had the opportunity to interview a historical figure?
The Doctor. He isn't real, you say? Psh.
Maybe Hitler. That'd be interesting, especially since I can't understand German.

8. Do you believe in love at first sight?
I didn't used to...but yes, I do. I think it's possible.

9. What is your favorite genre of book and why?
YA sci-fi and fantasy because it's the ultimate escape, and yet it often encompasses everything I feel or want to be.

10. What are you most proud of in life?
My writing. The fact that it's something I started at such a young age and stuck with, so that I accomplished half of my writing goals before turning twenty.

11. What obstacle has been the toughest for you to overcome in your life?
Self-esteem, particularly in the area of beauty. I have jaw issues similar to TMJ--but without the pain, thank goodness--that resulted in five years of braces, jaw surgery, and another surgery I have to have later this year. So, life's been tough in that respect. Though I feel extremely blessed in some other areas.


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Ohh man, I have no idea who to tag. Seriously. So, YOU, you super-mega-foxy-awesome-hot person who are reading this, go forth and accept your award! Answer the questions I answered above. Because I'm lazy. And have a school project I need to finish right now. :P

Hope you all have a great week!

The Next Big Thing

I keep seeing all of these wonderful writers doing this meme called "The Next Big Thing"--most recently Leigh Ann Kopans. This meme revolves around a project we're currently working on. I'm working on something brand-new--like super FRESH new--like "I just came up with this idea last night" new. But I'm so fascinated by it that I want to share some of it with you. Not a lot...but a few details.

What is the working title of your book?
Advance. Which is pretty lame. I'm 98% sure I'll come up with something better soon.

Where did the idea come from for this book?
This picture. (Yes, it's a Dementor. No, I didn't realize that when I first saw the picture.)

What genre does your book fall under?
YA sci-fi

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
I don't have actors, but I have pictures.
Here's Marley:



Here's Forrest:

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
After a virus infiltrates the human race and forces alien medics to step in to save humanity, 17-year-old Marley is one of the children left praying her body won't succumb to illness before her soul is mature enough for Advancement to a new body. But when the Advanced start dying, she's forced to find an alternative--and reconsider the origin of the virus.
(yup, I used two sentences. shoot me.)

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
My work is represented by the vruxing FANTASTIC Alison Fargis of Stonesong.

What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?
Earth's social structure revolves around twelve major hospitals. Everyone lives inside the Wards. There are also creepy aliens, invisible things, and transportable souls. And ROMANCE.

Book to Watch Out For: CREWEL

If you haven't heard of this book yet...I don't know where you've been.

CREWEL by Gennifer Albin

I had the pleasure of getting my hands on an ARC of this a couple months ago. Here's the reaction I jotted down immediately after:

My mind is still reeling from this book. It's built on such a cool concept. I didn't quite know what to expect going in, but the story went somewhere far cooler than I imagined. The pacing did feel off at times, and minor characterization issues made me pause. But the romance was lovely, and the weaving of the world was so intriguing, I couldn't put CREWEL down. And the ending...it left me drooling for the next book.

So, what's the book about??

A girl who weaves time with matter.

Yes, you heard me. Is that not the coolest thing ever? In Adelice Lewys's world, girls who are gifted with this ability become Spinsters, working for the Guild to create and mend the very fabric of the world.

But Adelice doesn't want to be a Spinster. Which means she has to escape.

CREWEL hits bookstores October 16th. I assure you, you'll want to get your hands on a copy!

Preorder it now at:

Indie Bound
Barnes and Nobles
Amazon

Pitch On Workshop - HATING

Title: HATING

Genre: YA Verse

Word-count: 35,000

Pitch: Overwhelmed by grief and guilt after his brother Jason's death, 17 year-old Ric crashes his dead brother's car, injures gifted athlete Kate, and ends up in a juvenile justice centre where his music and Kate, the person who hates him most, are the only things that might save him from self destruction. But first, he must come to terms with the past and find a way to face the future.

I like the sound of this, though I am a bit concerned about the word count. 35,000 sounds short for YA. Maybe it can be shorter if it's a novel in verse? Not sure.

The pitch's first sentence runs long, so if there were a way to split it up, that would be nice. I wonder if you could also tighten the pitch by combining the last sentence with the part about how Kate and Ric's music might help save him, as those parts feel redundant. Maybe something like:

Overwhelmed by grief and guilt after his brother's death, 17-year-old Ric crashes his dead brother's car, injures gifted athlete Kate, and ends up in a juvenile justice centre. Now, music and Kate, the person who hates him the most, might be the only things that can help him come to terms with the past before he destroys himself.

Readers, feel free to pipe in below!

***Don't forget...make sure to check out all of the workshop host blogs to critique more pitches. For each critique you leave in the comments, you get an entry into the drawing to win one of eight 10-page critiques from our contest host Sharon Johnston and workshop hosts Larissa Hardesty, Stephanie Diaz (that's me!), Catherine Scully, Jodie Andrefski, Paula Sangare, Talynn Lynn and Kaitlin Adams. Also, Sarah Nicolas will be giving away three query critiques! Please use the exact same name for all of your critiques. The opportunity ends 10/14/2012.***

Follow along on Twitter using the hashtag #PitchOn

Pitch On Workshop - FRACTURED MYTHS

Title: FRACTURED MYTHS

Genre: YA Contemporary Arthurian

Word Count: 84,000

PITCH:

When sixteen-year-old fantasy enthusiast Alanna O’Connor sees Vikings, medieval knights, and mythological creatures appear in her hometown of Edinburgh, she thinks it’s a miracle . . . until they try to kill her. Alanna teams up with the one person she knows she can trust: the newly arrived (and completely baffled) King Arthur. Together, they must stop the myth invasion before Scotland—if not all reality—is fractured beyond repair.

This is nice and clear! The premise is easy to follow, and the stakes are high. My one suggestion is to try to strengthen the voice a bit. You already have a start with the "completely baffled" bit, but adding more of that would make the pitch even better. For example, maybe you could change "she thinks it's a miracle" to "she thinks it's the coolest thing since sliced bread." Okay, not that, but something that's a more specific response for Alanna's character, to show some of her personality.

I'm intrigued by the idea of King Arthur in modern times. Nice job with this!

Readers, feel free to pipe in below!

***Don't forget...make sure to check out all of the workshop host blogs to critique more pitches. For each critique you leave in the comments, you get an entry into the drawing to win one of eight 10-page critiques from our contest host Sharon Johnston and workshop hosts Larissa Hardesty, Stephanie Diaz (that's me!), Catherine Scully, Jodie Andrefski, Paula Sangare, Talynn Lynn and Kaitlin Adams. Also, Sarah Nicolas will be giving away three query critiques! Please use the exact same name for all of your critiques. The opportunity ends 10/14/2012.***

Follow along on Twitter using the hashtag #PitchOn