Jessica Bayliss's Blog, page 12

Crossroads Blog Tour: Full list of participating bloggers

The crossroads blog tour is less than two weeks away. Here's a full list of the bloggers who will be participating. For each day of the tour, which takes place October 26-31, you can stop by each of these sites including my own, for a bunch of chances to win prizes, including the grand prize of an Amazon Gift card. Stay tuned here on my site for an announcement of more details. I'll fill you in on a special prize I plan to give away in addition to the fun swag I have handy. ...

Leap Books opening up submissions to UNAGENTED authors for some Bloody Good YA horror reads

Just in time for Halloween! Leap Books just announced that they are in the mood for a little YA Horror, so they're opening up submissions for their Shine line to both
agented and UNAGENTED authors who have YA novellas in the horror genre.

This is such an exciting opportunity to work with an incredibly talented and supportive team that produces quality fiction for young readers of all ages.
Here are the deets from Leap Books co-founder and editor, Judith Graves:

I...

Halloween Book Hop: Join us for some tricks and treats.

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, so this year, I'm participating in two different spooky blog events. In addition to the 7 days of fun and giveaways during the Crossroads Blog Tour, I'll also be joining over 100 other authors for the Halloween Book Hop, a two-week long Facebook event that will give lucky trick-or-treaters a chance to win up to ten prizes a day! How can you go wrong? Books, swag, and lots of fun. So check out my Facebook Page and my blog right here for more deta...

Cover Reveal: "Fright before Christmas"

It's the most wonderful time of year...or is it?Christmas Eve is a night of mystery and magic, but not always in ways we expect. Things lurk in the shadows and they're not the least bit jolly or merry. Let's just say some presents are better left unopened.‘Tis the season to be screaming along with our thirteen tales of holiday horrors. Ghosts. Monsters. Demons. And more! This Christmas, be careful what you wish for... Not only do I get to reveal the awesome cover for the next Leap Books antholo...

It's a Writer Thing: Further musings on the phenomenon of the premature query (with graphics!)

In my last It’s a Writer Thing post, I wrote about the day I finished my first book and the thought process I had when I made my deeply misguided decision to query way too soon, which of course resulted in a bunch of rejections. The worst part of this story is, I did my homework. I read all the articles that outlined what I should do, then I ignored them. What the hell was I thinking? I'll tell you EXACTLY what I was thinking. Since I’m a visual person, I decided to represent this graph...

The Crossroads Blog Tour is coming!

This Halloween, meet us at THE CROSSROADS…
The Crossroads Blog tour makes a repeat appearance with more great authors and titles you’ll DIE to read! And this year we’re featuring both young adult and middle grade paranormal / horror / thriller tales. Check back in afew weeks for more info on the 2015 tour which will take place October 26-30, 2015.

The official author lineup will be announced soon, but I can tell you, they'll be worth checking back for (I happen to have some insider...

On finishing that first book and the phenomenon of premature querying

Although my serious writing days began about five years ago, I feel like the world’s most perpetual newbie. The number of writing-related things I have to Google each day is embarrassing. This last year has been the biggest whirlwind yet. Not only have I enjoyed my first successes (i.e, those holy s**t! moments when you realize it can really happen to you), I’ve also learned more than in the previous four years combined. About the craft and myself as an writer. About the business of bei...

A Great Moment ...

The power of affirmations

Over the last few weeks, I've been thinking about how crazy it is that prior to December, I hadn't had a single fiction piece published or even accepted for publication. Then the "Beware the Little White Rabbit" acceptance came, and I had my first story. I danced around so much in joy, my husband got anxious I'd sprain something (which, I've had the misfortune to do in the past, so his concern wasn't misplaced).

So what does this all have to do with today's post? I used to fear I'd never get a...

Need I say more?