Sarah Mäkelä's Blog, page 41

A Weekly Update...

So, for now with the pressure of moving, helping with the awesome new fantasy-focused blog Castles & Guns (You should check it out. You know you want to.), and finishing up the remaining chapters of my urban fantasy novel (Yes, still...it's beginning to drive me crazy.), I'll be making weekly posts here so that I don't go absolutely crazy with trying to update it on more than that.

Anyways, I just finished reading Touch of Evil by C.T. Adams & Cathy Clamp. Really good urban fantasy book. At fi...

Ugh...

So I've been adding in edits from my critique partner to my urban fantasy manuscript before trying it out on the publishing world again. The only bad thing is that it's been bleeding words. That's great in some ways since I think a lot of the wordy, passive writing is now out. Except that I'm going to have to go back and add in a wee bit more description, depth! It's being cut too slim, and that's with adding another chapter. *sigh* I wish I were one of those writers that have to cut because ...

New Group Blog Update!

And no, just because I'm working on a group blog doesn't mean I'll abandon this one. I'll still churn out posts as I think of insightful things! But, I can now depart more information on it. It's called Castles & Guns. It's a "fantasy-focused site for those who love the genre. From the urban streets of downtown to the village paths of alternate realms, our stories all have something in common. Magic. From sexy warriors with swords to fierce women with weapons, we love romance with a spark of ...

Another Book Read and New Group Blog

Okay, so I did update Twitter a day ago via Goodreads about this, but I finished reading Pride by Rachel Vincent. I thought it was really good, but it wasn't quite as awesome as the first two. I'll definitely read the next book, Prey.

Also, my critique partner and I are starting up a Fantasy/Urban Fantasy (Paranormal Romance is welcome too. =P) group blog! Woo! We've been planning it out and working on it for about a week now. All shall be revealed soon though since we're currently having a cu...

RWA Nationals (Late) Wrap-Up

Friday:

I went to Writing the Bestseller: Six Magic Words by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. It was great. I think she had some awesome words of wisdom that really soaked in. One of those is that editors and agents want the compelling story, not the perfect one. I struggle with making my stories perfect before sending them off, but really, we also have to focus on making them compelling.

Next, I went to The Agent/Author Relationship with Jessica Faust and a few of her clients. Most of what they said...

RWA Nationals Day Two

So last night with uber-confidence in my ability to not need much sleep, I figured that I would be able to go to the RWA Annual General Meeting this morning from 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM. Eh... didn't happen. I underestimated my love of sleep. So when the alarm went off this morning, I reset it. (Mind you, since I'm local and not staying in the hotel, I can't just wake up at 9:00 AM and be bouncing off, that alarm went off at about 7:15 AM. I have to count in plenty of time to drive there as well....

RWA Nationals Day One

Okay, so I'm going to blog about my days at RWA as if real-time tweeting about it wasn't enough, right? *grin*

Needless to say, I didn't wake up as early as I'd have preferred, but hubby and I went down to the Dolphin hotel in good time. I registered, and then we set about waiting for an hour to get into the "Readers for Life" Literacy Signing. Good thing we got there early, too. Afterward, the line became HUGE. We walked through each aisle. I got my books signed by Shiloh Walker, Christine W...

Entertaining and Informative from Twitter this week

So, I'm a proud Tweeter. I think it's a great way to network and keep up with what's going on. Here are the things that I've found highly appealing this week!
Babel Clash -- A blog that Jocelynn Drake and Jeaniene Frost have been doing at Borders Sci-Fi. They have great information over there for urban fantasy readers and writers.Twittercism -- A great website with articles and tips on Twitter to maximize your tweeting experience.The Literary Project's interview with Stacia Kane -- Gives a...

New Release from my friend, Tierney O'Malley!

Wolf's Soul
A Midnight Howl Novel
Tierney O'Malley
Mainstream Romance: Contemporary, Paranormal
Available Now

To keep the woman he loves, he'll do more than turn his back on his pack.
He'll fight and kill every shapeshifters in his path.
Damn the consequences. Damn his fifth and last remaining life.
Ruthless, charismatic, and dangerously handsome shapeshifter, Callum Dyrdek abides by his clan's code - avoid humans, but protect them from their archenemy, the Blood Robbers. But he broke the rules when...

7 more days! Ack!

The realization of how close RWA Nationals are just hit me today. Seven more days until the Literacy signing (which I'm going to) and the First Timer's Orientation (which I'm also going to)! I'm beginning to feel a bit more nervous. I know I'll have a great time. It's just that this will be my first Nationals. Eeep! I've wanted to go to one for a long time, and now I'm finally taking that opportunity. =)

Well, let's see... what else has been going on with me? I finished reading Jeanne C. Stein...