Lisa Roecker's Blog, page 51

Queries, queries and more queries!

So, we're still digging out from under the query letters sent our way last week. And we have to say, this is super-fun. You guys have some excellent ideas. And as much as we'd love to say we were the reason K.M. Walton made her big announcement yesterday, it would be a big old LIE. Her query rocked before we even hit send!

Anyways, here's another amazing query we thought you all would get a kick out of. This is Jared Larson's query for his middle grade novel I'M HERE TO SAVE YOUR DAY: THE ADV...

Tell the Truth Tuesday: Me, Ice Cream and Jennifer Love Hewitt

My truth this Tuesday: I spent last night with a huge bowl of ice cream and Jennifer Love Hewitt's The Client List on Lifetime On Demand. I kept the remote handy so I could pause the movie and jot down any random thoughts. You're welcome.

0:01:39 - Advice from J. Love to her 9-year-old daughter: "Life is easier if you're pretty. Does a girl no good to be good at video games." Tough love, J. Love. Tough love.

0:02:57 - Advice from J. Love to her Cougar-esque mother: "These scientists did a test ...

LiLa in Training...

It's Monday. I'm hormonal and sweltering (for some reason my husband has turned our air conditioning off....WTF???), so this post is going to get a little mushy.

Deal with it.

Laura had a wedding this weekend, so we were lucky enough to watch Lydia for the night. For the first time EVER Lydia and Mia actually played together. I mean, sure they spend excessive amounts of time hanging out while Laura and I film vlogs and eat Twizzlers, but we've never really seen them play with each other. 
Until...

Top Five Things We Learned This Week

1. We'd rather go naked than wear words. Er...that's not quite right. Just check out our guest blog on Querypolitan for proof that fashion and writing go hand-in-hand in spite of the fact that most of the writers we know spend 99% of their time in pajamas.

2. Bitch sessions on Skype are cheaper than therapy. It's true. Instant messaging provides a 24/7 outlet for our writerly angst. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

3. We're not at SCBWI LA and we're bitter. To see just how bitter...

The Bookanistas: YOU by Charles Benoit

This week we've decided to recommend the much buzzed about  YOU by Charles Benoit.
Here's what the back cover has to say: This wasn't the way it was supposed to go.
You're just a typical fifteen-year-old sophomore, an average guy named Kyle Chase. This can't be happening to you. But then, how do you explain all the blood? How do you explain how you got here in the first place?
  There had to have been signs, had to have been some clues it was coming. Did you miss them, or ignore them? Maybe if...

WTF Wednesday: The Kardashians, Sister Writers

In yet another sign of the impending apocalypse, the Kardashian sisters (best known for their sex tapes and vacant stares) are publishing a book.

According to USMagazine.com:

Kardashian Konfidential will include relationship advice and candids photos from reality TV's favorite trio. "It's a little bit more of an in-depth look into our lives, even though people think that they've probably seen everything," Kim, 29, said of the book, to be released Nov. 23.




Yeah, that's right, they intentionally m...

Tell the Truth Tuesday: Guilty Consciences = WIN for Queriers

Confession: We have over 600 blog comments lingering in our inbox. Whenever we open the folder, we say a little prayer that the other sister had 24 straight hours over the weekend to respond to each and every comment and visit all the blogs we know and love. A single tear falls down our respective cheeks when we realize that this has not happened. The comments are still there and we still SUCK.

Time is tight, friends. We are spread too thin. We barely acknowledge our children, rarely have time...

Queens of the Query

Last night Laura and I were lucky enough to critique a friend's query, and we were reminded about how much we love a good pitch. For the uninitiated, queries are basically brief teasers overviewing a manuscript that writers use to convince agents and editors that they absolutely must read their book. Queries are like puzzles. You put all the right ingredients together to create a picture of your manuscript and if your picture is compelling enough, agents should, in theory, want to read more.

I...

A Friday Chat with LiLa

Lisa: So...

Laura: Yeah...

Lisa: Um, how are you? Still married? Lydia still alive and kicking?

Laura: Yeah. You?

Lisa: I started crying last night for no reason. So Ken thinks I'm crazy. Just business as usual.

Laura: PED.

Lisa: Huh?

Laura: Post Edit Depression.

Lisa: Oh, good call. You think they have drugs for this kind of thing? I just don't know what to do with myself.

Laura: I know. Have you tried refreshing email?

Lisa: Yes, I'm doing it right now. It's so wrong, but it feels so right. Kind of l...

The Bookanistas: Covers We Covet

It's no secret that we're a couple of cover whores and as 2011 approaches, there have been a slew of gorgeous covers revealed. Here are a few of our favorites:

XVI by Julia Karr

In the year 2150, being a girl isn't necessarily a good thing, especially when your sixteenth (read sex-teenth) birthday is fast approaching. That in itself would be enough to make anyone more than a little nuts, what with the tattoo and all – but Nina Oberon's life has taken a definite turn for the worse. Her mother is...