Jennifer Bray-Weber's Blog, page 84
April 19, 2013
It’s Pitch time! Welcome Debby Gilbert with Soul Mate Publishing.
All pitches need to be sent to Candi_agent_shop (at) yahoo . com
Welcome to another round of Editor Shop!
I’m super excited to be hosting the awesome Debby Gilbert. Best of luck to everyone pitching.
And welcome to our spotlight author – one of Soul Mate Publishing’s lucky authors – Rebecca Heflin with her novel Rescuing Lacey.
Blurb: A tough battle-scarred photojournalist must confront the after-effects of a traumatic event and acknowledge her hidden vulnerable side if she is to rediscover her soul and accept the love that will rescue her.
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Author website: http://www.rebeccaheflin.com/wordpress
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You can find Rescuing Lacey here: Amazon
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Reviews:
Rebecca Heflin not only writes wonderful characters, her descriptions of Costa Rica are rich and vibrant, making one feel as they were there too. Not only that, the sexual tension between Luke and Lacey is exquisite. It grabs one by the throat and keeps the reader turning those pages! The story is a bit predictable, losing it half a star, but don’t let that be a deterrent. This story is sweet at times, romantic and sexy at others and assuredly, well worth the read!!!
~Tonya Smalley, InD’tale Magazine
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Awards
Finalist, 2013 Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence
Finalist, 2013 Colorado Romance Writers Award of Excellence
BONUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Come one, come all. Even if you’re not pitching, feel free to come join in the conversation. I’ll be giving away THREE prizes again this round. All you have to do is join in the fun! Every comment will be entered for a chance to win one of these prizes!
1 – An ARC of STAY – My new release coming in August 6th!
2 – 3 $10.00 Gift certificates from Soul Mate Publishing
3 – The Top Pitch Slot!
Easy breezy…
Here’s what we’ll start with as our topic this time…
Who would you cast as your hero if your novel hit the big screen? 
~Candi
April 18, 2013
This is why I do what I do.
No writer has ever said it enough, or will ever say it enough!
Thank you to the multitude of peeps out there who take the time to review our work.
It still amazes me, and I hope it always will, when I get a review. If it ever gets old, I truly think that’s when I’ll stop writing. Good or bad, I’m up for the challenge. Every single person has different opinions, and I’m willing to hear them all.
Does a negative review hurt? SURE!
No more than an honest critique though. And I have some awesome crit partners who aren’t afraid of telling me when I’m not doing my job!
But good or bad, there is something incredibly inspiring, energizing and rewarding by being in a position to receive critiques. As writers, we work our butts off to create something we hope everyone will love. Having it out in the world is both intimidating and gratifying at once. Having someone weigh in…priceless.
A good review though, can make any hard stuff go away.
So thanks!
Thanks for good reviews, bad reviews, and everything in between. Thanks for being a reader. Without you, where would we (as writers) be?
This is my youngest… Had to share. Reading is what every single person should be doing!
Happy reading or writing! And I’ll see you all on Saturday for Editor Shop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
~Candi
April 17, 2013
Hump Day Kick Start – Towel Edition
Song of the Day: She Sells Sanctuary by The Cult
Hump Day Kick Start – for your muse, a writing picture prompt, or just a visual treat.
Doesn’t this prompt just ooze of sensuality?
Tear your eyes away and tell me what’s going on. Well, besides the obvious.
Who is our couple? International spies taking a much needed break? Newlyweds about to celebrate in a French hotel? Vegas strippers? The wife of a billionaire about to devour her newest boy toy? Is she a Mrs. Robinson? Is he an undercover agent seducing his foreign contact? Notice the twin beds? Is this a throwback to I Love Lucy?
Let’s hear your take.
April 16, 2013
Link Of The Week- Anagrams, They Never Lie!
http://www.wordsmith.org/anagram/
Did you know Clint Eastwood is an anagram of Old West Action?
Do you need some cool tool your protagonist could use to solve a crime? Is there a mystery that has to have a unique key? Look no further! Check this site out for an anagram- it’s the answer to your quandary.
Enjoy!
Stacey
April 15, 2013
Newsletter for Agent / Editor Shop!
With so many requests for a newsletter for our Agent/Editor Shop, I finally bit the bullet and did it.
I knew I had to. Sending our HUNDREDS of invites, e-mails, and creating FB events was taking up way more time than I really had to give. So this is the best option! And I'm super excited!
If you'd like to receive approx 1-2 e-mails a month, related to Agent/Editor Shop dates, guests and pitch day contest information, please come join the group I'm posting below.
April 12, 2013
MuseTracks Guest – Kathleen S. Allen
Please help MuseTracks welcome Kathleen S. Allen. Let’s get to know a little about her, shall we?
Take it away Kathleen!
***
Hello!
My name is Kathleen S. Allen and I am an author of a young adult contemporary novel, HOW TO BE ALMOST FAMOUS IN TEN DAYS, recently released by Gypsy Shadow Publishing. It’s a story about a 17yo girl who is desperate to be “seen” by others. She believes that because she isn’t a size zero she has no voice. When she finds a book of rules on how to be famous in ten days in a secondhand bookstore she decides to follow the rules and become famous. In ten days. With the help of her model gorgeous BFF, Rachel and Rachel’s brother, she sets out to follow the rules in the book. One disastrous event after another occurs, some of them humorous, some are more serious as she follows each rule.
This is my fourteenth published book…or my fifteenth…or my…wait, it’s my twentieth thing published. I know because I went on the Internet and counted all the shiny on Kindle/Nook. Feel free to go on my Amazon Central page to check them out too. See below for the link. I didn’t bother to count the number of short stories or poems I’ve had published. Or the lyric essay. Or the fan fiction book I wrote during NaNoWriMo (30 days and nights of literary abandon) called THORNFIELD MANOR: JANE EYRE AND VAMPIRES. Hee hee. It’s up at fanfiction.net in case you’d like to read my version instead of Charlotte Bronte’s. Or in addition to.
Anyway, I began my writing journey at the tender age of three when I “wrote” a story. I didn’t know how to write letters yet so the story was a mess of squiggly lines but you get the idea. My journey continued as I learned to read and write letters. I started with poetry and then graduated to short stories then novels. Then short stories again, poetry, flash fiction (which I love, love, love), microfiction, stories in verse (yeah, that one hasn’t seen the light of day and never will), novels and whatever else I could figure out to write. Blogs, guest posts (this one for instance), websites (I have two author ones), Facebook status updates on my fan page and Twitter tweets. Among other writerly things. BUT, my all time favorite thing to write is Young Adult anything. I used to say YA fantasy but I’ve expanded it to include all young adult and now middle grade. I have an upper middle grade novel I am currently querying about a 13 yo witch who turns her boy crush into a zombie and hi-jinks abound. It’s humorous at its core but does have a serious side to it and it’s all about first love.
My WIP is a pirate book about a girl who discovers her mother is a ruthless pirate who wants her to be her successor but the girl has no intention of following in her mother’s footsteps. I’m about a quarter way done on that one.
I signed up to do Camp NaNoWriMo for the month of April so I can finish the pirate book but I’m having plot issues so I’m rethinking the plot.
My favorite authors include JK Rowling (good ole JK—and if you know where that quote comes from please “like” my Facebook page and follow me on Twitter because you are one of my people—and even if you don’t know the quote you can follow me or “like” my page); Anne McCaffrey, Veronica Roth, Suzanne Collins, Karen Mahoney, Genn Albin and a host of other YA authors that are too numerous to name. Yes, I read YA. When I go into the bookstore it’s the first section I gravitate to. I want to see what’s new, what’s out and which one of my writerly friends is now published. I can sit for hours in a bookstore reading snippets of books. A writer needs to first be a reader. I forget who said that but it’s true.
What else about me is relevant? I have two cats, one is a diva and one is a beast (that’s her nickname, I swear), both of them think they’re human and that I’m their staff. I guess I am. I love coffee but I also drink tea and collect teapots. I am a geek at heart and adore anything British especially BBC America shows or Masterpiece on PBS. I feel so veddy, veddy British when I watch PBS. I even have a pair of Doc Martens that were shipped from the UK recently. Oh, I also collect and wear graphic tees. I am a huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan and a Joss Whedon fan in general. I proudly declare to the world that I AM A BROWNCOAT (again, if you know what this means, tweet me). Please check out my author websites for more info on my books and pay attention to the “welcome” Avatar, she’s British, has green eyes and red hair, JUST LIKE ME. Of course I designed her.
Thank you for having me on your blog!
Kathleen S. Allen
HOW TO BE ALMOST FAMOUS IN TEN DAYS-YA Contemporary
BOOK TRAILER:
Buy Link on Amazon:
Find Kathleen here:
www.gaelicfairie.webs.com with blog
On Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/kathleea/
On Twitter: @kathleea
On Facebook: Witch Hunter http://ow.ly/cWMFB
Author Central page: amazon.com/author/kallen
Book Trailers on You Tube here: http://www.youtube.com/user/gaelicfaerie1?feature=mhee
April 10, 2013
Painting Your Town Red
Song of the Day: War Of Change by Thousand Foot Krutch
Me: Guess what?
Hubby: What?
Me: I bought orange juice.
Hubby: Yeah?
Me: I bought a GALLON of orange juice.
Hubby: (with wide grin) Congratulations!
So what was that conversation all about? What’s the big deal about buying OJ?
This past Friday, I finished my 5th book in my Romancing The Pirate series. This was especially sweet as the book took me over a year to complete. I’m not really sure why it took so long other than life’s hits just kept coming. I often felt like I was in a batter’s cage with a malfunctioning pitching machine, swinging away like a blind-folded drunk in six-inch heels with a wet noodle.
But I chipped away at the book and now it is done. I could go on and on about perseverance, about soldiering on, about making time and forward motions. But I’ve done that plenty before here.
Is my glass half full, or half empty?
Nope, this here blog is about celebrating.
With orange juice? you ask.
You see, I keep a bottle or three of champagne chilling in the fridge. As I am typing in the last words of a book, I pour myself a mimosa—or more correctly, a glass of champagne with a splash of orange juice. The bubbly is reserved solely for the completion of a manuscript and nothing else. Not even a book release.
For a writer, it is important to recognize achievements. These achievements come in many forms. Sometimes we just need a reminder of these special markers. Yup, I’m gonna remind you of a few.
Starting a manuscript – sometimes it’s just taking that first step.
Finding a soul mate, er, I mean awesome critique partners
Entering a contest – it takes guts to put it out there to be judged
Finaling in a contest – getting closer…
Winning a contest – validation you are doing something right
Finishing a book – Shazam!
Landing an agent – I’m going to do great things for ya, kid
Making a big publishing decision and getting a manicure after you’ve chewed your nails to nubs
Signing a book deal – likely in a haze of disbelief
Creating a website/blog – Look out internet
Your book going live – no matter if it is self-published or with a publisher
Seeing cover art for the first time and crying at how pretty it is
Holding a book signing – And who do I make this out to?
Receiving your first great review – You like me! You really like me!
Receiving your first one-star review - And just what was the reviewer smoking?
Cashing your first royalty check – Cha-ching!
Negotiating foreign sales – Oui!
I like to pretend he’s reading my WIP.
Cripes, the list could go on. And just think of all the ways to celebrate.
Shout it out to your social media friends
Dinner
New shoes
A massage
New software or laptop
Registering for a conference
Taking a day off
Throw a party
Have a giveaway
Buy flowers
Toast a drink
Painting the town
Stop by MuseTracks to ogle Hump Day hotties
However you mark an achievement, be it a small step up your writer’s ladder or securing a major movie deal, take the time to give yourself a high five. It’s a great motivator for continued success.
Bottoms up!
Do you have a special way to celebrate your accomplishments? I’d love to hear what you celebrate and how.
April 9, 2013
Newsletter for Agent / Editor Shop!
With so many requests for a newsletter for our Agent/Editor Shop, I finally bit the bullet and did it.
I knew I had to. Sending our HUNDREDS of invites, e-mails, and creating FB events was taking up way more time than I really had to give. So this is the best option! And I’m super excited!
If you’d like to receive approx 1-2 e-mails a month, related to Agent/Editor Shop dates, guests and pitch day contest information, please come join the group I’m posting below.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EditorAgentShop/
Our monthly pitch day at Musetracks is fast approaching!
We have editor Debbie Gilbert with Soul Mate Publishing coming as our guest editor, so get those pitches ready!!!
This will be the last Shop I post as an event on FB. From here out, I’ll be e-mailing details of our future Editor/Agent Shop details through the newsletter group. That’s where everyone will be able to get the most updated info on guest agents/editors, dates and contests we’ll run during Agent/Editor Shops!!!!
As always, feel free to share the group with any writer’s you think would be interested!
Best~
Candi
April 6, 2013
Um… Can I get a minute to write…??? PLEASE?
Oh. My. God.
Someone come and shovel me out of the month-long avalanche I had hit me in March! PLEASE!
This was my life for March. Seriously! I was hit with work issues at the EDJ, Scout issues, a final edit for STAY, a pre-print edit for PRIMITIVE NIGHTS, and a fast round of edits for a new novel due before I was ready…
BUT I made it out safely. And with my sanity, I think…
Thank goodness Jenn posted something about Goodreads being bought by Amazon or I would, literally, still be in the dark. Thanks Jenn!
So, now that I got that out of the way, here’s my dish for the week!
One – Got a super awesome review for Primitive Nights at Amazon.
Two – Did you see who’s coming to Agent/Editor Shop this month?
Debbie Gilbert with Soul Mate Publishing!!!!
http://www.soulmatepublishing.com/
Make sure you check out what they’re looking for and get that pitch ready. Pitch day is April 20th!
Three – I learned this month, that you can do what you set out to do. You may have to set aside other things, shift schedules, work in a timeline you weren’t expecting… But it CAN be done!
Four – I hit 20K on my new novel this month amidst all the craziness. Who knew?
Happy writing and reading, and life!
Candi
April 3, 2013
Hump Day Kick Start – Angst Edition
Song of the Day: Them Bones by Alice in Chains
Hump Day Kick Start – for your muse, a writing picture prompt, or just a visual treat.
This week’s prompt is in the details. And I don’t mean the fine lines of our subject’s abs. Necessarily.
The broken sink, rosary, tight pants, heavy duty biker boots, unidentifiable streaks on the walls…
Who is he? Mercenary? Zombie exterminator? Burned out rocker star? Fallen angel?
Aside from a restroom, where is he? Bus station? Insane asylum? Abandoned hotel?
Is he hiding? Hunting? Praying? Plotting? Escaping? Looking for the Extreme Bathroom Makeover crew to show up?
Tell me a story. And as always, I’d love to hear your take.
