M.B. Mulhall's Blog, page 13

Teaser Thursday – Staying Alive

I bet you guys forgot about the Near Death sequel! While it’s still a work in progress, I figured I’d share a small snippet…especially since I forgot to do a post for today and need something quick! Hahaha

Umm…*WARNING* Kind of a spoiler if you haven’t read Near Death yet!  And if you haven’t…what are you waiting for? ^_^

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Jack hadn’t planned on leaving so soon, but when he walking into the kitchen and saw his girlfriend sitting there, crying, he knew he had to go.  He quietly slipped out of the house and headed back towards his own home on foot.  It wasn’t a long walk, but it would be long enough to clear his head a bit.  The air was cold and brisk and he could feel his wet hair stiffening up into sharp peaks.

He walked on auto-pilot, having taken the route many times in the past several years.  His head was jumbled full of thoughts and accusations and guilt.  He vaguely noticed he was coming up to a corner, but a quick glance told him the coast was clear.  As he stepped off the curb, he heard the sound of an air horn, the type used on big rigs. Eyes wide, he turned and saw a huge truck barreling down on him. How had he missed it coming down the street? He tried to step back up on the corner, but he tripped and stumbled on the lip of the curb. Thinking his time was up, he shut his eyes and hoped it would be a painless death when all of a sudden he felt something grasp the back of his jacket, yanking him back, practically throwing him onto the neighboring lawn.

Befuddled and a bit sore, Jack looked up. There was a figure towering over him, blocking out the sun.  While he couldn’t make out any of the facial features, the wings were a dead giveaway; Chris, the Angel of Death, the one who Jack had shot and killed four years prior, had just saved his life.

Again.

How I Query

I was told perhaps I should talk a bit about my querying process, since I’m going through it right now.

The majority of my querying has been done as the result of contests, but I do also own a copy of the 2013 Children’s Writer & Illustrator’s Market to hunt for agents. When I started to prep for the process, I went through the book and picked a handful of agents.  I made up a spreadsheet where I added the agency name, agent I was planning on querying, their email address and website. I added cells for what they wanted in a query (how many pages, email or snail mail, etc.) and cells for when I sent the query and when I got a reply. Finally I added a space for comments.

I’ve used this spreadsheet for all the agents who requested pages from the Pitch Madness contest.  I’ve found it really handy to have all my information in one place. I can check to see who I’m still waiting to hear back from and the comments lets me see if my rejections are saying the same kinds of things and perhaps it’s an issue for me to look into before sending the next round out.

Also very important is to check on the agency website and agentquery.com to make sure that agency is still accepting Young Adult submissions. Even though my Market book is from this year, I have already found several who are no longer looking for YA. I add them to my spreadsheet so I won’t accidentally query another agent from that agency. No point in wasting all our time, right?

Once I have my grouping of agents I’m going to query, I start making up my letters.  The majority of it will be the same for each agent, but I always add in something about why I’m choosing that particular agent or agency whether they’ve published other authors who write similar books or that I admire, or if it’s because I follow the agent on Twitter and am responding to a call they put out, etc.  It takes time, but it’s important to personalize the letters.

Before hitting the send button, I double check name spelling (both the agency and the agent!), make sure the part of my story that is included is copied into the body and that the formatting is correct.  If they ask for an attachment (this typically only happens after they’ve gotten your query and ask for a partial or full) then I double check that I’ve given them the amount they asked for in the right version of Word or a PDF, etc.

I send them all out, mark my spreadsheet and sit back and wait…and wait….and wait.  Of course I could be prepping more letters during that wait period, but normally I’m too busy working on other things.

That’s my basic process. Any questions?  Is your process similar? Any hints on how to improve upon it?

It’s All in the Voice Contest

I’m participating in Between the Sheet‘s blog hop/contest about character voice. We’re to post the opening 250* words and hoppers will give their opinions and critiques. Excited to see what people think!

 

*mine is slightly longer than 250 just to end off at the end of a paragraph.

 

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Title: Heavyweight

Genre: YA GLBT contemporary romance

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Chapter One

 

So I’ve got six rules for dating. They go like this:

1) Never date the same person for more than one month.

2) Never date the same person twice.

3) Always behave like a gentleman, but try to remain distant and aloof.

4) Never give more than a kiss. Preferably short pecks. Definitely no tongue.

5) For the love of God, NO TOUCHING BREASTS!

6) Always end it with an “It’s not you, it’s me” speech, highlighting their greatness while making yourself out to be the dog.

I’ve got my reasons, but these keep me sane. Keeps most of the girls from getting too attached and keeps my balls intact after I let them go.

A brunette ball of energy bounds my way, all smiles and twinkling eyes. My name is on her glossy coral lips and her curves are probably the focus of every hot-blooded male standing on the green. Holding back a sigh, I open my arms to receive her but as she’s rocketing my way, something—or actually someone—catches my attention.

Who.

Is.

That?!

Shoulder-length black hair with…are those blue stripes artfully running through it? Skin like porcelain. The sun reflects off a silver lip ring. It seems to be winking at me. Slight build, yet the skin tight tee shows that he must work out.

Shit. My jaw is hanging and there is drool on my chin. My teeth click with a snap and I try to focus on the girl hugging me. Maggie’s soft body is rubbing up against mine as she greets me hello, but I cannot seem to avert my gaze from the new boy. Who is that Adonis?

Brain Dead…

So, I’m afraid this isn’t going to be much of a post. Between spending my days trying to pick up freelance work to make ends meet and starting training for a new job, I am totally and utterly spent. I haven’t written any fiction in about three weeks. Three weeks!  That makes me super sad, but what’s a girl to do when she has bills to pay?

I’m panicked and stressed and exhausted. I’m still waiting on answers from three other agents (hopefully some good news soon on that front) and I’ve got a synopsis to write so I can submit a short to  Xchyler Publishing‘s call for their paranormal anthology.

I would love you guys forever if you could throw out some blog topics you might like me to cover. That would make things easier if it was one more thing I didn’t have to think up! Hahah

I haven’t forgotten about getting the writing question answered by other authors so I’ve got that coming up soon and Thursday I am taking part in a blog hop contest about character voice over at Between the Sheets* so you’ll see the first 250 words of Heavyweight up then. Any other ideas you could come up with would be suuuuuper appreciated!

Thank you!!

* If you’re a writer, it’s not too late to enter Heather’s contest! Click the link above for Between the Sheets and add yourself to the comments!

Thursday Teaser: Heavyweight

Here’s another sneak peak into Heavyweight.

 

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The game picks back up and I can hear the juices in my stomach battling to digest the massive quantity of crap I just rammed into it. Sweat pops out on my brow and I feel shaky. My stomach cramps, causing my eyes to go wide and my ass to clench. I need a bathroom. Now.

I stand, praying I can make it to a bathroom. The twins get up with me, but I wave them back down, calling over my shoulder that I’ll be back, before practically sprinting down the bleachers.

Fans are going crazy, so something good must be going on in the game. I use the ruckus to sneak into the tunnel that leads from the end of the field back into the school locker rooms.

Thankfully, it’s empty as I rush into a stall, shaky hands fumbling with the latch. I debate whether to sit or bend over. It’s coming out from one end or the other. Both are awful, but from the mouth is better for my weight issues.

I bend at the waist. Kneeling would be better, but I can’t risk someone coming in and seeing my feet sticking out. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath; brace myself before shoving two fingers down my throat.

Acid rises along with my dinner. One never gets used to the burning sensation nor the horrific taste it leaves in its wake. I retch repeatedly, noisily expelling the garbage I so recently filled my body with.

Time escapes me as I repeat the process making sure to rid my body of as much of the junk as possible. An intermittent flush helps keep the smell at bay and hide some of the offending sounds in case someone has entered. When the dry heaves hit, I know I’m done. My hands are bracing themselves against the sides of the stall. Slowly I straighten to an upright position. When I feel stable, I use the back of my hand to wipe my mouth. Damn, my breath could knock over the whole team. I suddenly remember I’ve got mints in my locker. Zero calorie mints, my new best friend.

Unlocking the door, I push it open, listening for the sounds that would mean others are in the locker room. I’m met with silence. At least something is going my way today. Throwing on the taps, I hurry to scrub my face and hands, gargle some water. My shirt is stuck to my body like a second skin and one eye is blood shot. Shit. You know you threw up a lot when you burst blood vessels in your eye. There’s not going to be anyway to hide that. I’m going to have to be honest, to a degree anyhow, and tell them I got sick. I’ll just explain I don’t eat a lot of fried stuff. That should work, right? I freakin’ hope so.

Deciding there’s nothing else to do about my pallor and horror-show eye, I head to grab some mints. A handful tossed into my mouth and I’m shutting the locker when someone else enters the room.

“Whoa Quinn, you look like you’ve been ridden hard and put away wet. You got that cute Chink in here with you? Or maybe it’s the brother? You were quick to come to his defense the other day.” Andrews taunts me, a broken helmet dangling from his hand.

Rage fills me as I rush forward and slam him up against a row of lockers. The sound of his body hitting the metal is more satisfying that I would have thought.

“Watch your fucking language you piece of white trash. Didn’t your momma teach you if you don’t have anything nice to say to shut your goddamn mouth?” I’m on a roll. No need to stop now. “Ooh right, she skipped out on you to bang the UPS man.”

I think I hear the moment he snaps. Everyone knows not to bring up the fact that Mrs. Andrews left her husband and young son to travel the state with the man in the big brown truck.

His fist shoots out before I can even think of moving. It connects with my eye. Oddly enough, this abates my anger and I’m satisfied I have a cover up for the blown blood vessels. He pulls back, ready to knock me back a second time, but I’m more aware now and catch his fist, curling my fingers tightly around his swelling hand. I’m itching to hit him back, but know if I’m caught fighting on school grounds I could be kicked off the team. Better him than me.

“That was your one shot, and maybe I deserved it, but you keep spouting that racist homophobic bullshit and I will find you off school grounds and give you a beating that will require wiring your jaw shut. Watch yourself.” I shove his arm back and he reels, hitting the lockers with another satisfying clunk. Eye smarting, I leave him behind to ponder my threat.

Indie Author Month – 2013

This is the second year the folks at the Aside from Writing blog are spending a whole month helping to promote Indie Authors. Each day will have a new post from a different Indie author. It could be an article, an interview, cover reveals, or an excerpt, all writing related. Not only can you read some great posts but perhaps you’ll find some incredible new authors to read and enter their GIANT giveaway! 30+ books for one lucky winner. How awesome is that?!

I’ll be in the spotlight on the 13th talking about why I write Young Adult novels, so be sure to stop by then, but really, you should check out each day and see the great things they have going on!

Feel free to help share the event via Facebook or Twitter and don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

Featured on May 13th!

The Responses Come Trickling In

So if you remember, the Pitch Madness contest was about a month ago and I’ve been on pins and needles waiting to hear from the six agents who requested pages. Finally*, responses are starting to trickle in.

I’ve gotten two emails back from agents, both of them rejections. Polite, mind you, but rejections all the same. One of them was especially encouraging, telling me I have talent and  reminding me that there’s someone out there for the project. Rejections can hurt but those kind don’t sting quite so much.

As a self-published author, I’ve never had to go through this process of waiting and rejections.  While I’ve sent out a query or two for another manuscript, this is the first I’ve sent something out in bulk.  It’s definitely a different experience.  If I was still going the self-pub route, I’d be in the process of getting a cover done for Heavyweight and setting up release day promos. Instead, it’s all wait, wait, wait. I’m hoping it’ll be worth it in the end.

I really believe this story needs to hit the shelves and have a wide release, so I will continue to push through the traditional process and try not to bite my nails off while I’m waiting.  I’m waiting to hear if I was accepted into another contest that is being looked at by some great agents, so we shall see if anything comes of it.

Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

 

* I know a 4 to 6 weeks for a response can be pretty typical, it’s just that each week seems a month long while you’re waiting

Are You A Book Cheerleader?

Rah Rah Sis Boom Bah! Read this book! Read this book! Rah rah rah!

Okay, so I was never a cheerleader. Instead, I played in the band and we liked to torment the cheerleaders by slowly speeding up the music they danced to. Always fun! Heh.

But, I am a cheerleader for the books I love.  When I come across a story and characters that really pull me in, I want to share it with the world! Anytime people are looking for recommendations I will give them a list of stuff I love in the hopes that they will love it as much as I do.  I have a small group of friends I am constantly recommending books to, whether they ask me or not.  We have similar taste in a lot of aspects (books, movies, music,TV, etc.) so I will drop them an email:

“Hey ‘So-and-so’! I just read ‘fill in name here’. It was awesome and I think you will love it. Let me know if you read it!”

Then I will sit and wait and wait and wait, hoping to hear that they’ve picked it up, read it and want to discuss! Now I’m sure I can go to forums on Goodreads or where ever and discuss these same books with people have already read the book, but somehow, it’s just not the same.

I think I just really like to be able to introduce people to something new, be it books or music or TV shows. Is that the hipster in me?

“I read ‘blah blah’ before it was cool, man!”

Do you spread the love of your favorite books? What are some of your most loved stories, and why are they at the top of your list?

 

And Now for Something Completely Different…

Well, not totally.  Because I’ve been so busy, I decided a teaser would be best, but I figured I’d give you something completely different. How about some of the script I wrote for last year’s Script Frenzy?  It’s called Resolution and it’s a paranormal, young adult kind of thing.

Little to no editing has been done on  it, so please excuse typos and other issues.  It’s the first and only script I’ve written. This is the opening scene.  Let me know what you think!

/Gah! Sorry the formatting is wonky. I don’t have the time at the moment to fix it. Hopefully it’s not totally unreadable.

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EXT. AN OVERGROWN WOODED PATH – EARLY EVENING

RED Converse sneakers SLAM against the leaf covered ground.

The sounds of dry leaves crackling and snapping twigs are

almost drowned out by the sound of HEAVY PANTING.

The feet stumble as they change direction slightly, trying

to keep on the path because veering off would only slow them

down.

They continue to POUND the earth before one tip gets caught

under an exposed root.

The running body pitches forward. Knees and palms hit the

dirt, putting holes into clothing and skin. Skid marks and

indentations are left in the ground as she struggles to get

upright.

The shoe is stuck. Long blonde hair whips in the wind as she

turns to look over her shoulder.

Trembling hands move quickly but fumble as she unties the

shoe. Soft WHIMPERS escape her as she tries to pull up on

the root to allow room to slide her foot out of shoe.

SUCCESS. A multi-colored stripped sock appears and there’s a

loud SIGH. A hand reaches for the shoe.

The obvious sound of running is getting closer.

The shoe is forgotten as the feet set off back down the

path. Injuries and missing a shoe makes the pace slower, but

as the familiar expanse of the black roadway comes into

view, she puts on a burst of speed.

The camera around her neck bounces against her chest. She

raises a hand to try to hold it still. The camera is

important and she can’t risk it being damaged.

EXT. A SMALL TOWN MAIN STREET – CONTINUOUS

All the small shop windows are dark. The streets are empty.

A piece of newspaper blows in the wind.

The extra speed she put on to leave the woods has her shoe

covered foot making loud sounds against the asphalt in the

quiet night.

She makes a split second decision to slow down and pull off

the other shoe, throwing it so it lands in a bush next to

the lattice worked bottom of the white bandstand that held

the small town’s summer concerts.

Her shoeless feet make no sound as she sprints down the

empty road. Glancing over her shoulder, she sees nothing

but hears a rattling in the brush behind her. She has not

lost her assailant.

Head whipping back and forth, she searches for a light, any

light, to show that someone may still be in one of the

shops, regardless of the fact that it’s a holiday. She is

out of luck.

Knowing the longer she stays out in the open, the harder it

will be to lose the person chasing her, she decides hiding

is her best option. She takes a QUICK left and DUCKS into a

dark alleyway between two brick buildings.

EXT. A DARK ALLEY – CONTINUOUS

She spots a bright green dumpster and runs to the far side.

For a moment, she leans against the brick wall before

SLIDING down to hide herself. CROUCHING next to the

dumpster, she tries to catch her breath. Her arms are

wrapped tightly around her knees as she tries to make

herself as small as possible and keep from shaking. The

brick wall is cold against her back and scratches at her

skin where her jacket has lifted up when she slid down the

wall.

The sound of hard soled shoes slap outside the mouth of the

alley and stop. She holds her breath and shuts her eyes,

but opens them quickly, thinking she wants to know if

something is coming.

As the feet begin to move again, the sound is fading and she

knows they are walking away. Remaining crouched, she lets

go of her knees and puts her hands behind her, palms against

the wall so she can get up.

SLOWLY she raises and looks over the top of the dumpster.

The mouth of the alley is empty and she hears nothing but

her own harsh breathing which has not calmed down much.

Her shoeless feet allow her a nearly soundless journey from

the dumpster to the mouth of the alley. She stops right

before stepping out to look to her left. Nothing is there.

She turns her head to the right and before she can even

gasp, a large hand SHOOTS out and covers almost her entire

face, pushing her back into the darkness of the alley.

One of her hands tries to remove the man’s hand covering her

face while the other reaches out toward her attacker’s face.

Fingernails rake against his stubble covered cheek. The man

grunts and pushes her back HARD against the brick wall.

The back of her head connects with the brick causing a THUD

that sounds deafening inside her head. She feels a sticky

warmth begin to bloom. When he pulls her head away from the

wall, she feels strands of hair sticking to the coarse brick

work.

She flails and kicks out with her leg, hoping to catch him

in the crotch, but catches him in the shin instead. He

growls and SLAMS her head against the wall another time.

Eyes flutter shut as her body sags a bit in his grasp. He

brings his other hand up around her throat, removing the

hand covering her mouth.

He brings his face very close to hers.

CAROLINE

(crying)

Please. Please don’t hurt me.

MAN

What did you see?

CAROLINE

(shaking her head as best she

can in his grip)

Nothing! I swear I saw nothing.

He grabs at the camera around her neck.

MAN

Oh, I beg to differ my dear.

CAROLINE’s eyes grow wide and panicked as he tightens his

grip around her neck.

With his other hand he fumbles to turn the camera around so

the LCD screen faces him. Pressing the power button causes

the screen to light up, casting an eerie glow on the man’s

face.

She feels lightheaded as her airway is being

constricted. She gives a feeble attempt to pry his hand

away, but she no longer has the strength.

He fumbles some more, removing the small memory card from

the side of the camera and putting it in his pocket.

The glow from the camera’s screen now casts a blue light on

his skin.

His eyes flick up from the screen to glare at her.

MAN

(shakes his head and makes a

tsk’ing sound)

I don’t like liars, sweet Caroline.

(sighs)

Such a shame to have to kill you,

but since I can’t remove the image

from your mind like I can this

camera, you leave me with no

choice.

He reaches up and caressed her cheek as if they were lovers

before shaking his head again.

MAN

Really…What a damn shame.

Caroline gives one more attempt to break free realizing this

would be her last chance at saving her life. She manages to

kick his knee cap, causing him to stumble a bit and loosen

his grip.

With tears flowing freely, she JABS her hand out, trying to

blind him in an eye.

He turns his head and her nails leave a long bloody gash

running from right above his eyebrow to almost his ear.

He HISSES in pain.

MAN

Bitch!

She sees the rage in his eyes but can do nothing in the

split second it takes him to reach both hands up and TWIST

her head, SNAPPING her neck.

The man sighs loudly as Caroline’s head dangles down, her

eyes still wide open in shock. Grabbing her by the waist, he

hoists the dead weight over his shoulder, her dead eyes now

stare at his back.

As he steps forward, he feels something hit against the back

of his legs before hearing the sound of something hitting

the ground.

Glancing over his shoulder he sees the camera as slipped off

of Caroline’s neck and lies on its side. He pats his

pocket, checking for the memory card. Feeling the slight

bulge it creates, he turns and continues out of the alley,

leaving the camera behind.

No Time for Fiction

Heck, practically no time for blog writing either! I am on a time crunch lately working on freelance articles in order to pay my bills. Book sales have been slow lately, as well as my other jobs in childcare and substituting. Via Textbroker, I can bring in something and at least be writing everyday.

I do miss my WIP and my reading though. I’m hoping this won’t burn me out because I have stories to finish and books to read!  I will certainly try to keep up with these blog posts and get back to my stories soon, but sometimes you just have to do what you have to do to make ends meet. Stressful? Yes, but money is a necessity of life and there’s not much I can do about it.