Michelle Hauck's Blog, page 49

The Beards of Grudging

Beards are very important world building and cultural tool in Grudging. You've heard of the beard making the man? In Grudging, that is literally true.





A boy isn't considered a man until he "earns" his beard.

In the city of Colina Hermosa, earning a beard is different for every profession and even changes over time. For main character Ramiro in the military during wartime, that means living through a single, hand-to-hand combat experience. Until he's done that, he can't speak up in council or court a wife. And his military brothers will continue to tease him and call him bisoño and peach-face.

I had a fun time going through pictures online and looking for beards that fit my characters. Also looking for pictures of how I imagined my female characters--and no, they don't have beards. I created a pinterest board about it. 

I really want to find more awesome beard pictures to add to my collection. And I'd like to make a contest out of it!

Such as this great Ricky Martin beard.

You can't post pictures in blog comments, so it will have to be on twitter. Hmm. How to make this easy?

Tweet me your favorite beard picture (@Michelle4Laughs). Or if you read Grudging, a picture that reminds you of a character. (Keep in mind that Grudging is set in a Spanish-inspired land.)  Then so I can keep track, paste the link to that tweet in the comments of this post.

I'll pick three comments to win. One winner will be my favorite picture. Two winners will be random picks by number generator.

Prizes.

Hmm.

I'll let the winner pick a prize from these three options:

-a query critique (one round)
-an ebook of Grudging
-bookmarks of Grudging and a razor

These can be funny or sexy pictures. Please nothing naughty or that you couldn't show your grandmother. I will let this run through Monday, January 25th. You can check out my pinterest board link above for ideas.

So let's give this a try and see what happens! Did anyone else notice there is a nice beard picture in the post below this?

Getting the Call with Scott Reintgen

We begin with failure. Or, at least, it felt like failure to me. I'd written and queried two different books. Despite interest from a couple of great agents, nothing ever connected. So I began work on my fourth manuscript. I started submitting in June and felt really good about it. I knew this book was a much higher quality than previous submissions, because I'd practiced on three different books prior to writing it.

The timing of my queries synced up nicely with my arrival in Switzerland. My wife's job took us abroad, and I was at the outset of nine months of full time writing. Unfortunately, my first day in Switzerland coincided with a devastating rejection. An agent I'd spent a great deal of time getting to know (interviewing clients, blogging about titles, researching, etc.) told me it wasn't the right book for her to represent.
I was bummed. If I couldn't impress the person I'd done the most leg-work with, who could I impress? And I'd just started nine months of full time writing? Was I even cut out for the literary world?
But in the month that followed, I started getting manuscript requests. A lot of manuscript requests. Toward the beginning of August, I received some of my first offers for representation. As exciting as this was, I ended up entering a territory I'd never expected after my first two query experiences: choices.
I had eight offers of representation by mid-August. In some ways, it was a glorious validation of what I'd done in the book. In other ways, it was the most terrifying, nerve-wracking experience I'd ever been through. I began the process of, effectively, interviewing agents. We'd have phone calls, I'd ask questions, they'd ask questions.
Several times I asked my wife to make sure we hadn't entered an alternate reality (I'm still not sure if that's what happened).
The pursuit of the right agent for me kicked off in a big way when I received an email from Kristin Nelson. I knew of Kristin, and had used my temporary membership on Publisher's Marketplace to look at her deal history. I was definitely impressed. I was even more impressed when she said she couldn't stop reading my book on her flight home from LA. What? My book was being read on an airplane? By an agent?
Our conversation went really well, and it was clear to me that Kristin and I were on the same page about a lot of things with the book. From there, I began the painful process of sending out emails to the other interested parties, and regrettably telling them that I had other plans with the novel. This was heartbreaking, because almost every agent I spoke with was seriously wonderful.

My dream had come true, but I still had a lot of work ahead of me. Kristin took me through some painful edits. Then had to hold my hand through the submission process, and everything that came after it.
If I could give any advice, I'd just tell people to not give up. If I counted them up (and I haven't), I'd imagine I had over seventy rejections between my first two books. And about two days ago (months after getting a publishing deal), I received a rejection from an agency for THE BLACK HOLE OF BROKEN THINGS.

Rejections will happen. You will be rejected by agents. You will be rejected by publishers. You will be rejected by fans. Strength comes from learning to take those rejections in perspective, learning to set them neatly on a shelf, and then learning to move past them and keep working hard to accomplish your dreams.

------------------------------
Scott Reintgen grew up in North Carolina, and took full advantage of the fact that he lived on the same street as fourteen of his cousins. It could be a little crowded, but he threw a few elbows and carved out a space for himself as the family storyteller. He enjoyed the role so much that he decided to spend most of college and graduate school investing in the world of literature. This led to a career teaching English and Creative Writing in the great state of North Carolina, where he currently lives with his wife and family. To his great delight, the demand for stories and storytellers is alive and well. Scott's first book, THE BLACK HOLE OF BROKEN THINGS, is expected to be published in 2017. Until then, you can find him in local coffee shops laboring over stories that he hopes his family, and fans, will love.
http://itspronouncedrankin.com/ - Website
https://twitter.com/Scott_Thought - Twitter
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27426044-black-hole-of-broken-things

Here's a link to my query, posted on Kristin's website:
http://nelsonagency.com/2015/11/a-query-that-landed-a-mid-6-figure-ya-book-deal/

Release Day for THE EDGE OF NOWHERE

IN BOOKSTORES AND ONLINE TODAY!SYNOPSISThe year is 1992 and Victoria Hastings Harrison Greene—reviled matriarch of a sprawling family—is dying.

After surviving the Oklahoma Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, Victoria refuses to leave this earth before revealing the secrets she’s carried for decades.

Once the child of a loving family during peaceful times, a shocking death shattered her life. Victoria came face to face with the harshness of the world. As the warm days of childhood receded to distant memory, Victoria learns to survive.

No matter what it takes.

To keep her family alive in an Oklahoma blighted by dust storms and poverty, Victoria makes choices—harsh ones, desperate ones. Ones that eventually made her into the woman her grandchildren fear and whisper about. Ones that kept them all alive. Hers is a tale of tragedy, love, murder, and above all, the conviction to never stop fighting.


OFFICIAL VIDEO TRAILER FOR THE EDGE OF NOWHERE



ABOUT THE AUTHOR



C.H. Armstrong is an Oklahoma native transplanted in Minnesota. A 1992 graduate of the University of Oklahoma, "Cathie"is a life-long lover of books, and staunchly outspoken on subject of banned and challenged books. The Edge of Nowhere is her first novel and was inspired by her own family's experiences during the 1930s Oklahoma Dust Bowl and The Great Depression.


PURCHASE A COPY OF THE EDGE OF NOWHERE ONLINE NOW

Slush Readers for Sun versus Snow 2016

When it comes time to read the 200 entries for Sun versus Snow, I need some help. These ladies will be going through the entries for Team Snow and giving me a heads up on what stands out. I plan to read everything, but having second opinions will certainly make it easier and faster.

I honor them for giving up their time to help other writers and now you can, too! Give them a follow on twitter and watch for their tweets about entries in February.


Carla:

As an army brat, books were Carla Rehse's only constant as she moved around the world. Finally settling down in Texas, she not only picked up a southern drawl but also the writing bug. Generally, she write YA speculative fiction, but will read anything with strong characters and interesting world building. You can find Carla on twitter at @CRehse
Favorite writer snack:Dry cereal, especially Quaker Oatmeal Squares. Occasionally, peanut M&M's manage to sneak into the bowl. 
Cold weather memory:I live in Central Texas and our winters are a series of hot, then cold days. It's normal to have highs in the 70's one day and highs in the 30's the next. But April isn't a winter month for us. 
In April 2007, my roses were blooming and my spring flowers were planted. My brother and his family decided to visit for Easter weekend. With three young kiddos in the house, things were chaotic and exciting and I didn't pay attention to the weather reports. After all, it's Central Texas in April. Barbeque and shorts weather. That Saturday, it started to snow. And refused to stop. We received a record breaking four inches of snow. Maybe that's not much by Northern standards, but it sure wrecked my carefully developed holiday plans. Now how were gonna hunt Easter eggs in the backyard or take pictures by my neighbor's wisteria? After a few moments of dumbfounded head scratching, we turned lemons into lemonade slushies. Bundled up in my sweatshirts and mismatched gloves, my nieces and nephew had a blast making snow bunnies and staging an epic snowball fight against their dad. And for the record, hunting plastic eggs in the snow is just as much fun as in the grass. 
Susie:
Susie Fisher grew up in a family where books trumped television, and at a young age had read almost every book in the children’s section at her local library. She is an office manager by day and a YA contemporary writer at night.
When not writing, she’s usually wrapped in a blanket reading everything young adult.

Susie is obsessed with the ocean, an addictive ice tea drinker, One Tree Hill fanatic, and never declines chocolate cake. She lives in Michigan with her University of Michigan, superfan husband and four spoiled rescue cats.

My favorite cold weather memory happened at the age of ten. After waking to four feet of fresh snow, all the kids on my block spent the entire day building barricades in their front yard. My sisters and I used bread pans to make bricks, creating a wall around the entire yard and an igloo for three. Moments before the sun set, a block-wide snowball fight began. That was the best snow day ever.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/happyonfriday
  

Review of Bands of Mourning

With The Alloy of Law and Shadows of Self, Brandon Sanderson surprised readers with a New York Times bestselling spinoff of his Mistborn books, set after the action of the trilogy, in a period corresponding to late 19th-century America.

Now, with The Bands of Mourning, Sanderson continues the story. The Bands of Mourning are the mythical metalminds owned by the Lord Ruler, said to grant anyone who wears them the powers that the Lord Ruler had at his command. Hardly anyone thinks they really exist. A kandra researcher has returned to Elendel with images that seem to depict the Bands, as well as writings in a language that no one can read. Waxillium Ladrian is recruited to travel south to the city of New Seran to investigate. Along the way he discovers hints that point to the true goals of his uncle Edwarn and the shadowy organization known as The Set.
My Spoiler Free Review:

I might have hugged this book and did a happy dance around the kitchen when this came in the mail. If it came down to books or chocolate, books would win.
It was wonderful being with these characters again. I was able to lose myself and get into the world completely with this book. (I'm afraid for the first couple of books I was missing the original characters from the first Mistborn books.) But now I absolutely love Wayne and have strong affection for the rest. I especially enjoyed learning more of Steris and getting to know her. You've got to root for the girl who doesn't have any powers!

I want to be very careful to avoid spoilers, so I'll be very vague. I felt like the setup/foreshadowing of the big twist was handled a little clumsily here. The little clues were inserted sort of jarringly, enough so that I picked them out and wondered why that statement was needed. Which of course proved to be the twist near the end.

Sanderson handles action/fight scenes so well. The last third of the book shot along at a sprint pace. The parts leading up the finale could be a little slow, but never boring. Not with these characters. There are so many good parts about Sanderson books--the involved magic systems and their rules, the intense action, the sense of actual danger and peril--but the best is his characters and how real they feel.

As always it left me dying to read the next! Five stars!

I got an advanced copy from the publisher.

Agents of Sun versus Snow 2016

It's been a while between contests and I'm ready for some fun!


We have 16 agents for Sun versus Snow in 2016. Poetic numbers! Opps. We had sixteen agents, but another has stepped forward! Seventeen! Each and every one is fantastic. And they represent a variety of genres.

Submission is on February 1st at 4:00 pm EST. Go here to see the rules and how to format.

Part of the list of agent is on my blog. But listing all of them would be a huge post. So go to my co-host Amy's blog to see the rest. 




Mallory Brown
Literary Agent Assistant Mallory C. Brown of TriadaUS is seeking young adult, new adult, women’s fiction, and non-fiction. She is especially drawn to pieces with strong character-driven plots and witty humor. She loves contemporary fiction, low fantasy (think realistic world with a fantastical twist), and romance. Mallory also appreciates a well-placed comma and hopes you do, too.

Some of Mallory’s favorites at the moment are: ​Fangirl, Gone Girl, Outlander, and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. 

Website|Twitter




Andrea Somberg

A literary agent for close to fifteen years, Andrea Somberg of Harvey Klinger, Inc. represents a wide range of fiction and nonfiction, including projects for adult, young adult and middle grade audiences. Previously an agent at the Donald Maass Agency and Vigliano Associates, she joined Harvey Klinger Inc. in the spring of 2005. Her clients' books have been NYTimes and USA Bestsellers, as well as nominated for The Governor General's Award, the Lambda Award, and the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award. Andrea also teaches courses for MediaBistro and Writers Digest on topics such as nonfiction, memoir, mystery and thrillers, fantasy and sf. Her client list is quite full, however she is always actively looking to take on new authors who write in the following categories: Fiction: literary, commercial, book club fiction, romance, thrillers, mystery, paranormal, fantasy, science fiction, young adult, new adult, middle grade. Nonfiction: memoir, narrative, popular science, pop-culture, humor, how-to, parenting, self-help, lifestyle, travel, interior design,crafts, cookbooks, business, sports, diet, health & fitness.
Website|Twitter







Penelope Burns

Penelope Burns is the newest member of Gelfman Schneider/ICM Partners. She came to the agency as an intern after graduating from Colgate University in 2012. Currently, as an agency assistant, Penelope is looking to a build a list of her own. She is interested in Literary and Commercial fiction and non-fiction, as well as a variety of Young Adult and Middle Grade. 

I'm actively looking for YA/MG novels with a unique voice or an unreliable narrator, or an interesting and unique premise. I'd also love to see a YA contemporary romance, or a clever MG with a lot of humor. I am not seeking adult thrillers. 
Website|Twitter




Mark Gottlieb
Mark Gottlieb’s focus on publishing began at Emerson College, where he was a founding member of the Publishing Club, later its President, overseeing its first publication and establishing the Wilde Press. 
After graduating with a degree in writing, literature and publishing, Mark began his career with the Vice President of Berkley Books (Penguin), working with leading editors. 
His first position at the Trident Media Group literary agency was in foreign rights, selling the books of clients around the world. Mark later worked as Executive Assistant to Robert Gottlieb, Chairman of Trident, with responsibility for organizing/managing diverse authors and their complex business transactions. He next assumed the position of audio rights agent. Since Mark has managed the audio rights business, the annual sales volume has more than doubled. Mark showed great initiative and insight in identifying talented writers. 
In passing the Audio Department's torch, Mark is building his own client list of writers. He is excited to work directly with authors, helping to manage and grow their careers with all of the unique resources that are available to Trident.
Website|Twitter





Whitley Abell
Whitley Abell joined Inklings Literary Agency in 2013. Before joining Inklings, she completed successful internships with Carol Mann Agency and P.S. Literary Agency. She is based in St. Louis, MO, where she daylights writing proposals of the entirely unromantic variety. She graduated in 2011with a BA in English and Creative Writing, and again in 2012 with a MAT in Secondary English Education, which basically means she can tell you anything there is to know about feminist literary theory and the Common Core Standards.

Whitley is currently building her list and is primarily interested in Young Adult, Middle Grade, and Women’s Fiction. She is open to almost anything within those arenas, be it contemporary or historical, romance or thriller, realistic or supernatural, tragic or quirky. She has a soft spot for the goofy guys, awkward ducks, April Ludgates, and devout fan girls of the world. Manic pixie dream girls will be turned away at the door.

Please, NO picture books, poetry, non-fiction, or genre romance, crime/mystery, or sci-fi/fantasy for the adult market.

Website|Twitter





Patricia Nelson
Patricia Nelson joined Marsal Lyon Literary Agency in 2014. She represents adult, young adult, and middle grade fiction, and is actively building her list.In general, Patricia looks for stories that hook her with a unique plot, fantastic writing and complex characters that jump off the page. On the adult side, she is seeking women’s fiction both upmarket and commercial, historical fiction set in the 20th century, and compelling plot-driven literary fiction. She’s also looking for sexy, smart adult contemporary and historical single title romance. For YA and MG, Patricia is open to a wide range of genres, with particular interest in contemporary/realistic, magical realism, mystery, horror, and fantasy. She is interested in seeing diverse stories and characters, including LGBTQ, in all genres that she represents.Website|Twitter


Victoria Lowes
Victoria Lowes was born and raised in Queens, New York and graduated from the City University of New York, Queens College. Before joining the Bent Agency, she completed internships at Serendipity Literary and the Carol Mann Agency. She now lives on Long Island and in her spare time she can be found teaching dance classes for young students or watching re-runs of The Office.I’m looking for both commercial and literary fiction as well as young adult titles. My favorite genres are historical fiction, suspense, mysteries, upmarket women’s fiction, and romance.Website|Twitter


Melissa Jeglinski
A graduate of Clarion University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in English with a writing concentration, Melissa Jeglinski began her career as an editor with Harlequin Enterprises. Looking to work with a variety of authors and genres, she joined The Knight Agency in 2008.  With over two decades experience in the publishing industry, Melissa has fostered her clients to National prominence including a recent Newbery Honor. She is a member of RWA and AAR. Melissa is currently seeking projects in the following areas:  Romance (contemporary, category, historical, inspirational) Young Adult, Middle Grade, Women’s Fiction and Mystery.Website|Twitter


Lydia MoëdLydia Moëd came to Canada from the UK, where she worked as a foreign rights executive for UK publishers including Usborne Publishing and Elwin Street Productions. She has also worked as a freelance literary translator and editor, and as a bookseller at Foyles in London. In addition to handling foreign rights for The Rights Factory's children's and YA list, she is building her own list of clients for representation.For fiction, she is most interested in acquiring science fiction and fantasy, though she also enjoys magic realism, historical fiction and stories inspired by folklore from around the world. For non-fiction, she is interested in narrative non-fiction on a wide variety of topics, including history, popular science, biography and memoir. She would love to bring more translated literature into English, and particularly welcomes queries by authors from marginalized groups.Website|Twitter



Rena Rossner

Rena is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University’s Writing Seminars Program, where she double-majored in poetry and non-fiction writing. She studied at Trinity College, Dublin and holds an MA in History from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. She worked at bookstores in four countries, has written extensively for The Jerusalem Report and The Jerusalem Post, and worked in PR, grant-writing, and website development at The Jerusalem Foundation. She is a writer of both fiction and poetry as well as the author of the cookbook EATING THE BIBLE, which has been translated into five languages.
Rena is interested in representing Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculative Fiction in all genres, Adult Literary and Contemporary Fiction especially Upmarket Women’s Fiction, Historical Fiction and Thrillers. She is also actively seeking Young Adult, Middle Grade and Picture Books.
Website|Twitter

Getting the Call with H.A. Raynes

Chase away the winter blahs with this inspiring story. H.A. found not only an agent but a friend. We should all be so lucky!



After three years and as many revisions with my writers group, I decided my manuscript was ready to be sent out. Using mainly http://querytracker.net, I spent a month compiling agents interested in thrillers (my genre) and currently accepting submissions. During this time I also fine-tuned my query letter (endlessly, it felt!). I ended up having two versions and played around a bit to see if one of them had more bite than the other. To give you an idea, in the end, I went with query #12. What a torturous process! Onward...
I gave myself a year to get published via the traditional route after which I would reassess and likely self-publish. From the time I started sending queries until the time I signed with an agent was about four months. But I was relentless and sent out multiple queries daily. In the end these were my stats: 
QUERIES SENT: 68
REJECTIONS: 43
UNANSWERED QUERIES: 23 
REQUESTS FOR PARTIAL: 7
REQUESTS FOR FULL: 6
OFFERS OF REPRESENTATION: 2
My first offer of representation was by a very small agency run by two women. Despite having no other standing offer at the time, I turned them down because I wasn't in love with the books they represented and couldn't find anything online to legitimize them as agents with clout of any kind. Also, they didn't go out of their way to get to know me at all...
My second offer was like a whirlwind romance. I sent a query. In a day the agent asked for a partial. The following day she asked for the full manuscript. The next day she emailed and asked for a get-to-know-you call. A call! I freaked out. I might have danced. It was amazing. Butterflies. The phone rang and I knew it was fate when, in a lovely British accent, she told me she loved my book. Talking a mile a minute about why she loved it, I just nodded on my end, jaw hanging. I think the one remotely articulate thing I uttered was in the vein of:  
"Uh huh...I'm so excited...Yes...No, I can't think of one thing to ask. I'm just so excited." 
She said she knew "just the editor" for it and, though she wasn't even 100% finished reading the novel, she wanted to hear my voice and see if we gelled. 



We did. And four months later I had a final version of my MS, newly edited, and signed with HarperCollins and their Witness Impulse imprint. Craziest thing of all, my agent lives a mile away from me. She started her publishing career in London, then went to New York and finally moved outside of Boston when she felt established in the industry (and added kids to the mix). Now I can meet her for lunch or a coffee to talk about the elementary school where her kids attended and my kids attend now. Crazy small world. 
-----------------------------------------------
H. A. Raynes was inspired to write Nation of Enemies by a family member who was a Titanic survivor and another who escaped Poland in World War II. Combining lessons from the past with a healthy fear of the modern landscape, this novel was born. A longtime member of Boston’s writing community, H.A. Raynes has a history of trying anything once (acting, diving out of a plane, white water rafting, and parenting). Writing and raising children seem to have stuck.

Nation of Enemies, A Thriller: 
2032. Turned away by London Immigration because of his family’s inferior DNA, Dr. Cole Fitzgerald returns to work at Boston’s Mass General hospital. He purchases ballistics skins for family, a bulletproof car and a house in a Safe District. As the War at Home escalates, Cole begins an underground revolution to restore civil liberties and wipe away the inequity of biology. Along the way he’ll risk his family, his career and his life when he discovers the U.S. government may pose a greater threat than the terrorists themselves.
LINKS: Nation of Enemies, on Amazon: http://amazon.com/Nation-Enemies-Thriller-H-A-Raynes-ebook/dp/B00T3DR58U
Author site: www.nationofenemies.comGoodreads: http://goodreads.com/haraynesTwitter: http://twitter.com/hollyiswritingFacebook: http://facebook.com/HARaynes

Cover Reveal for MACHINATIONS

Perfect for fans of Robopocalypse, this action-packed science-fiction debut introduces a chilling future and an unforgettable heroine with a powerful role to play in the battle for humanity’s survival.
The machines have risen, but not out of malice. They were simply following a command: to stop the endless wars that have plagued the world throughout history. Their solution was perfectly logical. To end the fighting, they decided to end the human race.
A potent symbol of the resistance, Rhona Long has served on the front lines of the conflict since the first Machinations began—until she is killed during a rescue mission gone wrong. Now Rhona awakens to find herself transported to a new body, complete with her DNA, her personality, even her memories. She is a clone . . . of herself.
Trapped in the shadow of the life she once knew, the reincarnated Rhona must find her place among old friends and newfound enemies—and quickly. For the machines are inching closer to exterminating humans for good. And only Rhona, whoever she is now, can save them.
Pre-order Machinationstoday!
Amazon| Barnes & Noble | Kobo
And don’t forget to add it to your list on Goodreads!


ABOUT THE AUTHOR




Hayley Stone has lived her entire life in sunny California, where the weather is usually perfect and nothing as exciting as a robot apocalypse ever happens. When not reading or writing, she freelances as a graphic designer, falls in love with videogame characters, and analyzes buildings for velociraptor entry points. She holds a bachelor’s degree in history and a minor in German from California State University, Sacramento.
Machinations is her debut novel, releasing June 14th, 2016 from Hydra/Random House.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr | Pinterest

Mentors of Team Snow 2016

Here they are! The mentors for Team Snow. We'll plow down the competition and bury them under bulldozers of snow!

They will be helping the picks polish up their query letters and first pages. Here's a little something about the mentors. Please do follow them on twitter and buy their books. They work hard to help writers and deserve your thanks. Do read down to the bottom of the post for a special surprise!

And more than just bios, they are also listing their favorite writer snacks and cold weather memory for an added bit of fun. Join in. Leave a comment with your favorite writer snack and/or favorite cold weather memory.

And visit Amy's blog to see the Sun mentors. 


SFF mentor:

Vicki L. Weavil turned her early obsession with reading into a career as a librarian. She has a B.A. in Theatre, a Masters in Library Science, an M.A. in Liberal Studies, and is currently the Library Director for a performing and visual arts university.
Vicki’s debut novel, the YA fantasy, CROWN OF ICE, was published by Month9Books in 2014. Two additional books in the Snow Queen Saga series will be published – SCEPTER OF FIRE in fall 2016 and ORB OF LIGHT in 2017.  Vicki’s YA scifi, FACSIMILE, will be published by Month9Books on March 8, 2016, with its sequel, DERIVATION, scheduled to release in 2017. A new YA Fantasy, THE DIAMOND THIMBLE, will be published in 2018. She also writes adult science fiction.

An avid reader who appreciates good writing in all genres, Vicki’s been known to read seven books in as many days. When not writing or reading, she likes to spend her time watching films, listening to music, gardening, or traveling. Vicki is a member of SCWBI and is represented by Fran Black of Literary Counsel, NY, NY. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and two very spoiled cats.

My favorite writer snack is also one of my favorite snacks -- popcorn! 

Cold weather memory: Back when I was a child, we had a huge blizzard that kept us out of school for 3 weeks! (This was in northern Virginia, at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains). There were 20 foot drifts, and the roads right beyond our house were completely impassable -- they had to drop supplies from helicopters to the people who lived farther up the mountain slopes!

I remember walking done a road that was partially cleared (for foot traffic, anyway) and feeling as if the drifts were great walls rising up on either side of the road. It was like a strange, new world. We had to pull a sled up to the small country store in our rural town to get a few things like milk and flour. 
Website/blog: http://vickilempweavil.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/VickiLWeavilAuthor Page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VickiLempWeavil?ref=hlAuthor Page on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7091425.Vicki_L_WeavilPinterest: http://pinterest.com/vickilweavil/


Romance and WF mentor:
Laura Heffernan is a California-born women's fiction writer, represented by Michelle Richter at Fuse Literary. One Saturday morning when she was four or five, Laura sat down at the family's Commodore 64 and typed out her first short story. She's written ever since. Laura also works as a freelance editor and interns for a super cool literary agent. She's pro-Oxford comma, anti-unnecessary to be verbs, and believes cookie dough is a key food group, especially when writing or editing.

When she used to have spare time, Laura enjoyed travel, baking, board games, and new experiences. She lives in the northeast, freezing like the true California girl she is, with her amazing husband and two furry little beasts. Although she insists on wearing flip-flops long after any reasonable person would give them up, Laura is pleased to announce that she may have finally found the perfect fuzzy socks.

Favorite writer snack: cookie dough (sounds good to me!) 

Cold weather memory: This will come as shocking news to anyone who follows me on Twitter, but my favorite writing and editing snack food is chocolate chip cookie dough. It’s best when made from scratch, but I’m happy to eat the prepackaged stuff from stores, too. When I die of salmonella, no one will be surprised.

I grew up in a land where cold weather was a fantasy, something experienced in far-away lands like Hoth or Boston. So I don’t have any childhood memories of snow or “cold" temperatures that wouldn’t make me roll my eyes now. But after I graduated college and moved east, I started working in an office full of native New Englanders. One day, I was minding my own business, working at my desk, when I looked up and saw the weirdest thing - giant white blobs hurtling out of the sky toward the ground. “Oh my God! What is that?” I pointed and yelled. All of my co-workers chuckled, because I truly had no idea what falling snow looked like. 



MG mentor:
Wade Albert White is the author of the middle grade novel, The Adventurer’s Guide to Successful Escapes, and its sequel, The Adventurer’s Guide to Dragons (and Why They Keep Biting Me), forthcoming from Little Brown Books for Young Readers in 2016 and 2017 respectively. In addition to writing, he teaches part time, runs, and hones the skill of playing video games with his kids and losing every single time (really, it’s an art form). He is represented by Elizabeth Kaplan of the Elizabeth Kaplan Literary Agency.


Favorite writer snack:Trail Mix
Paragraph:One of my favorite cold weather memories happened during my first year in university. The entire city was buried under five feet of snow in about a day and a half, bringing everything to a complete standstill (I mean, I know I live in Canada, but Holy Snowfall, Batman!). Local snow removal contractors hired out students in droves to help shovel out people’s homes. And I mean that literally. They would drop us off in the middle of a street, point in the direction of a house (in some cases with little more than the roof showing), and say: “Somewhere around here is a driveway with two cars in it, and over there is the front walkway. Those people are trapped in there until you dig them out.” I spent the next thirty-six hours shoveling. That was twenty-five years ago and my arms are still tired.
Twitter: @wadealbertwhiteWebsite: wadealbertwhite.ca


Mystery and Thriller Mentor:
Max Wirestone is the rapidly balding author of the Dahlia Moss mystery series, which Charlaine Harris called "a barrel of fun," and was featured in Barnes & Noble's "Best of the Season" book display. His first novel, The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss, is currently available in ebook, audiobook, and hardcover, and the "The Astonishing Mistakes of Dahlia Moss" will follow later this year.
Max is also an alumnus of contest just like these, having sent his on query into Query Kombat not too long ago. 

My favorite writing snack is bourbon.

My favorite winter memory:
I grew up in southern Alabama, where winter isn't so much as a season as a cosmic happening, like a comet that crosses path with the earth every five years. I suppose my favorite memory is the time it 'snowed', which meant that the the thinnest possible layer of jack frost kissed the ground and Alabamans panicked like it was Ragnarok. Stay off the roads, everyone! A glaze of jack frost is here! Stay inside! Protect your children! Dress appropriately!
My brothers and I wanted to build a snowman, because like other Alabamans, we really did think the end was coming. This was hard because it wasn't at all the right kind of snow, or, arguably, snow at all. Also there was practically none of it. We drug our little wagon all over our yard and picked up every ounce of 'snow' we could get, despite the fact that our snow mostly consisted of decayed leaves and dirt. When we were done, there wasn't a speck of white in the entire front yard.
Then we built a tiny little snowman, which was mucky and horrifying, and essentially looked like something that belonged in the Blair Witch Project. It was made of dirt and its cold black charcoal eyes seemed to say: "please kill me."
The neighborhood kids were so jealous.
Follow him on twitter at @maxwires (he loves the attention) or gaze into the void of his blog at maxwirestone.com


Contemporary Mentor:
Marty Mayberry writes young adult and adult stories, and infuses them with romance. When she’s not dreaming up ways to mess with her character’s lives, she works as an RN/Clinical Documentation Specialist. She has a BA in International Affairs in German and an Associate’s Degree in Nursing. She lives in Maine with her husband, children, and three neurotic cats. She’s a member of SCBWI, YARWA, and a PRO member of RWA. Give her a long walk on a powdery beach, an ancient ruin to explore, or a good book, and her life’s complete.
Her young adult sci-fi thriller, PHOENIX RISING, won the 2015 YARWA’s Rosemary Award for speculative fiction.

She’s represented by Jessica Watterson of the Sandra Dijkstra Agency.

My favorite writer snack: Plain goldfish crackers. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
My favorite cold weather memory: We recently lost our chocolate lab due to illness. He was almost twelve. I guess my favorite winter memory is from when he was younger, healthier, zippier. We have a long driveway that gradually slopes toward the road and every year, when the snow is packed down from tires, we go sledding. Tucker (or dog) loved sledding. Or, he loved racing along beside us when we went sledding. He’d bark, jump in front of us and nearly make us dump our sled, and then wait for us at the base, tail wagging, panting, mouth wide in a toothy grin. My favorite memory is of the recent sled ride I took in honor of Tucker. Hope you had a good run, buddy.
Twitter: @marty_mayberry
Website: http://martymayberry.com/



Aren't they the tops! 

Now the special surprise!

We will be having a Mentor Chat with two sessions on January 29th at 3:00 pm EST and 9:00 pm EST. You can visit the Mentor Chat on twitter and pick the brains of these experienced writers along with the hosts. Feel free to ask questions about genre and word count or writing in general. Ask about their experience on submission or once they were published.

We will be using the hashtag #svschat. Can't wait to see you all there. And the agent post will be coming Friday!  

Growing as a Writer

I was very lucky when I was newer to writing to stumble upon Agent Query Connect and somehow get myself into the Speculative Fiction group there. I started doing the summer critique marathon to hone my manuscripts, and I have entered every year since I first wrote Kindar's Cure (the second of my nearly six manuscripts). All of my ms have been critiqued there.

I remember my first marathon when I was getting weekly critiques for the first twelve chapters of Kindar. The group consisted of writers with all levels of experience--some were just starting, a few had agents, some soon made book deals. (Even more of us have had success now.) Back then it was a struggle to remember all the rules of writing. We used to have debates about how to cut out all the "was/were" usages from our manuscripts. Taking out all the "was/were" and rewriting sure made for some awkward and twisted sentences. We worried out how many adverbs might be allowable. We argued on whether we should stray from "said/asked" as dialogue tags into the more inventive "shouted" or "whispered" or other form of label for speaking. We counted each exclamation mark and wondered if there was a magic number of them that was too many for an agent to let slip past. Some even preached against using any -ing verbs. In other words, we sweated the small stuff.

There is an art to teaching yourself to avoid "to be" verbs and using action verbs instead. It really didn't come naturally to me at first. But trying to remove ninety-five percent of them was a mistake. Oh, I still avoid them as much as possible and keep them out of description the best I can, but now I've relaxed as a writer and know they aren't the ending of all things. It's all right if "was/were" slips in, especially in character inner thoughts. It feels more unnatural not to have them.

The same with dialogue tags. A few "he commanded" in place of "he said" never killed anything. I'm no longer frightened by the sight of an 'ly word in my manuscript, though I do avoid pairing them with the dialogue tags. I have learned not to let my characters shout loudly for example. :-) 

My editor actually add exclamation marks in places during our content edit of Grudging and told me they are okay when needed. They aren't the bane of edit/agent existence as I'd supposed.

I was particularly fixated on cutting all the filtering from my manuscripts. It was my writing religion. They are extra word count after all, not really needed. As bad as the crutch words like 'just, even, still and back." I struck out all the "she heard, he looked, and they knew." But now on my sixth manuscript, I let a few of these despicable blackguards filters slip back in. They have their uses and can be helpful at establishing character after a POV change.

The critique group no longer points out semi-colons, determine not to use too many. My editor changed many of the ones I had to dashes. Dashes seem to be the new cool tool. But using semi-colons no longer scares me. They are just another punctuation.

Yes, there are rules to the pure writing side, the putting words to paper creativity. And sweating the small stuff at first and learning to follow those rules is part of the process of growing as a writer.

Because rules are meant to be broken. And the good thing about experience is it gives you the instinct to know when is the right time to break the rules and add that adverb. Practice may never makes perfect in writing, but it does give the confidence to stop sweating the small stuff. 

Or maybe it means you've conquered the small stuff.

Where are you on the journey? Do you sweat the small stuff yet? Don't worry if you do. It leads to better things!