Hannah R. Goodman's Blog, page 16
June 17, 2015
NEW @TheYAGuy #allthewayya #Amwriting Se
NEW @TheYAGuy #allthewayya #Amwriting Second Book Blues #publishing @StephanieKeyes @kacimari http://ow.ly/OstjB
Second Book Blues
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about publishing novels, it’s that there are no guarantees.
In my previous post, I wrote about finding an agent–and then having to find another when the first one didn’t work out. Here, I want to write about publishing my first book–and then having to work even harder to publish my second.
Common sense says it shouldn’t be that way. After publishing Book #1, Book #2 should be easier to write (thanks to experience) and publish (thanks to reputation). But for many writers, that isn’t the case. Consider:
One of my friends had a two-book deal. Then her publisher folded after Book #1.
Another friend also had a two-book deal. She submitted no fewer than three possible Book #2 manuscripts to her editor. Her editor rejected all three.
A third friend had a one-book deal, but (when Book #1 did quite well) figured he’d be able to sell Books #2 and #3 of a trilogy. His editor told him to wrap up the story in Book #2.
My experience was similar to his. In my contract for SURVIVAL COLONY 9, I had the standard “option” clause: I needed to offer my next novel-length work to my editor, who had the option of buying it before I showed it to anyone else. I produced a sequel, part 2 of a planned trilogy, and had my agent send it to my editor.
Who took almost six months before telling me she hated it. I mean, HATED it.
By this time, I’d nearly completed Book #3. Theoretically, having satisfied the option, my agent could have shopped Book #2 elsewhere. But with SURVIVAL COLONY 9 being my debut, what editor was going to look at a manuscript the editor for Book #1 had rejected?
My editor suggested I combine Book #3 with the (very few) parts of Book #2 she liked. That meant crunching two 80,000 word manuscripts into a single 80,000 word manuscript. With my mad math skillz, I calculated I’d have to trim 80,000 words overall.
Somehow, I did it. I kept the first chapter of Book #2, chopped out the middle, added the middle chapters of Book #3, then wrapped it up with the end chapters of both manuscripts.
Or something like that. It was far messier than that makes it sound.
In the end, I had a manuscript my editor liked enough to make an offer on. She still wanted major changes–as in, she sent me a four page, single-spaced letter and a manuscript full of post-it notes telling me everything I needed to change–but she also sent a contract. As of this writing, I’ve completed the revisions and am crossing my fingers that she’ll like what I’ve done enough to send the book to copy-editing.
I don’t want to sound as if I’m complaining. I do have one published book, and may soon have a second. I also have a very supportive agent and editor, neither of whom gave up on me during my struggles with Book #2.
But I do want to be truthful. It’s possible I’ll get to the point where anything I write will sail through, either because I’ve become such a brilliant writer or such a bestseller no one would dream of saying “no.”
The reality for most writers, however, is that each new book is a new challenge, with no guarantees.
“To hate YA is to hate your inner teena
“To hate YA is to hate your inner teenager, it’s to hate a part of yourself.” #5On #YARules #Amreading #Amwriting
Hannah Goodman in today’s #5On: “Th
Hannah Goodman in today’s #5On: “The criticism [of YA fiction] comes from snobbery and small-mindedness.” http://ow.ly/Ori0v #YA
June 12, 2015
#RhodeIsland #AmReading #BookSigning #Ba
#RhodeIsland #AmReading #BookSigning #Barnes&Noble On #June13 my birthday! @RIAuthors @Overlords @terrywildemann http://ow.ly/OaBUB
January 6, 2015
FEAR OF FORTY
159 Days to 40
January 6th
159 days until 40
This post is the first in a series as I marathon to 40
FEAR OF FORTY
I've been afraid of my upcoming birthday. It’s a cliché I know, but as I get older, I find that clichés usually have a ton of truth to them.
I don’t like getting older because I haven’t accomplished what I thought I would, and I’m tired…the energy it takes to keep at it, to continue to climb the mountain, is the same as it was ten years ago, but my body feels it a whole lot more.
In a not-too-long ago blog post I described a recent battle with depression and anxiety. It wasn't for very long, nor was it worthy of going off to the mental ward, though I tried…and luckily, I failed. The true sign that you are not insane is asking yourself if you are because if you have that much self-awareness, then you are fine. Good news: if you are actually conscious enough of your own crazy, then you aren't, in fact, crazy!
As I continue to recover from this episode of depression and anxiety, I reflect on why this all happened in the first place.
My family insists that I was doing too much—started school for a CAGS in Mental Health Counseling, published a literary anthology, edited a manuscript for my agent, republished my first two books, work, kids, family….etc… And even the doctors we spoke to all said that burnout seemed to be the cause.
After a period of slowing way, way, way down, I began to get back to my life. I started to feel better over time and that’s when I realized that yes, physically, I was tired and a bit burned out, but what I believe was the fire in the furnace of this slow burnout was a deep, deep sadness about my writing, a sadness that’s been growing, like a tumor, slowly, over the last six years…starting with the moment I graduated from the Solstice Program at Pine Manor College and left the cocoon of love and support that a proper MFA program will provide.
***
THERE’S A BOOK IN MY HEAD!
I knew I was meant to be a writer when I was around 9-years-old and complained to my mother about the book constantly being written in my head; I narrated everything in my life, in first-person, and each significant moment was given a chapter title and number: Chapter 14, My First Slow Dance—Where do I put my arms?
That same school year, my fourth grade teacher gave me an award: Ambition Is To Be An Author….it validated my dreams, but over many years, this very same ambition would become my albatross.
***
DREAMS COME TRUE (sort of)
Writing, for most of my life, wasn't about performing but about the process of words coming up, stories appearing in my head and then me pouring them out without much self-consciousness. The thought of being published was far away, the stuff of daydreams, not real life.
Then, when my so-called dreams became a reality, and that reality didn't match my day dreams, I started to feel really bad about my writing and then about myself.
***
SUCK IT, MR. GUIDANCE COUNSELOR!
A decade ago, I had some success in self-publishing and then got an agent and then another agent. Those moments weren't planned and plotted, rather wonderful, happy accidents. And when I say success, I mean specifically, I won awards, garnered some media attention, and was desirable to a few agents. For a girl from Middletown, RI, who graduated with a less than desirable GPA and was told don’t bother to go to college, this was a big deal.
Sidebar: Mr. Guidance Counselor who,a little over twenty years ago, told me to look into a two year college, I've got two master’s degrees now and have written a couple of books. So, you can suck it.
***
PERFORMANCE ANXIETY
Post MFA, I got an agent and created Sucker Literary and things were looking up…Then, because gravity dictates what comes up must come down, came the failures…many rejections for a manuscript that we had out on submission for almost two years. And my beloved Sucker started to become more work than I could handle alone, and the initial excitement over it among readers and writers seemed wane.
By April of 2014, that spontaneous overflow of words and the ease with which I had once expressed them had all but melted away. I was left with—what I think was—performance anxiety and stage fright. This is not to be confused with writer’s block. I'd never really stopped writing, but I felt shitty when I dido…at least, initially, and my confidence was much lower. Though I have accomplished much on paper and have experienced many amazing and surprising successes, I actually was feeling worse about myself as a writer than ten years ago when I published my first book.
***
BREAK DOWN
When I was 17-years-old and a senior in highschool, I had a similar emotional break down like the one I just experienced in April. And back then, performing my craft (dance and theater, at the time) became terrifying. In fact, I dropped out of being the lead in the school play and I took myself out of most of the dance numbers for my annual dance recital. Where once performing was exhilarating, it now was terrifying.
I got over it. I mean, I was 17 and still didn’t know the depths of my own fears, so once I got myself back on track, I performed on stage again several times over the next few years.
When I was 28, I took my beloved personal craft of writing and put it on stage, and as I had felt with dance and theater, I enjoyed the attention and performance aspect of books signings and readings and seeing it on Amazon and appearing in articles, on radio shows, and even on TV. Then, ten years later, the disappointment and failure of not being where I thought I would be, became crippling.
***
What I have come to understand is that my way of thinking, the lens through which I view the failures I've had is what’s really sending me into depression. That is, it’s not what’s happening that causes me to feel like shit, it’s my perspective. I can tell you the countless number of fellow author friends who are going through what I am, and they are not depressed. They've been at it for ten plus years, still don't have that book deal, and they don’t feel like failures, nor do I see them as failures. They view each rejection or their lack of selling a ton of books (my self-pub sisters and brothers) or their not getting a book deal as just these obstacles to walk over or around or—hell—even through.
And, thanks to lots of therapy, I'm starting to feel that way too. Failure is not a four letter word—it's a seven letter word and seven is a magical number.
January 6th
159 days until 40
This post is the first in a series as I marathon to 40
FEAR OF FORTY
I've been afraid of my upcoming birthday. It’s a cliché I know, but as I get older, I find that clichés usually have a ton of truth to them.
I don’t like getting older because I haven’t accomplished what I thought I would, and I’m tired…the energy it takes to keep at it, to continue to climb the mountain, is the same as it was ten years ago, but my body feels it a whole lot more.
In a not-too-long ago blog post I described a recent battle with depression and anxiety. It wasn't for very long, nor was it worthy of going off to the mental ward, though I tried…and luckily, I failed. The true sign that you are not insane is asking yourself if you are because if you have that much self-awareness, then you are fine. Good news: if you are actually conscious enough of your own crazy, then you aren't, in fact, crazy!
As I continue to recover from this episode of depression and anxiety, I reflect on why this all happened in the first place.
My family insists that I was doing too much—started school for a CAGS in Mental Health Counseling, published a literary anthology, edited a manuscript for my agent, republished my first two books, work, kids, family….etc… And even the doctors we spoke to all said that burnout seemed to be the cause.
After a period of slowing way, way, way down, I began to get back to my life. I started to feel better over time and that’s when I realized that yes, physically, I was tired and a bit burned out, but what I believe was the fire in the furnace of this slow burnout was a deep, deep sadness about my writing, a sadness that’s been growing, like a tumor, slowly, over the last six years…starting with the moment I graduated from the Solstice Program at Pine Manor College and left the cocoon of love and support that a proper MFA program will provide.
***
THERE’S A BOOK IN MY HEAD!
I knew I was meant to be a writer when I was around 9-years-old and complained to my mother about the book constantly being written in my head; I narrated everything in my life, in first-person, and each significant moment was given a chapter title and number: Chapter 14, My First Slow Dance—Where do I put my arms?
That same school year, my fourth grade teacher gave me an award: Ambition Is To Be An Author….it validated my dreams, but over many years, this very same ambition would become my albatross.
***
DREAMS COME TRUE (sort of)
Writing, for most of my life, wasn't about performing but about the process of words coming up, stories appearing in my head and then me pouring them out without much self-consciousness. The thought of being published was far away, the stuff of daydreams, not real life.
Then, when my so-called dreams became a reality, and that reality didn't match my day dreams, I started to feel really bad about my writing and then about myself.
***
SUCK IT, MR. GUIDANCE COUNSELOR!
A decade ago, I had some success in self-publishing and then got an agent and then another agent. Those moments weren't planned and plotted, rather wonderful, happy accidents. And when I say success, I mean specifically, I won awards, garnered some media attention, and was desirable to a few agents. For a girl from Middletown, RI, who graduated with a less than desirable GPA and was told don’t bother to go to college, this was a big deal.
Sidebar: Mr. Guidance Counselor who,a little over twenty years ago, told me to look into a two year college, I've got two master’s degrees now and have written a couple of books. So, you can suck it.
***
PERFORMANCE ANXIETY
Post MFA, I got an agent and created Sucker Literary and things were looking up…Then, because gravity dictates what comes up must come down, came the failures…many rejections for a manuscript that we had out on submission for almost two years. And my beloved Sucker started to become more work than I could handle alone, and the initial excitement over it among readers and writers seemed wane.
By April of 2014, that spontaneous overflow of words and the ease with which I had once expressed them had all but melted away. I was left with—what I think was—performance anxiety and stage fright. This is not to be confused with writer’s block. I'd never really stopped writing, but I felt shitty when I dido…at least, initially, and my confidence was much lower. Though I have accomplished much on paper and have experienced many amazing and surprising successes, I actually was feeling worse about myself as a writer than ten years ago when I published my first book.
***
BREAK DOWN
When I was 17-years-old and a senior in highschool, I had a similar emotional break down like the one I just experienced in April. And back then, performing my craft (dance and theater, at the time) became terrifying. In fact, I dropped out of being the lead in the school play and I took myself out of most of the dance numbers for my annual dance recital. Where once performing was exhilarating, it now was terrifying.
I got over it. I mean, I was 17 and still didn’t know the depths of my own fears, so once I got myself back on track, I performed on stage again several times over the next few years.
When I was 28, I took my beloved personal craft of writing and put it on stage, and as I had felt with dance and theater, I enjoyed the attention and performance aspect of books signings and readings and seeing it on Amazon and appearing in articles, on radio shows, and even on TV. Then, ten years later, the disappointment and failure of not being where I thought I would be, became crippling.
***
What I have come to understand is that my way of thinking, the lens through which I view the failures I've had is what’s really sending me into depression. That is, it’s not what’s happening that causes me to feel like shit, it’s my perspective. I can tell you the countless number of fellow author friends who are going through what I am, and they are not depressed. They've been at it for ten plus years, still don't have that book deal, and they don’t feel like failures, nor do I see them as failures. They view each rejection or their lack of selling a ton of books (my self-pub sisters and brothers) or their not getting a book deal as just these obstacles to walk over or around or—hell—even through.
And, thanks to lots of therapy, I'm starting to feel that way too. Failure is not a four letter word—it's a seven letter word and seven is a magical number.
September 1, 2014
Bloghop 2014
Introducing, Maddie Hickman: Character Bloghop 2014
My journey to becoming a published author started with Maddie Hickman in 2004, when I self-published My Sister’s Wedding to great accolades and fanfare. Ten years later, I decided to republish the book to celebrate its ten year anniversary.
Today, I reintroduce her to the world as I republish the second book in the series I now call The Maddie Chronicles.
While Maddie hasn't caught the attention of the wider publishing world (yet!), the final book (never been published but is complete) in the series will be the breakout one; I'm convinced that four is the charm!
Maddie has brought a lot of joy to my life. Particularly, recently, when my oldest daughter read the about to be re-published My Summer Vacation, and proclaimed that she, "Absolutely loved it!" and even went so far as so quote some of her favorite lines.
So, today, I introduce you to Maddie Hickman, my first born (fictional) and some may say my alter ego. I will be introducing her as she makes her way into the second book in the series, the above mentioned My Summer Vacation.
Before I get to that, I'd like to introduce YA author and staff member of Sucker Literary, Shannon Lee Alexander. When I learned that she was having her debut novel coming out this year with Entangled Publishing I was beyond excited and thrilled. As well as being extremely talented, Shannon is a generous writer, having worked with her through Sucker Literary and read her critiques of submissions, I know this to be true. I'm happy to watch her get out there and take the YA world by storm with her book, Love and Other Unknown Variables. I also want to thank her for tagging me in this Character Bloghop.
Shannon is wife and mother to two kids and one yellow terrier named Harriet Potter. She is passionate about coffee, books, and cancer research. Math makes her break out in a sweat. Love and Other Unknown Variables is her debut novel. It comes out October 7, 2014 from Entangled Publishing. She currently lives in Indianapolis with her family.
Love and Other Unknown Variables
Charlie Hanson has a clear vision of his future. A senior at Brighton School of Mathematics and Science, he knows he’ll graduate, go to MIT, and inevitably discover the solutions to the universe’s greatest unanswerable problems. He’s that smart. But Charlie’s future blurs the moment he reaches out to touch the tattoo on a beautiful girl’s neck.
The future has never seemed very kind to Charlotte Finch, so she’s counting on the present. She’s not impressed by the strange boy pawing at her until she learns he’s a student at Brighton, where her sister has just taken a job as the English teacher. With her encouragement, Charlie orchestrates the most effective prank campaign in Brighton history. And in doing so, he puts his own future in jeopardy.
By the time he learns Charlotte is ill—and that the pranks were a way to distract Ms. Finch from Charlotte’s illness—Charlotte’s gravitational pull on Charlie is too great to overcome. Soon he must choose between the familiar formulas he’s always relied on, or the girl he’s falling for (at far more than 32 feet per second).
Click here to read an excerpt from Love and Other Unknown Variables.
Visit Entangled Publishing’s webpage for more information and to order Love and Other Unknown Variables.
To learn more, visit Shannon on her website at www.shannonleealexander.com.
Sign up for Shannon’s newsletter for news, games, and special contests and giveaways.
And now, introducing, Maddie Hickman!
What is the name of your character? Is s/he fictional/historical?
My name is Maddie, and I’m a fictional person—but isn’t fiction just reality with different names and places? I know that a lot of my author’s life shows up in mine—pieces of her teenagehood, parts of her family members.
When and where is the story set?
The summer after my sophomore year, when the only boy I’ve ever loved, ever had a crush on, broke my heart into tiny pieces and then shredded those pieces into tinier specks... at my favorite place in the word where I get to fully be my total nerd-girl self—Caleb’s Rock Summer Camp.
If you want to read the story of Justin and me and all about my very worst year, read My Sister’s Wedding.
What should we know about me?
You should know that I’m a writer and that if you are in my life, you’ll wind up in the book I’ve been planning to write (which actually happens in the not-yet-published book 4 of my life). You should also know that from the very first few days of camp, unfortunately, not one, but two boys have caught my eye. This is bad because boys get me into trouble.
What is my goal?
To forget Justin (my ex) and have a really fun summer writing and hanging out with my camp friends…and to avoid cute boys at all costs because they only lead to heartbreak and I've had enough.
What is screwing up my life (main conflict in writerly speak)?
In the backdrop, it’s Justin, who I can’t stop thinking about, and my growing feelings for a new boy who isn’t my type and my I-can’t-explain feelings for another new boy. Oh and my alcoholic older sister who decides to stop her sober streak while I'm at summer camp and email me that she's fallen off the wagon. Fun times.
What is the title?
Aptly entitled My Summer Vacation.
When can we expect the book to be published?
Any minute! Officially, the ebook drops on September 9th and is available for pre order and the paperback is available NOW!
Now that you've met Maddie, and ordered My Summer Vacation and My Sister’s Wedding. Let's pay it forward and read on about some more terrific authors joining the Character Bloghop.
Sahara Roberts caught the writing bug early in life. She enjoys writing Romantic Suspense and Contemporary Romance. Her days are filled with international trade issues (the legal kind) and her evenings writing steamy romance. When she's not at her usual hangout, Savvy Authors, she enjoys socializing on Facebook, Twitter, GoodReads, Google+, Pinterest and her website, or watching Castle, NCIS, Supernatural, and The Walking Dead (Following Daryl). Sahara lives in South Texas with her husband and two very spoiled cats. She enjoys cooking, baking, and cake decorating, but she would certainly prefer to have someone else do the dishes. www.SaharaRoberts.com
www.facebook.com/SaharaRoberts Follow me @SaharaRobertsBK
Deborah Nam-Krane is a writer living in Boston proper who has been storytelling since she was a little girl and writing those stories down since she was eight. Any given day will find her reading, writing, reviewing, editing and, just for fun, homeschooling her three school-aged children (she’s very grateful the fourth is now college-aged).
Let's Move On is the fourth installment of the New Pioneers series, the sequel to The Smartest Girl in the Room (March 2013), The Family You Choose (September 2013) and The China Doll (March 2014).
The best way to keep in touch is to follow her blog Written By Deb and subscribe to her newsletter (only publishing announcements, never spam).
Justine Manzano is a multi-genre writer living in Bronx, NY with her husband, son, and a cacophony of cats. Her short fiction has appeared in the anthology Things You Can Create, Sliver of Stone Magazine, and The Greenwich Village Literary Review. She maintains a semi-monthly blog at JustineManzano.com and a twitter account where she discusses her adventures in juggling aspects of her life such as motherhood, writing, and the very serious businesses of fangirling and multiple forms of geekery. She works as a fiction reader for Sucker Literary Magazine and is currently searching for a publishing home for her YA Urban Fantasy series, Keys and Guardians.
Christina Irace is an, as of yet, unpublished author, but looking forward to self-publishing on Kindle as soon as she completes her upcoming novella, Out of the Ashes. She is hoping to publish other novellas centered upon the lives of different characters in a small suburban town modeled after her hometown of Cape Elizabeth, ME. She got her Bachelor’s in Media Studies at the University of Southern Maine and attended the Pine Manor Low-Residency MFA Program from 2006-2009. She lives in South Portland with her cat Stella and counsels people in foreclosure when she is not writing. She copyrighted two short stories within the past couple of years, and some of her work can be found here: https://www.fictionpress.com/u/542853.... You can visit her blog here: http://chmirasblog.wordpress.com/2014....
My journey to becoming a published author started with Maddie Hickman in 2004, when I self-published My Sister’s Wedding to great accolades and fanfare. Ten years later, I decided to republish the book to celebrate its ten year anniversary.
Today, I reintroduce her to the world as I republish the second book in the series I now call The Maddie Chronicles.
While Maddie hasn't caught the attention of the wider publishing world (yet!), the final book (never been published but is complete) in the series will be the breakout one; I'm convinced that four is the charm!
Maddie has brought a lot of joy to my life. Particularly, recently, when my oldest daughter read the about to be re-published My Summer Vacation, and proclaimed that she, "Absolutely loved it!" and even went so far as so quote some of her favorite lines.
So, today, I introduce you to Maddie Hickman, my first born (fictional) and some may say my alter ego. I will be introducing her as she makes her way into the second book in the series, the above mentioned My Summer Vacation.
Before I get to that, I'd like to introduce YA author and staff member of Sucker Literary, Shannon Lee Alexander. When I learned that she was having her debut novel coming out this year with Entangled Publishing I was beyond excited and thrilled. As well as being extremely talented, Shannon is a generous writer, having worked with her through Sucker Literary and read her critiques of submissions, I know this to be true. I'm happy to watch her get out there and take the YA world by storm with her book, Love and Other Unknown Variables. I also want to thank her for tagging me in this Character Bloghop.
Shannon is wife and mother to two kids and one yellow terrier named Harriet Potter. She is passionate about coffee, books, and cancer research. Math makes her break out in a sweat. Love and Other Unknown Variables is her debut novel. It comes out October 7, 2014 from Entangled Publishing. She currently lives in Indianapolis with her family.
Love and Other Unknown Variables
Charlie Hanson has a clear vision of his future. A senior at Brighton School of Mathematics and Science, he knows he’ll graduate, go to MIT, and inevitably discover the solutions to the universe’s greatest unanswerable problems. He’s that smart. But Charlie’s future blurs the moment he reaches out to touch the tattoo on a beautiful girl’s neck.
The future has never seemed very kind to Charlotte Finch, so she’s counting on the present. She’s not impressed by the strange boy pawing at her until she learns he’s a student at Brighton, where her sister has just taken a job as the English teacher. With her encouragement, Charlie orchestrates the most effective prank campaign in Brighton history. And in doing so, he puts his own future in jeopardy.
By the time he learns Charlotte is ill—and that the pranks were a way to distract Ms. Finch from Charlotte’s illness—Charlotte’s gravitational pull on Charlie is too great to overcome. Soon he must choose between the familiar formulas he’s always relied on, or the girl he’s falling for (at far more than 32 feet per second).
Click here to read an excerpt from Love and Other Unknown Variables.
Visit Entangled Publishing’s webpage for more information and to order Love and Other Unknown Variables.
To learn more, visit Shannon on her website at www.shannonleealexander.com.
Sign up for Shannon’s newsletter for news, games, and special contests and giveaways.
And now, introducing, Maddie Hickman!
What is the name of your character? Is s/he fictional/historical?
My name is Maddie, and I’m a fictional person—but isn’t fiction just reality with different names and places? I know that a lot of my author’s life shows up in mine—pieces of her teenagehood, parts of her family members.
When and where is the story set?
The summer after my sophomore year, when the only boy I’ve ever loved, ever had a crush on, broke my heart into tiny pieces and then shredded those pieces into tinier specks... at my favorite place in the word where I get to fully be my total nerd-girl self—Caleb’s Rock Summer Camp.
If you want to read the story of Justin and me and all about my very worst year, read My Sister’s Wedding.
What should we know about me?
You should know that I’m a writer and that if you are in my life, you’ll wind up in the book I’ve been planning to write (which actually happens in the not-yet-published book 4 of my life). You should also know that from the very first few days of camp, unfortunately, not one, but two boys have caught my eye. This is bad because boys get me into trouble.
What is my goal?
To forget Justin (my ex) and have a really fun summer writing and hanging out with my camp friends…and to avoid cute boys at all costs because they only lead to heartbreak and I've had enough.
What is screwing up my life (main conflict in writerly speak)?
In the backdrop, it’s Justin, who I can’t stop thinking about, and my growing feelings for a new boy who isn’t my type and my I-can’t-explain feelings for another new boy. Oh and my alcoholic older sister who decides to stop her sober streak while I'm at summer camp and email me that she's fallen off the wagon. Fun times.
What is the title?
Aptly entitled My Summer Vacation.
When can we expect the book to be published?
Any minute! Officially, the ebook drops on September 9th and is available for pre order and the paperback is available NOW!
Now that you've met Maddie, and ordered My Summer Vacation and My Sister’s Wedding. Let's pay it forward and read on about some more terrific authors joining the Character Bloghop.
Sahara Roberts caught the writing bug early in life. She enjoys writing Romantic Suspense and Contemporary Romance. Her days are filled with international trade issues (the legal kind) and her evenings writing steamy romance. When she's not at her usual hangout, Savvy Authors, she enjoys socializing on Facebook, Twitter, GoodReads, Google+, Pinterest and her website, or watching Castle, NCIS, Supernatural, and The Walking Dead (Following Daryl). Sahara lives in South Texas with her husband and two very spoiled cats. She enjoys cooking, baking, and cake decorating, but she would certainly prefer to have someone else do the dishes. www.SaharaRoberts.com
www.facebook.com/SaharaRoberts Follow me @SaharaRobertsBK
Deborah Nam-Krane is a writer living in Boston proper who has been storytelling since she was a little girl and writing those stories down since she was eight. Any given day will find her reading, writing, reviewing, editing and, just for fun, homeschooling her three school-aged children (she’s very grateful the fourth is now college-aged).
Let's Move On is the fourth installment of the New Pioneers series, the sequel to The Smartest Girl in the Room (March 2013), The Family You Choose (September 2013) and The China Doll (March 2014).
The best way to keep in touch is to follow her blog Written By Deb and subscribe to her newsletter (only publishing announcements, never spam).
Justine Manzano is a multi-genre writer living in Bronx, NY with her husband, son, and a cacophony of cats. Her short fiction has appeared in the anthology Things You Can Create, Sliver of Stone Magazine, and The Greenwich Village Literary Review. She maintains a semi-monthly blog at JustineManzano.com and a twitter account where she discusses her adventures in juggling aspects of her life such as motherhood, writing, and the very serious businesses of fangirling and multiple forms of geekery. She works as a fiction reader for Sucker Literary Magazine and is currently searching for a publishing home for her YA Urban Fantasy series, Keys and Guardians.
Christina Irace is an, as of yet, unpublished author, but looking forward to self-publishing on Kindle as soon as she completes her upcoming novella, Out of the Ashes. She is hoping to publish other novellas centered upon the lives of different characters in a small suburban town modeled after her hometown of Cape Elizabeth, ME. She got her Bachelor’s in Media Studies at the University of Southern Maine and attended the Pine Manor Low-Residency MFA Program from 2006-2009. She lives in South Portland with her cat Stella and counsels people in foreclosure when she is not writing. She copyrighted two short stories within the past couple of years, and some of her work can be found here: https://www.fictionpress.com/u/542853.... You can visit her blog here: http://chmirasblog.wordpress.com/2014....
March 27, 2014
February 9, 2010
Why (I) Write
Why Write?
I write to express.
I write to understand.
I write to see.
I write to hear.
I write to know.
I write to grow.
I write to create.
I write to get closer.
I write to be better.
I write to inspire.
I write to witness.
I’m writing because it feels right. I’m writing because other forms of expression don’t capture my intentions. I write because it’s less impulsive than when I speak. I'm bound to piss off less people with writing than speaking– I can slow down, I can think when I write. I write because I can’t draw or paint. I can’t sing or play an instrument. I write because I teach and I tell stories and writing is the best mode for both. I write because it’s easier to do so than anything else. I write because I like it, I love it, and I can’t get enough of it. I write because it’s the one thing I don’t get sick of, because it promises the most possibility. I write because it’s holy and sacred but absurd and ludicrous. I write because it makes me feel complete and whole and fragmented all at the same time. I write because it heals and teaches and helps. I write because most of the time I don’t know what else to do.
I write to express.
I write to understand.
I write to see.
I write to hear.
I write to know.
I write to grow.
I write to create.
I write to get closer.
I write to be better.
I write to inspire.
I write to witness.
I’m writing because it feels right. I’m writing because other forms of expression don’t capture my intentions. I write because it’s less impulsive than when I speak. I'm bound to piss off less people with writing than speaking– I can slow down, I can think when I write. I write because I can’t draw or paint. I can’t sing or play an instrument. I write because I teach and I tell stories and writing is the best mode for both. I write because it’s easier to do so than anything else. I write because I like it, I love it, and I can’t get enough of it. I write because it’s the one thing I don’t get sick of, because it promises the most possibility. I write because it’s holy and sacred but absurd and ludicrous. I write because it makes me feel complete and whole and fragmented all at the same time. I write because it heals and teaches and helps. I write because most of the time I don’t know what else to do.
