A&E Kirk

Am I The Only One Having Fun With My Kids?

2012-02-03T10:02:00.000-08:00

Seriously, it can't just be me. And if it is, parents are missing out on so much.

What brought this up? Glad you asked.

1) Jake (newly minted 19 years old) picked up a cough a couple of weeks ago. Usually they go away. This time it didn't. Admittedly I don't take my teens to the doctor over every ache, pain, and in this case, cough. But it persisted and Gregory kicked him out of their room because he couldn't get any sleep. On the couch in the living room, Jake was now keeping the rest of us up. Fun.

2) Gregory (17 soon to be 18) has had a winning soccer season but has taken a beating. At nearly 6'1", only 143 lbs and 4% body fat, he's not a big kid with a load of bulk for protection. When a 220 lb defender trucked him from behind last week (because Gregory beat the jerk - do I sound bitter?), Gregory flew a good 15 feet. The knee to his back, and the flying bit - or rather the landing - was a bit painful.

So with both their persistent coughs and pains, I took them to the doctor yesterday. As I signed the boys in they filled out the form the receptionist gave them and the conversation went like this:

Jake: It's asking why I'm here? What should I say?

Me: Why are you here?

Jake: The cough?

Me: No hon. We're here because you broke your nose 5 years ago and I'm still so mad that you put a bump on a perfectly straight piece of perfection that I busted my butt to create, suffering incredible discomfort for 9 months culminating in the worst pain known to man - sorry, woman because man will never know the reality of the excruciating pain that comes from the equivalent of pushing a watermelon out of their hoo-haa. And we're here to have the doctor break it and re-set it back to it's original state because how dare you mess the faultless achievement that God and I worked so hard to put together.

Jake: *giving me "the look"* So...cough?

Me: How about mental defect?

Gregory: I'll back you up on that one.

Jake: Funny. Cough it is. Hmmm. Now let's see. *reads the next question on form* Allergies? *After a pause and sideways glance at me, he starts writing and says loudly* Myyyy mother.

At which point I crack up. The receptionist gives up trying to stifle her laughter and asks, "Do you guys always have this much fun? My teenager will hardly even talk to me."

I know I'm not the only one. Who else is having fun with their kids?

And by the way, Gregory wants the world to know that his resting heart rate is 44. I thought he was going to kiss the nurse. She did get a hug. At his peak Lance Armstrong's resting heart rate was 34 so now that's Gregory's new goal. Yeah, he's so fit, he's almost dead.

Demons at Deadnight Blog Tour

2012-01-29T12:28:00.000-08:00

Guess what starts tomorrow?

Natalie over at Mindful Musings is kicking it off tomorrow. You've heard us rave about Demons at Deadnight, but I think its time you had a chance to see what others think about it.

PLUS we're giving away a TON of prizes, including a KINDLE FIRE! Oh yeah, we're awesome. If you want your chance to win just hop on over to our blog tour/giveaway page.

May I have this dance?

2012-01-19T01:00:00.000-08:00

So funny thing happened today.

Gregory proved me right!

He came home from school and asked us to explain why the girls were constantly giggling at him.

To me the answer is obvious. Gregory is 17 years old, 6ft tall, blond, lean, all muscle, shy, genuinely sweet and charming, a sports star, straight-A student, martial arts champion, lifeguard, and, to top it all off, he's ridiculously good looking. (But I'll deny any of this in court.) Gee, why on Earth would a 16-year- old-girl giggle if he smiled at her?

But Gregory did something new to have the ladies pawing at him. Because today the P.E. coach had them Swing dance. And not only does Gregory love to dance, he's amazing at it. (Reminding you of any Hex Boy?)

In typical clueless guy fashion, Gregory says,

"I was just dancing with B, you know, twirling and spinning and dipping her, and she kept on giggling. None of the other girls were giggling with their guys. Then the girls were asking Coach if they could trade partners. 'But Coach says, 'Sorry ladies, there just isn't enough of Greg to go around.' As soon as they started dancing with me, they'd start giggling. Coach even gave me the one girl in class who complained ALL DAY about how lame dancing was and then she was giggling like the rest of them. Now all the guys are asking what I did. So...what did I do?"

The answer: Gregory knows how to dance whereas the other guys say dancing is lame and break girls' toes.

Pssh, my brothers thought I was lying, but they are living proof that girls really do love a guy who can dance.

At least the girls around here love it.

What about you? Do you like a guy that can dance?

And NO you may not have Gregory's number. Honestly, the nerve of some people. But you can go check out Melissa's Hex Boys My Book Boyfriend post where she magically brings all the Hex Boys to gorgeous life!

Hot Hex Boys Arrive at Books and Things!

2012-01-18T20:18:00.000-08:00

An incredible post of hot, harem, hunky awesomeness is waiting for you!

Melissa @ Books and Things has spotlighted the Hex Boys on her My Book Boyfriend post today!

How about this shot of Jayden!

You've got to check out Melissa's post for drool-worthy shots of all six Hex Boys.

It's a knee-weakening meme hosted by Missie @ The Unread Reader where every Wednesday the hottest of literary hunks are brought to life.

And in more exciting news Missie will be spotlighting the Hex Boys on her My Book Boyfriend Feb 1st as part of the DEMONS AT DEADNIGHT blog tour. (more about that later.) Won't that be a blast!

Go check out Melissa's Hex Boy post. You won't be disappointed. But bring a fan to stay cool and napkins for drooling!

Release Day for DEMONS AT DEADNIGHT by A&E Kirk

2012-01-07T13:44:00.000-08:00

It's RELEASE DAY!

DEMONS AT DEADNIGHT has it's official birthday today!

For seventeen-year-old Aurora Lahey, survival is a lifestyle.

DEMONIC DESTINY
Aurora has the crappiest superpower on the planet. And it’s just unleashed a hit squad from hell. Demons are on the hunt, salivating to carve her carcass into confetti.

CHARISMATIC KILLERS
The Hex Boys—mysterious, hunky, and notorious for their trails of destruction—have the answers Aurora needs to survive. But their overload of deadly secrets and suspicious motives makes trusting them a potentially fatal move.

LETHAL ALLIES
The battle to save her family, herself, and stop demonic domination may cost Aurora everything worth living for, and force her to reveal her own dark secrets. But no worries. She needs the Hex Boys to pull this off, and, chances are, teaming up with these guys will get her killed anyway.

Lea at YA Book Queen received a copy and she has given us enthusiastically positive feedback! She also did an awesome Book Birthday post, where she is doing a very generous giveaway! For three ebooks of DEMONS AT DEADNIGHT! She's fantastic!

Jake and Gregory also put up a giveaway post at TEENS READ AND WRITE so with all this love and support, we thought we should do one too!

Just follow the Rafflecopter instructions below to win for first place a fantastic swag package which includes a paperback, and second place can choose a paperback or ebook!

It's international and ends Jan 22.

You can check it out on Goodreads, and it's available on Amazon in paperback or ebook. It will be available in ebook for the Nook from Barnes and Noble in the next day or two, and also on Smashwords.

Thanks for all the support and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fearless Friday

2012-01-06T16:14:00.000-08:00

So, Eileen (hehe, weird to call Mom by her first name) and I have been squabbling about who will post first.

I lost.

Err, I mean, I won. Yay!

With Demons at Deadnight coming out tomorrow, and reviewers getting their copies, and me having the nervous energy of a nuclear bomb, I came up with an idea.

Do one thing that scares you. And why not do it on a Friday?

Things that scare me are endless - sky diving, snakes, small talk with strangers, haunted houses, breathing fire, riding the kicking demon that is my mom's "cuddly" horse.

So I shall conquer them.

Want to join me?

1.) Do something that scares you.
2.) In the comments (or in a post if you like, just leave us a link) tell us about your fear and how you conquered it!

This Week's Fear Faced:

Releasing Demons at Deadnight.

You'd think since I've been working on it for almost 4 years that I'd be excited. I'm down right terrified what everyone will think. Only time will tell.

What are your worst fears?

What fears have you conquered?

What fears do you think you could conquer on a Friday?

Yes, It's Our Book! DEMONS AT DEADNIGHT by A&E Kirk

2011-12-23T05:30:00.000-08:00

Here's the cover!

The summary/blurb...

For seventeen-year-old Aurora Lahey, survival is a lifestyle.

DEMONIC DESTINY
Aurora has the crappiest superpower on the planet. And it’s just unleashed a hit squad from hell. Demons are on the hunt, salivating to carve her carcass into confetti.

CHARISMATIC KILLERS

The Hex Boys—mysterious, hunky, and notorious for their trails of destruction—have the answers Aurora needs to survive. But their overload of deadly secrets and suspicious motives makes trusting them a potentially fatal move.

LETHAL ALLIES

The battle to save her family, herself, and stop demonic domination may cost Aurora everything worth living for, and force her to reveal her own dark secrets. But no worries. She needs the Hex Boys to pull this off, and, chances are, teaming up with these guys will get her killed anyway.

And the fantastic trailer!

It will be available in paperback and ebook 1/7/12 but contests and lots of exciting stuff coming soon!

You can check it out on Goodreads.

We'd love to hear your thoughts!

Time for Change and Exciting News

2011-12-13T22:22:00.000-08:00

Changes Are Afoot!
Starting with a direction for this site (please bear with us as we get the changes made) and answers about the all mysterious "E."

Who is "E"?

Well, she's been here all along. Waiting. Lurking.

Just kidding.

...Am I ?

As you wonderfully loyal followers know, when I started writing, it was just me, all alone.

My writing process involves a lot of standing

in abandoned rooms and staring off into the distance.

I don't judge your writing process, do I?!

What you don't know is that when I got serious about it, I sought insight from my mom who has a background in writing and whatnot. Over time, my mom actually started writing with me. We became a team. Woot, woot!

And we agreed not to try to kill each other on Sundays and Fridays.
It's a big step for mothers and daughters everywhere.

By the time we realized Mom wasn't just a critique partner, but my co-author, we ran into a major problem.

Folks in the publishing business weren't willing to have Mom as a co-author. To move ahead, Mom had to be a silent partner.

Which she was. Until now. Long story short, we're coming out of the closet. Well, Mom is.

Without further ado, I present Eileen Kirk to the blogsphere. I'm sure you'll all welcome her as you've welcomed me.

Regular hugs preferred, but she'll take tiger hugs too.

***
Hey, there!
The truth is I've been involved as a silent partner in the writing as well as the blogging thing for a while.

But even though you don't know me, I know all of you. (That sounded a lot less creepy in my head.) I'm one of those infamous lurkers and have been happy there, but now I look forward to venturing out and interacting with you all!

Alyssa forgot to mention that we have a book coming out next month. But more on that later. This was just an introductory post. So...Hi everyone! It's a pleasure!

Virtual Affection and My New Acronym - IDA

2011-01-26T12:03:00.000-08:00

Ever noticed how friendly we all get when we're virtually yaking (or is it yacking? or Yakking? Wait, isn't that some kind of Tibetan moose?) with people we've never actually met?

It struck me recently when I was yakking - that was the only one spellchecker didn't red flag - away (via email) with new blogging buddy, Christine, in regards to a contest she won at TEENS READ AND WRITE. We're going back and forth using "Hugs" as our ending greeting and it struck me as funny. We've never met in person, never spoke on the phone and yet here we were new fast friends.

So I mentioned it to Christine who liked the idea of my new acronym:

IDA - Internet Displays of Affection

I was thinking of calling them VDA's but the VD had a bit of a negative connotation so I'm sticking with IDA. Although I do love VD.

What do they see in her?

Don't freak. I'm talking about the TV show, VAMPIRE DIARIES. Gregory and I are VD buddies - When we go to watch it we like to say, "Hey, want to go catch VD?" Mom just rolls her eyes every time. Such fun. The show is our guilty pleasure. Mainly because of Damon. LOVE him! Well, I do, Gregory appreciates Damon's appeal but doesn't do the drool thing like me. Elena annoys me. Probably because she gets both the hot guys. Yeah, I'm jealous.

So worth of IDA's and PDA's!

Okay, done drooling now...

So, IDA's...

What do you think? Do you use IDA's a lot? Which ones? Why do you think we're so free with them? It's kind of like explanation marks. I use them all the time when I blogging and emailing but if I went around actually talking with that constant enthusiasm, I'd be exhausted. Although I could get some rest in the mental ward they put me in!

Yikes! I just used an explanation point and I was going to ban them from this post! Ack - there's another one!

Okay *calming self with deep breaths* I'm going to stop now.

HUGS!

Whoops...now I'll stop.

The Return of the Walking Dead

2011-01-24T00:15:00.000-08:00

One of the reasons I'm doing Bloggiesta, hosted by Natasha at Maw Books Blog is that it will help me get back into the groove of my writing blog. I had a sketchy start to the New Year. Some trouble with my wisdom tooth pulling event. Then I went to a wedding with a friend and instead of catching the bouquet...

I caught food poisoning. Ugh!

I looked almost this good!

I'll spare you the gory details but suffice it to say after 10 hours of misery I ended up so dehydrated and out of it that my mom dragged me to the doctor. I sat in the waiting room in my pajamas, death-gripping a barf bucket we brought from home.

Classy. I know.

The doctor immediately hooked me up to an IV and pumped me full of two bags of saline. The nurse who came to take my blood kept asking me what my name was just to see if I was somewhat coherent in the middle of my babbling.

Anyway, it took some time to recover. I just went back for tests because my other blood tests were so bad and they need to see if I'm back on track. It's been all I could do to keep up with TEENS READ AND WRITE and also work on my current WIP.

So apologies for my absence, but things are looking up and I'm excited for writing and blogging in the new year!

Hope you all are having a fantastic 2011 and be sure to drink plenty of water!

Bloggiesta - It's ON!

2011-01-21T13:36:00.000-08:00

An annual event hosted by Natasha at Maw Books Blog, Bloggiesta is a weekend dedicated to doing all things blog-like and doing your best to better our blogs in the process.

We're participating on TEENS READ AND WRITE and I thought I'd do a few things here as well. There's no pressure and you can do as much or as little as you want. It's usually just book bloggers but I didn't think anyone would mind if I tagged along. It'll help me get rejuvenated after my sketchy health issues this year that have keep under the weather.

If you, along with dozens of other fantastic bloggers, would like to participate, it's not too late - sign up for Bloggiesta now!

GOALS

~~Backup blog~~
Change to custom domain name
Write future posts (Current Counter: 1)
Put together a plan and calendar of future posts
Check out new blog templates
Set up at least one contest
Create and update pages
Manage my feedreader
Create post templates
Edit and organize tags, archives, etc. - General Cleanup
Visit new blogs and old favorites!

Good Luck to all who participate and have fun!

Happy New Years 2011

2010-12-31T18:34:00.000-08:00

I'm not partying like everyone else because I just had my wisdom teeth pulled. (Just a side note, am I the only person in the USA who wasn't put under to get wisdom teeth pulled?) And because of that, I'm heavily medicated. So to keep from making a fool of myself I'm not going to say much other than...

Happy New Year!

May this last year have been a happy one and this one even better!

Not very unique well wishes, but the pain meds seemed to have short-circuited my creative juices. *sigh* I also had my bros read this before I posted and they pointed out that its "Happy New Year" not "Years". Here come the first round of blonde jokes of the new year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

2010-12-24T22:19:00.000-08:00

Here's wishing you all a Merry Christmas

and a season filled with Hope, Love, Peace and Joy!

Show Don't Tell in Real Life

2010-12-23T00:02:00.000-08:00

"Show Don't Tell" is one of the constants I always hear at lectures and it can be a challenge. I recently came across a prime real life example of this concept in my lovely co-worker dubbed Jane Doe for my blogging purposes and her privacy.

Jane is shy, soft spoken, polite, conservative, very religious and one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. But there's another side to Jane. Something she doesn't tell, but definitely shows.

She makes hairstyles from the fifties look good with her stylish purple, yes I said purple. Quiet, conservative Jane has purple hair.
This week.

Last time I saw her it was a brilliant blue.

Her clothes are always retro-chic. And when she's not busy working she's can be seen designing a sleeve tattoo she plans to get someday soon.

Did I have to tell you "Jane has a wild side"? Nope. It shows.

Showing not telling can be the hardest part of writing. Why don't you all just make it easy on me and let me tell you? Ugh! Fine. Make me work at being a better writer. Geez, you guys are so demanding!

Jane Doe's Hair Next Week

Is Show Don't Tell a challenge for you?
What are some of the best examples you've found and/or written?

YA SALES EXPLOSION!

2010-12-08T09:56:00.000-08:00

Okay, maybe not an explosion but in this anorexic economy, some very big

- and positive - news...

YA sales are up!

Here's the scoop from Galley Cat:

According to Association of American Publishers (AAP) sales figures, adult hardcover sales decreased 6.5 percent in October compared to the same period last year–sales in this category totaled $242.9 million for the month. In September, the same category saw a 40 percent decrease in sales.

“In the children’s book category, Hardcover Children’s/YA sales showed an increase of 13.9 percent over October of last year with sales of $100 million; however, year-to-date sales decreased by 11.1 percent. Children’s/YA Paperback sales are down by 3.3 percent in October with sales totaling $50.9 million; sales fell 6.5 percent for the year to date.”

Overall book sales marked a slight decrease of 0.9 percent compared to the same period last year. Overall sales totaled $721 million for the month. eBookNewser has more about dramatic increases in eBook sales.

Okay, so Year to Date sales are down, but with October significantly up and the holiday season upon us, this could be a growing upswing - at least for the rest of the year.

It's terrific news for writers and readers!

And remember...

If you're looking for a holiday gift - Books are the BEST!

HOLIDAY BATTLES!

2010-12-02T02:33:00.000-08:00

Alliances were made...and broken.

Backstabbing and betrayal ran rampant!

It was an epic battle...

Of UNO!

Yep, that silly card game that anyone can play. My parents along with Jake, Gregory and I engaged for over an hour in an extremely heated game.

We yelled, screamed, squealed, laughed, moaned, groaned and made a multitude of noises. You'd of thought the fate of the world rested on this game. Just when it looked like someone would win, they'd end up with half the deck. Even determining 2nd place took another 15 minutes.

Had to be one of our best holiday memories ever!

Be sure to take some time to connect with loved ones over these crazy busy weeks ahead. And if you're looking for some guaranteed fun for under ten bucks, grab UNO...

Just remember to hide any sharp objects.

FYI - Jake won.

Jerk.

Gotta go now - we're scheduled for a rematch.

Hope you had an epic holiday of your own!

What family activity do you do for fun?

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! Plus a FEAST FOR THE EYES!

2010-11-25T10:37:00.000-08:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Wishing you and your family a joyous day with lots of love and tons of delicious food!

Be safe and enjoy!

Extra Eye Candy

And more reasons to give THANKS!!!!

New York trip preparation

2010-11-23T09:00:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned, I went to New York to meet the wonderful Michelle Wolfson. While there,I wrote down all the weird and fun things that happened. And, of course, I had an unusual time because I'm highly creative and paranoid (an obviously perfect combination) from an itty bitty town in the middle of no-where.

My parents thought it'd be good to tag along since when I enter an area with a population over 5,000 people, I suddenly acquire the navigational skills of a rock - a very tall, humanoid, blond rock, but a rock nonetheless.

Dad ended up having to work, so it was just me and Mom. How were we to survive without Dad as a referee? Luckily, Mom and I get along like Sylvester and Tweety so we had smooth sailing.

Just kidding!

About the Sylvester and Tweety bit.

Mom ended up being a great traveling buddy, but during the long, long, long flight I asked myself who would be an ideal fictional traveling companion. I picked super-hunky-hottie-of-my-dreams, Jace from City of Bones because he could triple as snarky entertainment, bodyguard and ultimate eye-candy.

Which fictional character would you choose as a traveling companion?

KEEPING PERSPECTIVE + GIVEAWAY!

2010-11-22T10:56:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite Gregory/Soccer Photos

We had a bit of a scare a few weeks ago. My brother Gregory got hit in the head/neck during his soccer game and went down. Gregory, 16, has been playing since he was four. He's an excellent player (but don't tell him I said that) and he's gone down before.

The difference this time was...he didn't get up.

He usually gets up.

Another of my favorites

The ref goes over. After a few minutes, the ref calls the coach out. Then the regional commissioner goes out. Then they call out Mom and Dad.

Not good.

Minutes are ticking by. They call an ambulance.

Really not good.

Long story short. It didn't turn out to be the head/neck/spine injury like everyone worried about. But it was really, really...really, really, really scary.

So as much as I'm excited and thankful about my writing and getting an agent, I like to keep it all in perspective. I am so thankful for my wonderful family, for all the love they give me and for our health and happiness.

I'm also grateful for all your love and support and send my best wishes for

LOVE, HEALTH and HAPPINESS

to you and your families

especially during this Holiday Season!

When I was in New York last month, Mom and I saw THE ADDAMS FAMILY: A Musical on Broadway and it was hilarious and endearing. Nathan Lane, Bebe Neuwirth and the entire cast are fabulous!

So in honor of our November Thanksgiving Feast Giveaway, and a family who is as quirky, weird and loving as mine - although I hope less creepy...

Here's a giveaway to win an Addams Family (The Musical) Coffee Mug!

RULES

Be A Follower

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Open to US Addresses

Enter by 12/22/10

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QUERY HELP + Giveaway

2010-11-11T00:00:00.000-08:00

One of the best things about getting an agent is the fact that for now, I can stop querying. YAY!

How exhausting are queries!

Working, reworking, researching agents, getting rejections, reworking, reworking. An most of the time you feel like you're flying blind!

Am I getting it right? Too long? Too short? Am I telling the gist of my story the best way? Does it have the right voice? What about the bio? Did I personalize well? Did I personalize at all - because after a million and one queries I'm really tired! (And whiny)

So my querying is done for now. I'm thankful! And someone who provided great query advice is Elana Johnson. Her debut dystopian, POSSESSION comes out June 2011.

Vi knows the Rule: Girls don't walk with boys, and they never even think about kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more than Zenn...and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi's future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself.

But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they're set on convincing Vi to become one of them...starting by brainwashing Zenn. Vi can't leave Zenn in the Thinkers' hands, but she's wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous--everything Zenn's not. Vi can't quite trust Jag and can't quite resist him, but she also can't give up on Zenn.

This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.

But she's also known as the Query Ninja and has an e-book, FROM THE QUERY TO THE CALL.

It covers:

What Query Letters Are and Why You Need One
Writing a Killer Query Letter
Entering the Query Trenches
Responding to Requests and Rejections
Fielding the Call
Query Letter Examples

And includes step by step instructions on how to right a fantastic query letter! As well as:

How to handle submissions to literary agents
Questions to ask during “the call”
Sample query letters that worked

So for today's November Thanksgiving Contest Feast, here's a chance to win FROM THE QUERY TO THE CALL. My gift to one lucky winner who's still in the query trenches in hopes that this will make your query that much better and the journey that much shorter!

RULES

Be A Follower

Fill Out the Form Below

Enter by 12/10/10

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Kiersten White Signs PARANORMALCY + Giveaway

2010-11-09T00:28:00.000-08:00

The other day I was trying to decide the best way to kill twelve hours and, thought, Hey, I should go to a book signing.

Luckily for me Kiersten White, author of one of my new favorites, PARANORMALCY, happened to be having one in San Diego, CA. Perfect! I grabbed Mom and off we went - 4 hours down, 4 hours hanging around and also attending the book signing, 4 hours home. Piece of cake.

Actually, we planned way in advance for this trip. I mean, hey, have you read PARANORMALCY? It's awesome and I was dying to meet Kiersten.

Jake and Gregory were going too - Gregory is mega jealous that Jake had his abs signed at the Smart Chicks Kick It Tour by 8 of the top women YA authors and he wants to start the trend - and begin his quest to break Jake's record of number of YA author signatures. Jake wanted to add Kiersten to his list. But Jake came up bedridden sick and Gregory had to stay home and take care of our latest rescue animal (long story).

Me with bookstore owners Ann and David Diener

The Yellow Book Road Bookstore - great place! - hosted and we were all privileged to hear Kiersten speak. What a lovely woman! She answered everyone's questions, gave us insight in to her writing and recent book tour and just chatted like we were all her new best friends!

Also met Cindy Ponn author of SILVER PHOENIX - What a sweetie!

Interesting tidbits included the fact that Paranormalcy was her original title - a rare thing - and book two was supposed to be titled Extraordinary with number three being Supernaturally - but now Supernaturally is the title of two and she has to come up with a title for three. Other exciting news is that - drum roll please -

PARANORMALCY made the New York Times Bestseller List!!!!

Amazing news but not surprising!

I also came up with a theory as to why Kiersten writes so well about paranormal creatures.

Gigantor (me) and the Too Cute to be Human Kiersten White

She's a pixie. It all makes sense... She's part of the paranormal community!

I know, sounds crazy but when I saw her - so tiny, petite, cute, sweet - I just thought "Pixie!" The impression solidified when I stood next to her and towered more than a foot taller. Okay, I've never felt so freakishly tall. Anyway, pixie. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.

Either way the woman is beautiful inside and out - and gracious, she even introduced me to the crowd and announced that I had just signed with her agent. And she can write a fantastic bestseller! If you ever get a chance to go to one of her signings take it - even if is chews up 12 hours, it's worth it!

I love PARANORMALCY and want you to enjoy it too, so to add to our November Thanksgiving Feast Giveaway, I'm giving away three, yes THREE, signed copies!

RULES

Be A Follower

Fill Out the Form Below

Open to US Residents

Enter by 12/10/10

(And FYI on more Giveaways...

We're giving away four more PARANORMALCY copies - 1 for international - on Teens Read and Write! Enter HERE

AND

For chance to win a YALITCHAT Membership, enter HERE!)

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I Received...THE CALL! + YALITCHAT Membership Giveaway

2010-11-07T17:59:00.000-08:00

THE CALL!

Here's what happened...

I'm a member of YALITCHAT and in May I submitted my query to the Agent Inbox group. Georgia McBride gave me some excellent advice on changing a few things and then she submitted it to several agents. Two agents requested partials.

In September Michelle emailed for the full. The email came on a Friday but I didn't see it until Saturday since it was one of those few days I made myself NOT look. Typical.

THEN...

- Emailed full on Saturday

- Phone rings Monday morning

- Mom checks caller ID. "Wolfson Literary. Isn't that the agent that just requested the full?"

Jake, Gregory and I all laugh. "Yeah, right."

Mom: "No, I'm serious. It says, Wolfson Literary."

- Dead silence. Then...

- House nearly collapses from collective ear-piercing screams (including Jake and Gregory's girly ones).

- Mom throws me the phone

- I Panic

- I throw it back

- Mom gives me "the look"

- I suck it up and answer the phone

One lovely phone call with the fantastic Michelle Wolfson later - she spoke eloquently, when I could speak I sputtered mostly utter nonsense - and I've been offered representation!

Done right? Not quite.

Other agents had my partial or full so I had to notify them. I desperately searched for the appropriate verbiage, figured it out and sent emails. Some I didn't hear from, some got back with 'no thanks' and others asked for time to look it over and respond.

In the end, a week later, after looking at all the possibilities and having conversations with other great agents, I'm thrilled to tell you that I decided the perfect agent for me was the fabulous

MICHELLE WOLFSON

Wolfson Literary

(YA lovers might know one of her clients, Kiersten White, author of author of PARANORMALCY)

So that's the short version of my final leg on my long journey to becoming agented!

Thank you, Michelle!

I also went to New York City to meet Michelle in person! I've got lots to share - but that's another story.

And special thanks to Georgia McBride and YALITCHAT! Georgia was so helpful through the whole process, offering support and wonderful advice.

In honor of the help Georgia and her organization gave me, I'm giving away a 1 year membership to YALITCHAT to one lucky winner!

RULES

Fill out the Form Below to Enter

Be a Follower

Enter by Dec 7, 2010

And We're Paying Our Good Fortune Forward!

All through the month of Giving-Thanks-November, Jake, Gregory and I will be having great giveaways here and at TEENS READ AND WRITE so be sure to stay tuned!

Visit YALITCHAT.ORG

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Hollywood Halloween Adventures

2010-11-01T15:24:00.000-07:00

Last night I continued my tradition of going to Beverly Hills (CA) and attending the parade in West Hollywood with family friends.

I wish every writer out there could go to this parade. Its a gold mine for characters. You would not believe the kinds of people you meet and what people dress up as.

And if you can last the night, you can have survivor stories better than mine!

(First costumed goers we encountered as we entered.

Awesome right?)

Every year is way chaotic, but this year was a bit different This year I entered the parade twelve people but only came out with six. Dun, dun, DUN!

I lost The Girls (my best friend for 10+ years and her awesome roommates) and somehow ended up being the lead navigator - me, the mountain girl who has no idea what street she just parked her car on - for the Brothers (my actual bros and guys I've known so long they're practically my brothers). You might be wondering why my too cool for school Bros were following me around...so was I. Guess I'm just that awesome.

I first lost the Girls when I got distracted by the Pamela twins. How could I not stop to take a picture of the heavily muscled, tattooed, busty lifeguards?

Luckily, the tree hugger had a good vantage point and sent me in the direction of my costumed friends. He was so nice... well, after he scared me half to death.

The Girls and I got separated once again by the horde vying to take pictures of the teen wolf here.

But I didn't panic because, although I had no idea where I was, The Rocky Horror Picture Show was playing on a huge screen in the middle of the street and that simply makes all right and dandy in the world.

In the midst of our singing along to The Rocky Horror Picture Show

I saw this this guy, Mr. Neon as we called him. It took us a while, but with some epic ninja moves, we finally got close enough to take a picture before he eluded us again. Does anyone know what he dressed up as?

We sought refuge in the grocery store. But turns out the parade was alive and well inside!

Meet the grocery store's chillingly charismatic greeter!

Marie and Waldo pointed us in the direction of the in-store Starbucks where we met these fun ladies in the mile-long line

And guess who else we found at Starbucks?

The Moms, aka, our get-away drivers/navigators.

It was then we realized we were going to get out alive!

And so we survived Halloween in Hollywood.

Survivor Champions: Halloween Edition

(In front: Gregory [he was a referee, but took off the jersey when he kept getting petted and asked what it would take for him to pull our a red card. Yikes!])

(Left to right: Half-dressed ketchup bottle, Hooded Teen, Ask A Ninja[Jake], Hipster, Alice from Resident Evil [Me!], and our camera-shy Navi/Avatar creature dove out last minute)

So I spent my All Hallows Eve darting, tripping, dancing, and chasing/pushing friends through West Hollywood.

What did you do?

Amazing Writing Contest at Miss Snark's First Victim

2010-10-27T12:37:00.000-07:00

Must be contest season because I found another one coming up in December from

Miss Snark's First Victim

SOUNDS AMAZING!

------------------------------------------------------------

Finally, the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! On Tuesday, December 7, the gavel will fall on our first-ever BAKER'S DOZEN AGENT AUCTION. And you won't want to miss it!

BAKER'S DOZEN WHAT??

Auction! As in, agents placing bids. Here's how the whole thing will work:

40 entries will be posted on the auction block. Of these 40, 15 will be for the adult market and 25 for MG/YA.
Each entry will consist of a log line followed by the first 250 words of the manuscript.
Thirteen participating agents (our baker's dozen) will place bids on the entries they like. The minimum bid requirement is a request to read the first 5 pages.
The auction will remain open for 24 hours. At the close, each entry will go to the highest bidder, at whatever "price" they bid (up to a request for a full).

It's that simple!

Some other things you need to know:

All contest entries will be open to critique by everyone.
Each contest entry will receive a critique from at least one of three agented authors who have agreed to participate.
Each contest entry will receive a critique from a Special Guest Editor.

Because let's face it. It's not a given that everyone will receive an agent bid. We all know that's not how things work in the Publishing Universe. So this way, EVERY PARTICIPANT will receive something valuable.

IMPORTANT: Not every entry will be accepted. Here's the breakdown:

MIDDLE GRADE AND YOUNG ADULT, including all subgenres and literary:

I will accept 50 submissions, from which 25 will be selected for the contest.

ADULT FICTION (genres listed below):

I will accept 25 submissions, from which 15 will be selected for the contest.

ADULT GENRES INCLUDED IN THE AGENT AUCTION:

Women's fiction
Historical fiction
Thriller (including historical)
Mystery
Romance (including historical and paranormal)
Fantasy (including urban and all subgenres)
Science Fiction (including all subgenres)
Suspense
Literary

Author Jodi Meadows will assist me with the slush pile. Her experience as an agent's assistant has honed her critical eye, so I'm counting on her expertise to help me cull through the entries (I don't relish this part, I assure you).

SUBMISSION SCHEDULE:

Submissions for the contest will be held on two separate dates in November, one for adult and the other for MG/YA. Winners will be notified after we've gone through the contest slush. Winning entries will be posted on Saturday, December 4, to give the agents time to look over them before the bidding starts on Tuesday.

ALSO VERY IMPORTANT:

This contest is for COMPLETED, POLISHED, QUERY-READY MANUSCRIPTS only. If you're not ready to embark on the querying process, please do not enter.
This contest is open to ALL PAST PARTICIPANTS AND WINNERS OF SECRET AGENT CONTESTS and ANY OTHER CONTEST OR CRITIQUE SESSION with THE FOLLOWING EXCEPTION: If you enter the November SA contest and then enter the same work in the Agent Auction, that work has to show a considerable amount of editing as per the feedback you received during the contest. Reason: Despite the excitement of the auction, the main thrust of this contest is CRITIQUE. And it will be a waste of time to the critters (and to you) if you haven't made substantial changes. Acceptance of these entries will be at the discretion of Jodi Meadows and me.
This contest is open to NON-AGENTED AUTHORS ONLY.

WHO ARE THE THIRTEEN AGENTS??

Heh. Not telling! But I'll announce their names prior to the onset of the auction. Unlike our Secret Agent contests, these agents will use their real names during the bidding.
------------------------------------------------

If you have any questions, leave them as a comment on her announcement post.

GOOD LUCK to all who enter!

Contest News for Aspiring YA Authors

2010-10-26T14:22:00.000-07:00

Here's a great contest for aspiring YA writers!

-------------------------------------------------------------

YA Novel Discovery Contest

Get in Front of Top YA Editors and Agents with

ONLY the First 250 Words of Your YA Novel!

No query? No pitch? No problem!

Have a young adult novel—or a YA novel idea—tucked away for a rainy day? Are you putting off pitching your idea simply because you’re not sure how to pitch an agent? No problem! All you have to do is submit the first 250 words of your novel and you can win both exposure to editors, and a reading of your manuscript from one of New York’s TOP literary agents Regina Brooks.

Regina Brooks is the founder of Serendipity Literary Agency and the author of Writing Great Books for Young Adults. Brooks has been instrumental at establishing and building the careers of many YA writers, including three-time National Book Award Honoree and Michael Printz Honoree Marilyn Nelson, as well as Sundee Frazier—a Coretta Scott King Award winner, an Oprah Book Pick and an Al Roker book club selection. As an agent, she is known for her ability to turn raw talent into successful authors.

ADDITIONALLY: The top 20 submissions will all be read by a panel of five judges comprised of top YA editors at Random House, Scholastic, Candlewick, Harlequin, Sourcebooks and Penguin. The first 100 will receive free autographed copies of Writing Great Books for Young Adults by Regina Brooks. Of the 20, they will pick the top five submissions and provide each author with commentary. These five winners will also receive a free ONE YEAR subscription to The Writer magazine. ONE Grand Prize Winner will win a full manuscript reading and editorial consultation from Regina Brooks and free 10-week writing course courtesy of the Gotham Writer’s Workshop.

Please submit all entries via the contest website at WritingClasses.com/YAPitch. One entry per person; anyone age 13+ can apply. Open to the U.S. & Canada (void where prohibited). Entries for the YA Novel Discovery Contest will be accepted from 12:01am (ET) November 1 until 11:59pm (ET), November 30th

NOVEMBER IS NaNoWriMo

In honor of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo.org)—an international event where aspiring novelists are encouraged to write an entire novel in 30 days—this contest is meant to encourage the aspiring YA author to get started on that novel by offering an incentive for completing the first 250 words.

So enter now! http://bit.ly/YAContest

GREAT PRIZES
The Grand Prize Winner will have the opportunity to submit an entire manuscript to YA literary agent Regina Brooks AND receive a free, 10-week writing course, courtesy of Gotham Writers' Workshop.

The Top Five Entrants (including the Grand Prize winner) will receive a 15-minute, one-on-one pitch session with Regina Brooks, one of New York’s premier literary agents for young adult books. They will also receive commentary on their submissions by editors at HarperCollins, Penguin, Harlequin, Random House, and Sourcebooks. In addition, they will receive a year’s subscription to The Writer magazine!

The Top 20 Entrants will receive autographed copies of Writing Great Books for Young Adults by Regina Brooks.

JUDGING

YA literary agent Regina Brooks and her team , will read all of the entries and determine the top 20 submissions. These submissions will then be read by Nancy Mercado, Executive Editor at Roaring Brook Press(Macmillan); Nicole Raymond, Editor at Candlewick; Cheryl Klein, Senior Editor at Arthur Levine Books (Scholastic); Leila Sales, Editor Viking (Penguin) Evette Porter, Editor at Harlequin and Leah Hultenschmidt, Executive Editor at Sourcebooks. These judges will whittle the top 20 down to five, and each of the five winners will be provided commentary on their submissions

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If you enter - GOOD LUCK!

Eavesdropping and Student Drivers

2010-10-22T00:15:00.000-07:00

Driving to Gregory's soccer game the other day, Gregory and his best friend, Cody, were in the back seat discussing how their driver's training was going. Here's what I heard.

Gregory: "I'm scared to go on the freeway because I have this problem with driving straight."

Cody: Gasp. "Me too!"

Then they high-fived.

Mom: Glancing back nervously. "Okay, you guys should never drive next to each other."

Yeah, it was a little scary, but reminded me that for a writer eavesdropping is an essential skill.

And for the record...

Gregory drove on the freeway the next day and managed to stay in his lane. To be safe, we made sure Cody was home.

Who Says Teenagers Aren't Mature?

2010-10-20T00:02:00.000-07:00

Mom and I were planning our trip to New York. Due to scheduling conflicts with family stuff which I won't mention (Gregory's soccer, Gregory's soccer, Gregory's soccer) it became apparent that a red-eye flight would be our only option - leaving around 10 pm and getting in at 5 am. The conversation went like this.

Mom: "We'll just deal with it and suffer in silence."

Me: "No, Mom. You'll suffer in silence. I'll complain."

Since I was so honest about how whiny and immature I planned to be, I think that shows a deep sense of maturity. Who's with me?

(For the record, Mom didn't buy this argument.)

Meaningful Chats at My House

2010-10-18T00:02:00.000-07:00

The other day Mom and Jake were having a deep serious conversation at the kitchen island - which is where all serious conversations should take place, lots of comfort food available. Here's what I walked in on.

Mom: "So it would be prudent for you to take it slow."

Jake: Pause. "Why are we talking about fruit?"

Eavesdropping - it's great fodder for your writing.

How Do You Get To Know Your Characters? (Questions #1)

2010-09-14T12:03:00.000-07:00

Since I've been working on new stuff I'm fleshing out new characters which is always fun. Between conferences and searching the internet I'm always finding "character questions" so thought I'd share a few with you over the next few days.

Character Questions #1 - some basics

Name? Nickname?

Hair color? Eye color?

Any distinguishing facial features?

A birthmark? Where is it? How about scars? How did he get them?

Who are her friends and family?

Who are the people your character is closest to?

Who does he wish he were closest to?

Place of birth? Where has she lived since then? Where does she call home?

Where does your character go when he’s angry?

Hobbies? Talents?

Biggest fear? Who has she told this to? Who would she never tell this to? Why?

Does she have a secret?

What makes your character laugh out loud?

Has your character been in love? Had a broken heart?

The better you know your character, the easier he/she is to write.

What questions do you ask your characters?

Creative Juices - Keep them Flowing!

2010-08-31T08:55:00.000-07:00

I started writing stories just because they were in my head and I had to get them on paper. I'm a writer, therefore I had to write.

Then I worked so long and hard on DEMONIC ATTRACTIONS, I was afraid I'd never have another idea. It seemed like Aurora and the Hex Boys and their continuing adventures were the only thing I could think about!

But over the summer, my brain has been bombarded with new story ideas, interesting characters, twisted plots. I've jotted them all down and while I've only written a couple of brief synopses, character sketches, outlines, 50 to 80 pages on a few, etc, I'm so thrilled that new stuff keeps coming!

How about you? Were you ever afraid the creative juices would dry up?

Is there something you do to keep fresh ideas coming?

Free Kid-Lit Writers Conference Online!

2010-08-06T09:15:00.000-07:00

Hey Kid-Lit writers!

Don't forget the Write On Con is coming up next week - Aug 10-12! If you haven't heard about it read here. It's a free online conference for Kid-Lit writers - Main Characters 18 years or younger.

That's right. It's FREE! And online. Which means that you don't have to travel to attend!

Check out the agents/editors and the authors/illustrators who will be working participating. A fantastic group! And I just heard that Nancy Coffey Literary is running a query contest. Check out the rules for it here.

It should be a blast!

What's In A Name?

2010-07-09T18:42:00.000-07:00

What's in a name? Everything for me.

I obsess over the names of my characters. Even the secondary ones. Okay, I'm not talking about exceedingly minor characters - although those don't usually have names.

But for the guys and gals that help move my story along they have to have a name I like the sound of but it also has to mean something that is relevant or meaningful to who the character is.

The first time my brothers found me pouring over a Baby Names website (when I was sixteen) they gave me a stricken look and said, "Alyssa, is there something you want to tell us?"

"No, I'm not pregnant you morons!"

So I obsess over character names. Do you?

My Strangest Rejection EVER!

2010-07-08T14:54:00.000-07:00

Just had to share this one. It goes down as the strangest rejection ever.

Here is the blurb about DEMONIC ATTRACTIONS that I send with my query:

In DEMONIC ATTRACTIONS seventeen-year-old Aurora Lahey learns the hard way: Be careful what you wish for.
Superpower? Check. Using psychic visions Aurora can track a demon’s location on earth. She thinks it’s the crappiest superpower on the planet…but demons consider her the ultimate threat. Attracting bad boys? Check. They’re demons - a hellacious hit squad salivating to carve her carcass into confetti (like girls don’t have enough body issues).

Sure, Aurora’s manifesting new abilities that could save her hide, but with fangs snapping at her throat, and explosions in her wake she’d better stick close to the mysterious Hex boys—six teenage hotties who offer protection and annihilate demons using wicked supernatural skills. They’re smart, sexy, charismatic—one really lights her fire—but arrogant, annoying, and harboring dangerous secrets, suspect motives and ties to a shadowy secret society willing to sacrifice Aurora for their own cause.

Hopes of a normal life shattered, Aurora becomes the deciding force in an ancient battle to overcome worldwide demonic domination. And in a twist of irony, to save everyone she loves—not to mention mankind—from evil unleashed, Aurora must give up everything worth living for (and she’s not just talking chocolate). But no worries. She needs the Hex Boys to pull off this coup, and chances are teaming up with these guys will kill her anyway.

Now most of you know what a typical rejection looks like. And this one starts out pretty standard, but then things go...odd:

Dear Ms. Kirk,

Thank you very much for your submission. Unfortunately, Demonic Attractions does not seem to be something we can represent effectively at this time. Although, I must add that your wish to educate those who suffer from bipolar disorder is honorable. This is generally not the genre of literature that we represent.

We appreciate your interest in the agency and wish you the best of luck in securing representation elsewhere.

Uh...bipolar disorder? What?

Don't know where that came from. It can't be a form rejection, right? It's nice personalization...just not meant for me. Anyway, you've got to keep your sense of humor and it gave me a chuckle. I just had to share.

What's your weirdest experience in Query Land?

WriteOnCon Registration is open!

2010-07-01T17:22:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! Just a reminder that the FREE writer's conference, WRITEONCON, is now available for registration. Go HERE to sign up and get all the latest info!

Here's their lastest video.

Countdown Creator Progreat free widgetsWidgetboxMore info

2010-06-15T10:10:00.000-07:00

YA Highway is have a great contest for some highly anticipated books. Get your name in there!

Here's the skinny...

It's time to announce the books for YA Highway's BEA Giveaway! Books that won't be available in the stores for weeks, months even! Be the envy of your friends, your family, that Twi-Mom down the street! Or . . . BE THE TWI-MOM!!! YES!

We put together four very cool bundles, three with Young Adult books and one with Middle Grade. Here's what we have up for grab for FOUR happy readers:

1. MATCHED by Ally Condie and VIRALS by Kathy Reisch (spin-off of the BONES TV show) (YA)

2. BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS (sequel to Beautiful Creatures) by Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia and THE SAGA OF LARTEN CREPSLEY by Darren Shan (YA)

3. FORGE - SIGNED! - by Laurie Halse Anderson and THE DUFF - SIGNED! - by Kody Keplinger (heck yeah we're giving another one of these hotties away!) (YA)

4. MURDER AFLOAT by Jane Lesley Conley and THE MAGNIFICENT 12: THE CALL by Michael Grant (MG)

Enter HERE

Good Luck!

Free Online Kidlit Writers Conference in August!

2010-06-14T15:56:00.000-07:00

Six fabulous ladies - Elana Johnson, Jamie Harrington, Shannon Messenge r, Lisa and Laura Roecker, and Casey McCormick have revealed their secret project...

An Online Writers Conference! Check out the video and mark your calendars!

When? August 10-12, 2010
Where? http://writeoncon.com/

Casey says:

We’ve all heard friends and fellow writers remark on their inability to attend writer's conferences for one reason or another, and since we’re all about paying it forward, we decided to create our own and to bring it to YOU using the amazing capabilities of the web. And so, WriteOnCon was born—and rated MC-18 (main characters 18 and under).

I can't even tell you how amazing it's going to be. No, really! We have a ton of great stuff planned and just look at the names already involved: Catherine Drayton, Steven Malk, Michelle Andelman, Suzie Townsend, Mark McVeigh, Joanna Stampfel-Volpe, Kathleen Ortiz, Lindsay Eland, Dan Ehrenhaft, Mandy Hubbard, Daisy Whitney, Lindsey Leavitt, Josh Berk, Anica Rissi, Jodi Meadows—with more to come!

Taming the Beast!

2010-06-02T08:14:00.000-07:00

I just read Elana Johnson's post on Getting to 100%. You should check it out. Her point about 100% is:

"That's an emotional state. You must absolutely get yourself to the 100% belief that your query and manuscript are as good as they need to be to land an agent or a book deal."

I find that hard to do. I want my writing to be perfect not "good enough." Honestly, I don't blog as much as I want to because I'm not sure the post is perfect or worthwhile. I mean, I'm not a published writer, what in the world do I have to offer?

But thing is...

1. I can find flaws in my favorite books - but I still love them.

2. I love reading blogs of unpublished writers!

So why hold myself to a ridiculously higher standard?

We all do it. It's that self-bashing/self-doubt monster that crawls around inside, chomping away at our self-belief, self-esteem and overall confidence that we can do this! It's a putrid nasty beast. Oh, it won't make me quit but at times it makes the process agonizing and slows my progress.

So here's to 'taming the beast' of self-doubt and recrimination. Whatever you want to do, I believe in you! With enough hard work and perseverance, you can achieve!

Now go ahead and get to work! Quit worrying about getting it perfect but today, do at least one thing that gets you closer to achieving your goal...

Even if it's just believing that you can!

Renewed Joy!

2010-04-08T18:44:00.000-07:00

Great writing day!

Sometimes I feel so bogged down with my writing - the writing, the revising, the research, the reading, the querying, the endless waiting. And my enthusiasm for the writing process - fleshing out plot and characters - gets lost under all the work.

I've been so overwhelmed lately, trying to get everything accomplished with never enough time - stressed out - you know the drill.

But today, I was brainstorming about some new ideas on the story, the series and where it's going and suddenly...the bubbling enthusiasm was back.

What a joy!

Look, I'll slog through whatever it takes to continue my writing and improve my work, but slogging isn't fun. It's hard and...heavy.

My enthusiasm has been renewed. The thrill is back, the writing is easy and I just feel lighter somehow. Oh, I know I'll go through some hard spots again, but I know if I keep plugging away, I'll get through it to the renewed joy.

Never give up, never surrender... And never stop writing! It's all worth it!

Just thought I'd share. And I wonder, what do you do when the going gets tough?

Query with Voice

2010-03-27T18:14:00.000-07:00

I've got a decent query letter. I wanted a fantastic one. What I really wanted was my character's voice shining through.

The consistent comments I get on my writing is about the Voice. Everyone loves it.

SIDEBAR FUNNY STORY:

When I went to my first writing conference and read in a group, everyone commented on how much they liked my voice.

This is embarrassing, but I was such a newbie/novice, I thought they were talking about MY voice - literally. Luckily, I kept my mouth shut because my first instinct was to go "Thank you," well, I did say that, but what I didn't add (again luckily) was, "My Aunt Sharon has told me that and suggested that I could do voice- overs." You know, like in commercials?

Yeah. That's how much I didn't know what I didn't know. Embarrassing, I know. But, hey, I've come a long way. Now at least I know what they're talking about.

But how to get it into my query?

Enter the clever folks at Query Tracker. The advice from Query Ninja Elana Johnson was clever and simple.

Write your query in first person from your main character's POV.

Brilliant! (This was a great break through for me. I can write what Aurora would say and how she would say it ). Then when you get it right, just change the pronouns and verbs.

This one helped me tremendously. I just finished reworking my query today, using that format and I'm thrilled with the results. Hopefully it can help you too. Maybe I'll post the new one to see what you think but... I'm a big chicken.

And FYI - she suggested doing the same thing with the synopsis. I haven't done that yet but I'm anxious to give it a try! Click HERE for the original query tracker post.

So what's your successful query tip?

Query Tracker Contest

2010-03-27T18:05:00.000-07:00

Query Tracker is having another contest!

It will be open on Monday, 3/29 at noon EST. You need to submit a one-line pitch and the first paragraph of a completed manuscript. All genres are welcome except short stories and romance.

The judge is Jason Yarn with Paradigm Literary Agency!

Good Luck to all who enter!

Contests from Suzette Saxton and Elana Johnson

2010-03-13T08:29:00.000-08:00

Suzette Saxton and Elana Johnson are having contests that are connected. You have to follow both of their blogs in order to be entered. Here's the scoop but you'd better hurry because they end Mar 14!

Suzette's Contest (Click to ENTER)

In celebration of our fantabulous followers, and in the spirit of paying it forward, we are having a super giveaway! Five fabu prizes for our five hundred followers. We love you guys!

Here are the prizes:

Suzie Townsend, literary agent extraordinaire with FinePrintLit, has consented to give to the grand prize winner a 40-page partial submission PLUS a critique of those pages! (We know! INVALUABLE!)

Kimberly Derting, author of THE BODY FINDER (release date 3-16) has donated an awesome Body Finder black totebag (perfect size for a whole stack of library books), a signed-in-silver poster, autographed bookmark, and sticker for one lucky winner! (Check out the Literati Blog for pics!)

The book THE HOST, by Stephenie Meyer. Need we say more?

HOW TO WRITE THE GREAT AMERICAN ROMANCE by Katherine Lanigan makes writing almost easy! The step-by-step guide can easily be applied to writing fiction of any genre.

Ever had Enstrom's Toffee? Seriously, the most delicious confection EVER. Suzette's husband flew to Colorado to pick up this 4 ounce box, and we are giving it away to one lucky winner!

It's super easy to enter.

Follow our blog (widget right over there ---->)
Follow Elana's blog (she has a BUNCH of books she's giving away!)
Fill out the form below.

Linkage: Suz on Twitter, Literati Teen Blog, Bethany on Facebook, Suz on Facebook

Contest ends Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 10pm MST. Good luck! :)

Elana's Contest (Click to ENTER)

Okay, here's another amazing Monday. Now Monday isn't usually that great of a day. But today, in celebration of my fantabulous followers, I'm having a book giveaway. (I was going to do this for reaching 500 followers, but now there's over 700 of you! So SEVEN books will be offered!)

And not just any book giveaway. These books will be signed by their authors. Personalized, even. Here are the books you can win:

The Naughty List by Suzanne Young

Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Gone by Lisa McMann (won't be personalized)

Captivate by Carrie Jones

The Secret Year by Jennifer R. Hubbard

It's super easy to enter. Simply do these three things:
1. Follow my blog. (Widget right over there... -->)
2. Follow Suzette Saxton and Bethany Wiggins' blog - they have a wicked contest going on today too! Agent critiques and stuff. Check it out!
3. Fill out the form below.

My twitter. My facebook. Contest is open until Sunday, March 14 at 10 PM MST. Good luck!

Another Dear Lucky Agen Contest @ GLA

2010-03-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

Chuck Sambuchino is having another Dear Lucky Agent Contest. This time the genres are urban fantasy or paranormal romance for both adult and YA.

Here's the scoop!

Welcome to the third "Dear Lucky Agent" Contest on the GLA blog. This will be a recurring online contest with agent judges and super-cool prizes. Here's the deal: With every contest, the details are essentially the same, but the niche itself changes—meaning each contest is focused around a specific category or two. So if you're writing a novel-length work of urban fantasy or paranormal romance, this third contest is for you!

HOW TO SUBMIT

E-mail entries to thirdagentcontest@gmail.com. Please paste everything. No attachments. (Also note that I do not check this account. Only the agent does. Looking back over old e-mails, some people have wrote to say hi to me, or perhaps ask a question. Contact me at literaryagent@fwmedia.com.)

WHAT TO SUBMIT

The first 150-200 words of your unpublished, book-length work of urban fantasy or paranormal romance (adult or YA - both accepted).

Joanna says: "Please keep it to these two subgenres specifically. While you can incorporate a variety of fantasy elements, they still have to fall under these two categories. For those of you who are unsure, keep in mind that both urban fantasy and paranormal romance have a strong base in a real world setting (like Jim Butcher's Dresden Files or J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood or Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy). So no stories that take place solely on another planet or world!"

You must include a contact e-mail address with your entry and use your real name. Also, submit the title of the work and a logline (one-sentence description of the work) with your entry.

Please note: To be eligible to submit, I ask that you do one of two things: 1) Mention and link to this contest twice through your social media - blogs, Twitter, Facebook; or 2) just mention this contest once and also add Guide to Literary Agents Blog (www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog) to your blogroll. Please provide link(s) so I can verify eligibility.

CONTEST DETAILS

1. This contest will be live for approximately fifteen days - from Feb. 27, 2010 through the end of Sunday, March. 14, 2010 EST. Winners notified by e-mail within seven days of end of contest. Winners announced on the blog thereafter.
2. To enter, submit the first 150-200 words of your book. Shorter or longer entries will not be considered. Keep it within word count range please.
3. This contest is solely for completed book-length works of urban fantasy and paranormal romance (either adult or YA). To know more about what falls into these genres, look at the bold text above.
4. You can submit as many times as you wish.
5. The contest is open to everyone of all ages, save those employees, officers and directors of GLA's publisher, F+W Media.
6. There are more rules (most of them dealing with legal stuff) that you can find in the comments section of this post.
7. By e-mailing your entry, you are submitting an entry for consideration in this contest and thereby agreeing to the terms written here as well as the terms added by me at the beginning of the "Comments" section of this blog post.

PRIZES!!!

First place: 1) A critique of 20 pages of your work, by your agent judge. 2) A one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com.

Runner-ups - second and third place: 1) A critique of 10 pages of your work, by your agent judge. 2) A one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com.

Humane Award

2010-02-28T08:31:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Terra from Terra On the Bookshelf for the Humane Award.

"This award is for ten bloggers that are kindhearted individuals. They regularly take part in my blog and always leave the sweetest comments. If it wasn't for them, my site would just be an ordinary book review blog. Their blogs are also amazing and are tastefully done on a daily basis. I thank them and look forward to our growing friendship through the blog world."

My picks are:

J Kaye @ 365 Days of Writing
Suzette @ Shooting Stars
Casey @ Literary Rambles
Kirthi @ Pages
Sandra @ Musings of a Book Addict
Liz @ Cleverly Inked

Thanks ladies for all your support!

Masculinizing Your Dialogue

2010-02-23T10:42:00.000-08:00

I recently went to a conference and entered a workshop taught by Maralys Wills. Obviously she's great because this is a post on all the tips she gave us on masculinizing your book for the male market. (If you like what I gleaned from Ms. Wills, you might want to check out some of her books like Damn the Rejections Full Speed Ahead: The Bumpy Road to Getting Published."

Without further ado, here goes...

Women read everything.

Men...not so much.

^Couch made of duct tape and books^

Men tend to stick with books written by men. I get irritated when I read books from teen perspectives only to find the writer can't write a teen voice, why not men when they read a book written by someone clearly misinformed on men? You've got to know your subject! And the dilemma for most women writers is that we write men as we see them, not as men actually are.

When it comes to dialogue, here's what Ms. Wills advises.

Tip # 1: Eavesdrop on men.

If you missed your Stalker 101 class in high school, then just try hanging around men you know. I've got guy friends, and am close with my brothers and other male relatives. Listening and watching them is great for my male characterizations. Just don't tell them you're studying them. I can't imagine why, but they think it's creepy.

Tip # 2: As you write think terse. Think brief. Think tough. Think strong. Think cut-to-the-chase.

Some of the men you know may not actually be any of those things, but that's how they view themselves, so get with the delusion.

Tip #3: Ask the most masculine man you know to read your manuscript. Suggest that he offer alternative word choices anywhere and everywhere (e.g. Instead of "Let's leave now," how about "Let's shove off.")

I'm fortunate to have my dad, brothers, uncles etc. Since I've got several main guy characters in my book, I bullied them *cough* I mean, asked them politely to read my manuscript. They've told me when things get boring, how to reword things to make my fiction boys more realistic, and, my favorite, "a dude would never say this, what is wrong with you?!"

She also had some stuff about attitudes but I'll save that for the next post!

So what do you think is the best way to masculinize writing? Any tips of your own? Any favorite manly books?

San Diego Southern California Writer's Conference

2010-02-11T23:28:00.000-08:00

Yippee!
My parents just got me the best (early) birthday gift!

A trip to San Diego for the San Diego Writer's Conference!

I only found out about writer's conferences last year and this was the first one I attended. It was my birthday present last year too.

This was such a fantastic experience and while I've been to several since then, I have to say these guys are my favorite.

The atmosphere is amazing. Everyone and anyone is unbelievably supportive. They bend over backwards to help you succeed. And there's a wide variety of workshops to attend and agents, editors and publishers to talk with!

Anyhoo...

I'm bursting with excitement and thought I'd mention it.

I have to pack and then, you know, get sleep before the four hour drive tomorrow, can't say I'm looking forward to that part.

I'll have lots of great stuff to share when I get back!

Have a great holiday weekend!

Contest at Guide to Literary Agents

2010-02-08T19:31:00.000-08:00

The Contest Peacock is at it again!

Chuck Sambuchino over at Guide to Literary Agents is having a "Dear Lucky Agent" contest for aspiring writers in the YA or MG genre.

His blog is great. It's right up there with Query Tracker as a treasure trove for us struggling literary lambs-trying-to-be-lions. It has a tremendous amount of great information and this contest is an added bonus.

Here's the scoop direct from Chuck:

Welcome to the second "Dear Lucky Agent" Contest on the GLA blog. This will be a recurring online contest with agent judges and super-cool prizes. Here's the deal: With every contest, the details are essentially the same, but the niche itself changes—meaning each contest is focused around a specific category or two. So if you're writing a book-length kids novel, this second contest is for you!

HOW TO SUBMIT

E-mail entries to februaryagentcontest@gmail.com. Please paste everything. No attachments.

WHAT TO SUBMIT

The first 150-200 words of your unpublished, book-length work of middle grade or young adult fiction. You must include a contact e-mail address with your entry and use your real name. Also, submit the title of the work and a logline (one-sentence description of the work) with your entry.

Please note: To be eligible to submit, I ask that you do one of two things: 1) Mention and link to this contest twice through your social media - blogs, Twitter, Facebook; or 2) just mention this contest once and also add Guide to Literary Agents Blog (www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog) to your blogroll. Please provide link(s) so I can verify eligibility.

CONTEST DETAILS

1. This contest will be live for approximately fourteen days - from Feb. 7 through the end of Sunday, Feb. 21, EST. Winners notified by e-mail within seven days of end of contest. Winners announced on the blog thereafter.
2. To enter, submit the first 150-200 words of your book. Shorter or longer entries will not be considered. Keep it within word count range please.
3. This contest is solely for completed book-length works of middle grade and young adult fiction (kids novels).

4. You can submit as many times as you wish.

5. The contest is open to everyone of all ages, save those employees, officers and directors of GLA's publisher, F+W Media.

6. There are more rules (most of them dealing with legal stuff) that you can find in the comments section of this post.

7. By e-mailing your entry, you are submitting an entry for consideration in this contest and thereby agreeing to the terms written here as well as the terms added by me at the beginning of the "Comments" section of this blog post.

PRIZES!!!

First place: 1) A critique of 25 pages of your work, by your agent judge. 2) A query critique from your agent judge. 3) Two free books from Writer's Digest Books (I will give you several choices and you pick the books your want).

Runner-ups - second and third place: 1) A critique of 10 pages of your work, by your agent judge. 2) One free book from Writer's Digest Books (I will give you several choices and you pick the book your want).

The judge is Jennifer Laughran an agent with the Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

Hope many of you enter and good luck!

Thanks! Two Great Articles! And Do You Outline?

2010-01-25T08:05:00.000-08:00

First of all, I want to say a big THANKS for all the new followers showing their support. You guys rock! And it also gives me incentive to be more up to date with this blog. Teens Read and Write can be so time consuming but I promise to focus more than I have been on this one.

Here's some great info I found this week - two recent articles on Query Tracker that I loved.

First is Suzette Saxton talking about When to Nudge an Agent. She gets very specific. Since I have agents looking at my work, and this industry is so slow due to agents being inundated with a mountain of queries, partials and fulls, as well as taking care of clients, advice on how/when to nudge is always welcome.

Second is Cutting the Fat by Elana Johnson on tips to help you revise. Again, she is specific which is so helpful. I'm always happy to find ways to help shorten and improve the revision process.

Elana mentioned that she doesn't outline her stories. I don't either. Well, not in any great detail, but I was wondering...

Do you outline?

Do you have skinny or fat character bios? Do you have character bios?

Just curious about others' writing process so please share!

Power and internet is still off and on. Lord, I miss electricity!

Snowed Out, Snowed In & No Power!

2010-01-23T14:46:00.000-08:00

You gotta love winter! I'm in the Stone Ages!

We were hit with major weather this week. We were away from home and couldn't get home. Roads were closed due to snow.

We just made it home but haven't had any power. At the moment it's popping in and out and I'm afraid it's going to fry the computer so we're keeping it off ( I snuck this one in).

I've been writing with pen and paper which I haven't done in... I don't know how long. Grade school? Yikes!

Now, like many of you, I always have a notepad handy to jot down thoughts but not this much - my hand's getting tired!

I remember reading that Sydney Sheldon always wrote his novels longhand on a yellow legal pad. So just wondering, anyone write (with great length) on paper anymore? And if you do...Why?

I Won the Secret Agent Contest!

2010-01-18T12:28:00.000-08:00

Remember that Secret Agent Contest over at Miss Snark's First Victim? Well, I was a runner up! (My submission entry was #38).

I'm thrilled! It means I get to submit my query and 1st three chapters to Ammi-Joan Paquette, an agent with the Erin Murphy Literary Agency, a fabulous and well-respected firm.

The cool part is that this agency doesn't accept unsolicited manuscripts. You have to be referred by someone in the industry so I wouldn't have been able to get a foot in the door without winning this contest. Very exciting!

Anyway, good news and I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Thank you Authoress from Miss Snark's First Victim.

Thank you Ms. Paquette.

And thank you J. Kaye for your kind words!

Read and Critique @ Miss Snark's First Victim

2010-01-13T08:09:00.001-08:00

Read and Critiques are always fun and here's your chance to get in on a great one.

Authoress has her contestants' entries up for her latest Secret Agent contest over at Miss Snark's First Victim blog.

She puts up the 50 entries (each is the first 250 words of a finished novel) and everyone gets a chance to comment - do you like or not? Why or why not?

The entries go up in batches of 10 so go over to the left sidebar and go down to click on older ones. They're listed by number.

This month's contest is for YA and MG novels of all genres. It's a great way to see what others are writing, give your opinion and also see what others think. Last I checked only the first 30 were posted but go take a look.

The Secret Agent (a real literary agent) also comments. What a great way to get some feedback on what agents (or at least this one) thinks!

I did enter (still waiting for mine to go up) and I'll be very interested to see the feedback!

Have fun! And remember to be honest but positive and respectful to all!

Another Writing Contest!

2010-01-11T09:51:00.000-08:00

Hope you're busy as a peacock with your novel because there is another contest available!

Mary Kole, an associate agent at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency is hosting a contest on her blog, Kidlit. Here's the scoop directly from the Kidlit blog and Ms. Kole

This time, I’m going to let you enter by e-mail only, to mary at kidlit dot com, with the subject line “Kidlit Contest.” Copy and paste your novel text… do not send attachments. Your entry has to be for a children’s novel (YA or MG, sorry, no picture books this time around), it has to be for a manuscript that is FINISHED and could be sent out to an agent, and it must be under 500 words.

To be clear, you have to email your entry to me with the subject line “Kidlit Contest” by January 31st, 2010 in order to qualify.

Once I have all entries, I will deliberate for about a week, pick the most compelling openings, dissect what makes them so awesome on the site AND award you fabulous prizes:

Grand Prize Winner: A 15 page critique
First Place: A 10 page critique
Second Place: A 5 page critique
Third Place: A 2 page critique
Honorable Mention(s): A critique of the first page of your novel

Again, deadline for entries: Sunday, January 31st at 11:59 p.m., Pacific Time.

Not only do you have to email me your entry, you’ve got to do the following things to qualify. Send me links so that I can double-check your eligibility, per the rules, anywhere in your entry email.

Contest Rules:

Put a link to this contest page in TWO other places. Click here for an easy code you can copy and paste! (PLEASE AVOID THE VERLA KAY AND ABSOLUTE WRITE FORUMS… THERE ARE MULTIPLE POSTS HERE ABOUT THIS ALREADY!)
Link to Kidlit.com in your blog sidebar (or add my syndication feed to your Livejournal, if you have no sidebar)
Read and comment on at least one other Kidlit post.

Go to the Kidlit blog post to enter and GOOD LUCK!

And even if you don't enter the contest, you should check out the blog. She is very generous with her knowledge and has a tremendous amount of great information to offer.

Contest for Writers

2010-01-08T08:30:00.000-08:00

Attention Writers! Suzette Saxton and her sister Bethany from Shooting Stars blog are having their first giveaway with some awesome prizes for writers. Here's the scoop!

Bethany and I have decided to hold a contest, our very first, all in the name of ringing in the New Year. We want to give you a boost toward achieving your dreams!

The Prizes:

2 Query Critiques*

2 First Five Page Critiques*

1 Inscribed/Autographed The Dark Divine*

_____

5 Winners

Enter HERE and good luck!

J Kaye Starts Writing!

2009-12-31T17:54:00.000-08:00

I've always loved J Kaye's Book Blog for wonderful book reviews. Now she's started a writing blog where she is documenting her progress in writing a novel, 365 Days of Novel Writing.

Please head on over and give her your support!

And by the way...

Query Tracker Now Has Social Networking

2009-12-21T07:52:00.000-08:00

I had the pleasure of meeting writer Suzette Saxton through Query Tracker when I won that writing contest last month. She was the one who contacted me about my win and we've been sending a few emails back and forth. What a great lady!

She just told me about some new social networking additions that Query Tracker has recently added to their site. She just put up a blog post on these fabulous new networking tools.

Writing can be such a solitary endeavor, but by adding the social networking aspects, Query Tracker has opened a whole new way for writers to connect with and help other writers!

"QueryTracker.net - Not just for queries any more.

We all know that online networking is essential for writers to succeed in this modern age. So what do writers do? We haunt Facebook, Twitter, and blogs. I found myself wishing for a central listing site of WRITERS, a simple way to connect with all their sites from one single page."

Query Tracker has always been a fabulous way to find out about agents and track your querying activities.. and now it's a way to socially network too. You can sign up for free!

Head over to the post. They lay out the new tools and how to use them. Have fun and let's connect!

How Bad Can Your Good Guy Be? Part one: Villains

2009-12-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

How Bad Can Your Good Guy Be?

At my first ever conference that was the title of the first lecture/workshop I went to.
I thought it was an excellent question.

Andrew Peterson was the speaker and he is amazing. His debut novel First to Kill is great if you love thrillers (my dad even enjoyed it, finished it in three days, if you knew my dad you would understand what a testament that is to the man's writing).

I was jazzed for this lecture. I wanted to know how bad I could make my heroes and heroines. But Mr. Peterson made us all take a step back and said,

"There's no concrete answer to this question except that your hero must be distinguishable from your villain by what's in his heart."

He went on to say, basically, that before you start determining how bad your hero can be, you must first determine how bad your villain is.

What is a villain then?

Answer 1: A person of uncouth mind
and manners. He's also a person of depraved and malevolent character devoted to evil acts. One who deliberately plots and does serious harm to others.

Answer 2: He's the opposite of your hero. He works in direct opposition to your hero.

Answer 3: The villain is the foundation of your story.

I thought Mr. Peterson was spot on up until that last answer. Clearly the hero is the foundation of your story.But then I realized the flaw in my logic when he continued with,

"Without a villain and his 'master plan' your hero doesn't have a job so you don't have a story."

Duh.
(Blonde moment noted.)

After learning this bit of information, I went over my own villains in Demonic Attractions.

What kind of bad guys were they?

Did they think of themselves as the bad guy or did they believe they were acting honorably?
(Were they Batman's Joker out to wreck mayhem or Harry Potter's Voldemort trying to take over the world?)

How did they feel about their villainous ways?

Did they enjoy themselves or wish there was another way?

What were their goals? Hopes? Dreams?

The answers to the above questions turned out to be "Um...?"

My villains were flat. They weren't even one dimensional, they were maybe half a dimension. In fact, I didn't even know who the master villain was, he was just a black shadow in the corner of my mind with a bunch of half formed lackeys.

And so began one of my many ridiculously large revisions.

I took Mr. Peterson's words to heart. Here is some of his wisdom.

Your villain must possess equal or higher skills than your hero. If your villain is shallow, foolish, or inept, your hero's job is to easy and you don't have "real" conflict.
The same could be said for your hero versus the villain. But there's a difference: The villain almost always has the upper hand as the hero generally doesn't know what the villain's master plan is.

All good fiction is centered around conflict. It's the foundation that drives your story. Your hero and villain are tools to create conflict.

Just as your hero has some undesirable characteristics, your villain will have some admirable characteristics. Giving your villain at least one good quality makes him deeper, more interesting.

Whew! In another post I'll discuss Mr. Peterson's advice on heroes and his thoughts on how bad your good guy can be.

Jumping for Joy

2009-12-07T16:26:00.000-08:00

Yippee! Some uber-exciting news. The kind of thing that helps keep me writing and working at getting published.

About a month ago I entered a contest over at QueryTracker (wonderful writer's resource). I submitted the first five pages of my novel, and a synopsis along with 70 other writers. The contest was judged by Anna Webman, an agent with Curtis Brown LTD. The grand prize winner got a full manuscript request and the three other winners got a partial request.

Suzette Saxton (check out her blog. It has great stuff for writers and she recently got signed with an agent!) just contacted me the other day and let me know I was one of the partial request winners!

Of course, I panicked and quickly went over the first pages to make sure they were polished...for now. I'm always trying to improve. (Am I the only one?) I was supposed to send the first 30 pages. But the scene doesn't end until page 39.

Oh no! Dilemma time.

Do I just send the 30 and stop the scene in the middle? That doesn't seem like a good idea. Do I send 39 and finish the scene? But that might make Ms. Webman think I'm a greedy wench who is trying to get more than I was promised... Like I'm trying to suck her very soul because she doesn't already have enough to do with the bazillion queries and partials and fulls that she has to read. Not to mention the fact that she has other work to do and clients to take care of, and, oh yeah, a life!

So my thrill soon turned to anxiety...ah, the plight of the unpublished writer (maybe it's the plight of published writers too). In the end I went for risking looking like a greedy wench - I sent the 39 pages.

Did I do the right thing? Anyone have a similar experience? What did you do?

Look, I know anything or nothing can happen with this but at least it gives me encouragement to keep plugging away. I always remember, the only difference between a published and unpublished author is that the published author never gave up!

And thanks to Anna Webman, Suzette Saxton and the QueryTracker people for this wonderful contest.

Whatever happens, I can honestly say, they helped Christmas come early for me this year.

Oh, and if anyone is interested in learning more about Anna Webman you can find an interview with her here, courtesy of QueryTracker (like I said before, a diamond mine for writers).

Reading (Great Books) is Inspirational

2009-10-28T11:57:00.000-07:00

I haven't been posting here much but I have been keeping up (with the help of my brothers, Jake and Gregory) on the book review blog, Teens Read and Write.

I've been mostly reading books and doing some re-writing on Demonic Attractions. I received some feedback on my work from an agent (that I met at the last conference) who wants to look at the manuscript but asked for some changes.

I should be finished with that soon. It's annoying because I want to be completely done with the first novel but on the other hand...I am also really happy with the changes I'm making. The book is stronger and even more fun! So that's all good.

I've also had some interest elsewhere so I'd better quit whining...Okay I'm done.

With my avalanche of reading YA novels I have found some duds (in my opinion) but also some wonderful stories. I loved the Immortals series - City of Bones, City of Ashes and City of Glass. The characters are fun - especially Jace - and it's full of fast action and fun. You can read my review of City of Bones on the blog.

My new favorite that I have just finished (and then actually re-read it immediately) is Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. I haven't even written the review yet but it will be up on the Teens Read and Write blog soon! To summarize, it was an absolute joy and much sexier (but still clean) than Twilight!

Reading the duds can be depressing to a writer trying to get published (you know, you ask yourself, how did that get on the shelves?). I try to pinpoint what I don't like and then make sure I don't do that in my writing.

Reading the fantastic novels that sweep me away is blessed treat and gets me back at that computer with renewed enthusiasm and hope! Both so crucial to a writer!

So thanks to all those talented writers who give me joy and inspiration. I love you all!

Now I'd better get back to it!

And by the way, we are giving away over 20 fabulous books (Hush Hush being one of them) over at Teens Read and Write. At the moment there will be 13 winners and soon I think we'll be upping that to 15 winners!

If you haven't entered, go check it out at the MegaBook Giveaway post!

Busy Writing!

2009-09-17T11:46:00.000-07:00

So I've been lucky enough to be working with a couple of great editors and published authors who have generously given me feedback on Demonic Attractions. It's kind of like a critique group I guess. Lots of good feedback!

Anyway, I'm busy making some changes and as much as I would like to be done, I am having fun. And what writer ever considers herself truely done with their work? There is always room for improvement.

It's nice to get professional advice and I see how it is helping my story become more exciting. So a big thank you to the generous people who have been helping me get that much closer to publishing.

Now I'd better get back to writing!

A&E Kirk

Am I The Only One Having Fun With My Kids?

Demons at Deadnight Blog Tour

May I have this dance?

Hot Hex Boys Arrive at Books and Things!

Release Day for DEMONS AT DEADNIGHT by A&E Kirk

Fearless Friday

Yes, It's Our Book! DEMONS AT DEADNIGHT by A&E Kirk

Time for Change and Exciting News

Virtual Affection and My New Acronym - IDA

The Return of the Walking Dead

Bloggiesta - It's ON!

Happy New Years 2011

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Show Don't Tell in Real Life

YA SALES EXPLOSION!

HOLIDAY BATTLES!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! Plus a FEAST FOR THE EYES!

New York trip preparation

KEEPING PERSPECTIVE + GIVEAWAY!

QUERY HELP + Giveaway

Kiersten White Signs PARANORMALCY + Giveaway

I Received...THE CALL! + YALITCHAT Membership Giveaway

Hollywood Halloween Adventures

Amazing Writing Contest at Miss Snark's First Victim

Contest News for Aspiring YA Authors

Eavesdropping and Student Drivers

Who Says Teenagers Aren't Mature?

Meaningful Chats at My House

More Great Questions to Ask Your Characters!

How Do You Get To Know Your Characters? (Questions #1)

Creative Juices - Keep them Flowing!

Free Kid-Lit Writers Conference Online!

What's In A Name?

My Strangest Rejection EVER!

WriteOnCon Registration is open!

Free Online Kidlit Writers Conference in August!

Taming the Beast!

Renewed Joy!

Query with Voice

Query Tracker Contest

Contests from Suzette Saxton and Elana Johnson

Another Dear Lucky Agen Contest @ GLA

Humane Award

Masculinizing Your Dialogue

San Diego Southern California Writer's Conference

Contest at Guide to Literary Agents

Thanks! Two Great Articles! And Do You Outline?

Snowed Out, Snowed In & No Power!

I Won the Secret Agent Contest!

Read and Critique @ Miss Snark's First Victim

Another Writing Contest!

Contest for Writers

J Kaye Starts Writing!

Query Tracker Now Has Social Networking

How Bad Can Your Good Guy Be? Part one: Villains

Jumping for Joy

Reading (Great Books) is Inspirational

Busy Writing!