Friday, January 20, 2012

Free-For-All Friday! Contests! Bloghops! Awards!

What a week! I'm all about the hectic week though, because I kinda like to be frazzled. There I said it. It's a love/hate thing I suppose.

Here are some highlights:

-My van is a piece of junk. Did you know it costs over a $1000 bones to fix junk? And then, when I went to pick up the fixed junk, it wouldn't start. Darn batteries.

-I took my Grandmother to the doctor for a check-up on her skin cancer. It was gone. Yes! But a new place showed up. That woman is a fighter I tell you. She has dealt with years of Lymphoma and now skin cancer yet she still manages to curl her hair and put lipstick and jewelry on when we go out. Love her:)

-These two boys I don't know came to my house freezing and needing a ride, I felt so bad for them so I gave them a ride to their house. Now they are coming on warm days asking for rides. Umm....

In my writing world:

-I am still looking for two more betas, so if anyone is interested please let me know:)

-ER King (Get Busy Writing) has been brave enough to be a beta reader and she just sent me some fabulous suggestions!

-Monica (Love YA) just critiqued my first 1000 and again, more fab suggestions!

-I entered some contests and in Jamie Ayers agent contest, I got excellent feedback from Nicole Resciniti from the Seymour Agency. Can I just say she is soooo cool! She asked everyone who entered for a partial and a synopsis (except for two, who she asked for fulls).

-Which brings me to the next item on my writing 'to do' list. A synopsis. I would rather gouge my eyes out with red hot coals. Maybe.

-I blinked and went up a hundred followers! Not sure how that happened, but thanks so much to my new lovelies:)

-I was given the Versatile and Kreativ Blogger awards from the uber-fantastic Kelley over at Between the Bookends. I'm supposed to tell some things about myself, so I am going to call my bullet list above 'my things' and pass these awards on to...
ANYONE WHO COMMENTS ON THIS POST (because I seriously can't pick I love you all!)

And one last item of business for the Free-For-All

Writing Contests I've heard about:
Query Tracker Logline/100 words-Jan 30th
Cupids Connection Query/250 contest Ends today!
Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest Jan 23-Feb 5

Bloghops I'm Doing:
Flickerfest Bloghop - Can't find the link to this, but I wanted to do it. If anyone knows, I'd love to know.
The rest of the bloghops I'm doing are in the left sidebar under "Things I Love". I'm excited for them all!

Have a great weekend!

26 comments:

Joanne said...

Congrats on your Awards, and best wishes with the Synopsis ... Hoping the agent requests your Full :)

Tasha Seegmiller said...

I used to have a piece of junk van too. I knew it was a piece of junk when I walked in to our mechanic and he knew me by name, vehicle, and probably issue. Then the sliding door fell off. We upgraded.

As for the boys, would completely pretend like you don't know who they are when they come next. Mess with them a little and they will think about coming back :)

Angela Cothran said...

Emily is the best beta reader! I just love her. I bought my ticket for LDStorymakers last night. Now I can meet you in person :)

Jasmine Walt said...

Congrats on the awards and the followers! I had a moment when I realized I was going to have to write a synopsis-- I wasn't expecting that she would actually ask us all for partials and I've never written one before. But one of my friends found a really amazing article on how to write one. It's on my blog if you want to check it out.

Oh, and the first ten chapters of my MS are ready for betas, if you want to swap. My email address is jazzywaltz1(at)gmail.com. :)

Meredith said...

Good luck to your grandmother! She sounds amazing. And good luck with the synposis--I have to do that soon, too, and I want to throw something. :)

Loree Huebner said...

Deana! Congrats to you and your full request from Nicole! Keep me informed on that one.

Yay for Grandma!

Cassie Mae said...

Haha, those boys sound awesome. Know how to sucker you in, lol.

And good luck with the synopsis, bleck ;)

This was a really good news post! congrats on the request, the followers, and in fixing your piece o' crap van! :)

Tara Tyler said...

busy, busy, busy!
congrats on your boost in followers and the awards =)

have a nice weekend!

Carrie Butler said...

Congratulations on the awards, and good luck fighting... I mean, WRITING your synopsis. That's what I'm working on, too. Ick! ;)

Emily R. King said...

Deana, I am LOVING your WiP! I hope my suggestions are helpful, but remember, they're just suggestions. BTW, Kali kicks ass, in case you didn't already know. : )

Kelley Lynn said...

Ooo, I love uber-fantastic!! :)

And thanks for the querytracker contest. Didn't know about that one.

Karen M. Peterson said...

If you're still looking for betas, I'm available.

Your grandmother sounds like an amazing lady.

And I hate how expensive car repairs are.

And good luck with your contest entries!

Unknown said...

Love your new profile pic, woman! ... Actually, not sure how new it is - I keep disappearing from the blogosphere.

Email or DM me if you still need a beta ;)

What a romp of a post! Hugs, and congrats on awards and followers :)
--Lora

Leslie S. Rose said...

We bought my son an old Altima as his first car and put a couple of thousand into getting it to safe. Since then the darn thing continues to sprout MAJOR repair needs. I can't decided whether to shoot it or donate it.

Connie B. Dowell said...

Congrats! As for the boys, if you've got a peep hole on your door and can see who's knocking or ringing the bell, you could just pretend you're not home a couple times. Maybe they'll move onto another house begging for rides.

Alexis Bass said...

I also HATE writing the dreaded synopsis! Thanks for the links to contests!

Sharon Bayliss said...

Ugh, I can't believe I missed those contests! There are so many! For me, this link on synopsis writing made all the difference:

http://letthewordsflow.wordpress.com/2010/11/24/how-to-write-a-1-page-synopsis/

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the shout out, Deana! I used to hate writing a synopsis, too! Now for my next YA, I wrote it after 20 pgs into it (sick, I know). So while I'm not an expert or anything, I can sure take a look at yours before you send it to Nic if you'd like:):)

Anonymous said...

Wow, busy week!

PK HREZO said...

YOur granny rocks!
Congrats on all the successful blogging! :)And on your ms feedback. I'm in the middle of a beta right now... but I can do an exchange in a couple months if you're still interested. :)
BTW I just wrote my synop for Nicole and oi.... it took me all day to do. *grits teeth*

Melodie Wright said...

Deana - your grandma sounds great! You've obviously inherited some super genes. ;)
I'm swamped with revisions right now but could probably beta your first three chapters if you like. Or not, I understand if you'd rather have the whole thing done at once.

Christa Desir said...

I'm cracking up at two boys asking you for rides on all the days. Ha! No good deed goes unpunished. Perhaps you could point out your crappy van problem:)

Small Town Shelly Brown said...

I can beta for you if you need me. I'm not the best grammar nazi but I'm decent with story fixes. Email me if you need me :)
shellybrownwriter at gmail

I've owned my share of junk cars, dealt with too much cancer, and have been suckered into helping kids. But all at the same time? ;) What a world!

Anonymous said...

Congrats all round! Looks like a start to a good year for you.

Lovely new profile pic too!

alexia said...

Great news on all the feedback! And yes, synopsises are the worst.

Peggy Eddleman said...

Ha! LOVE the story about the boys asking for a ride!

And congrats on the awards! Also: I love your blog design. Especially that your columns aren't the same height as your post area. It looks so fabulous!