A Winner and Some Summer Goals

First things first, we have a business card winner!!

Judy Dudich! You won!!!

I will contact you shortly:)

Now, to my post....

Huh? You mean now that school's out I have to stop being a slacker?

You mean my kids are going to want me to take them to the pool and the park and have fun? I can't write, query agents, and do writerly things non-stop?

HA!

I'm living a pretty deluded life if I think that's what I've been doing.

I've been a slacker in all areas lately.

It's what happens when you have a very very sick grandmother, your daughter is in a big musical (40 min away from your house and practicing all the time), and you're living in limbo because you don't know if you're going to have to move....AGAIN! Oh well. It's life right? I'm fine with it. Worse things have happened. And things are beginning to slow down where I can actually think straight again.

So with my clear head in place, I want to be better. I want to be as good as I hoped I would be when this year started out and I set my fantabulous goals. 

This summer I'm going to kick it up a notch and....

-Spend quality time with my kids


-Start writing that new idea I've been blabbing about


-Start querying again


-Figure out this moving situation once and for all


and

-Plan my Gearing up to get an Agent Blogfest (Stay tuned for more info on this)


In order to make this happen, I may not be my best blogging self throughout the summer. I will still be blogging of course, but it won't be my regular Tuesday/Friday schedule. I do hope you understand:)


What about you? Do you all have any big summer goals you can't wait to start on?

Wilde's Fire Editor Judged Contest!

If you are looking to enter to win free business cards, go HERE!

I'm all kinds of pumped because today is the first day for the amazing editor judged contest hosted by Sharon Bayliss! It's a two-fold contest to help spread the word about the newly released, Wilde's Fire by Krystal Wade (who is also the editor for the contest) and to get some great feedback, plus a possible full request for us writers from Curiosity Quills. There is still time to sign up, so if you have a polished, shiny manuscript you're ready to pitch go HERE to enter!

For the first part of the contest we have to enter our query and first 500 words on our blog to get critiques before doing a final submit. I'm sure those of you that have been here and seen me post my query and 500 before for similar contests are probably groaning. But don't leave just yet, I have tweaked some things so I'd love any new feedback you can give:) Thanks! And if you're entering the contest I will gladly return the love on your blog:)

QUERY:
The day bombs rain down on the earth annihilating the time machines Kali Addison's dad invented, it's her seventeenth birthday. She gets a couple of unexpected presents. A dead family. And the truth: Time machines have nothing to do with science and everything to do with her.
 
Stripped of her loved ones, and her father's work in ashes, fate would have it, Kali is now a freakin' time machine. And those responsible for ridding the world of them, know all about what Kali's capable of. Too bad she doesn't. Maybe the oh-so-hot guy, who shows up every time she's catapulted into the past, can help her remember. But knowing the truth would mean facing a life she forgot for a reason.
 
Now she must decide what's more important; continuing to live in the dark, or embracing the danger of who she's always been. If she chooses wrong. It's times up. For everyone.

Mystical mixes with real life fears of love and loss in this sci-fi/fantasy mashup novel for young adults, RIPPLE EFFECT is complete at 99,000 words, and has series potential.
        
I am a member of SCBWI and David Farland's Writers Group. More important, I am a seventeen-year-old, stuck in a thirty-three year old body, writing books to fill the void.
       
If you would like to consider RIPPLE EFFECT, I will be more than happy to send you the full manuscript.

FIRST 500 WORDS:
            I hate time travel.
            It's the one thought I have in my head as I crane my neck to take in the massive Clandestine in all its bland glory.
            The Commoners appear just as dull as the timeport with their solemn expressions and outfits the color of dirty snow.
            Today, I match them.
            Sage tugs my arm and I pop out of my head just in time to climb the steps with the others. I pause at the plaque by the entrance and read:

This Clandestine is dedicated

to those valiant Commoners who

fought the battle of time and won.

2035

            I can't help the laugh that slips. If those Commoners only knew what they set in motion.

            "Would you stop it already?" Sage elbows me. "You're starting to sweat and it's messing up your makeup." She unzips her gray suit just enough to pull a tissue out of her bra and pushes it into my hands. "And you'd better take off your sunglasses. You know you won't get in wearing those."
            "I hope not," I mumble, but still let her drag me through the sliding glass doors while I blot my face. I keep the glasses on, even though she's right. I won't get through the first check point with them.  Preparation for a journey through time doesn't allow for distractions like color or commotion. That includes accessories. But I don't care. I want to act like an indignant child, so I will.
            Not only is the Clandestine bland, but there are no windows here either. So no way to enjoy the cool spring breeze or hear the birds chirp me a happy birthday song.
            Nope.
            I get to be serenaded by the whispers of curious onlookers wondering why I'm time travelling with them. I'm beginning to have second thoughts about it myself.    
            At least my friends; Sage, Greer and Flip, are letting me pick the "when" we travel to as my birthday present. I can't understand how they think it's a present at all knowing how much I despise this whole scene. I guess I'm the idiot for agreeing to it.
            Oh well, maybe luck will rain down on me and no one will notice the inventor's daughter is about to use one of his public time machines. Or maybe I'll experience a first and won't get sick when I travel. And maybe, just maybe, the tracker chip they insert into our arms before we leave won't kill us if we cause a Ripple.
            Nah.
            Luck doesn't free-flow into my life too often. Something is bound to go wrong. It's why my nerves are beaten to a pulp and my nails gnawed to nubs.
            No joke, picking at my fingers has become an art form. We all need our distractions I suppose. And my nail obsession is working well, until we hit the back of the line to the first check point and my friends start goofing off like we're at a party.
           

Giveaway! 250 Business Cards!

Summer's almost here! How are you feeling about it? I love the time I get to spend with my kids, but hate how my writing time seems to diminish. I just have to keep doing the balance chant and maybe one day it will work.

Until then, I've got some good news...no I don't have an agent yet. The good news is for you!

A GIVEAWAY!

I've been blabbing about doing one since my birthday in March, but a major case of slackeritus got the best of me.

Until PrintRunner came to my rescue offering to give me and a winner 250 business cards each.

This offer came about during the writer's conference I attended a couple of weeks ago. Any writer who has been to a conference knows how great it is to have a handy dandy business card available to pass around.

If you agree check out the details below. And good luck!!!

Here are the deets of the Giveaway:
-Tell me in the comments your name, email address and why you could use some business cards.
-Giveaway ends Friday, May 25th 2012
-Once I winner is chosen at random I will submit your name and email to PrintRunner and they will contact you about the design.
-Open to US residents only, ages 18 years old and up.
-Standard shipping to winner is free. If you want the shipping rushed, winner must pay the extra shipping.
-You don't have to, but it would be nice if you followed PrintRunner on Twitter and liked them on Facebook.

Description of cards: 
Business Card Size and Style Business Cards - 2x3.5 (Standard)
Quantity 250
Colors 4/4 Color Both Sides

Paper 14 pt. UV Coating on Front, 14 pt. UV Coating on both sides,

Proof NONE
Rounded Corners NO
Ready To Ship In  3 Business Days

For those of you who don't know, PrintRunner is an online printing company that does quality printing for less. If you don't end up being the winner you can try their business card printing services and see for yourself.

Check Me Out!

I'm feeling pretty special today!

Angie, who I just met in person and is as cool as I thought she would be, interviewed me on her Won't You Be My Neighbor Tuesday. I love the way she actually chats with her guests to make it a fun conversation. So if you get a chance, go check out my pageant answers and how I blog in a southern accent:)
INTERVIEW

Do you have anything exciting going on this week?

Also, don't forget to stay tuned this week for more details on my blog giveaway!

Sure, I Can Do That...

I think it only fitting to share with you some of the things I took away from this past weekends writer's conference I attended. Since...well...they were awesome!

The biggest thing that's sticking with me is from a motivational talk Kevin Anderson did. If you don't know him, you should. He is AMAZING. He's written over 50 books and been on the best seller list over 50 times. Those are some crazy odds!

And the way he tells it. He started young. He never gave up. Even after he got an agent. Even after he was published. He didn't sit back and smile in his new author status and say, "I made it!".

No. He went full force. If he was asked to do something, he said, "Sure, I can do that." He made major bank, but still continued to say, "Sure, I can do that." He said it was this 'go get it' attitude that allowed for more and more opportunities to flow his way.

I love this idea! The fact that his resume is longer than most short stories and that he is still willing to learn and grow and DO. What an inspiration! Not just in writing, but in life. And one I hope to carry with me throughout my own.

What about you? If you were uber loaded down with money and sittin' pretty on the best sellers list, would you say, "Sure, I can do that."?

Stay tuned next week for a giveaway here on my blog. Let's just say, you will enjoy this one if your headed to your own conference in the near future.

Have a great weekend!

On a Conference High!

I'm still coming down from my conference high.

This past weekend I attended the LDStorymakers Conference and had a blast!

Here are some of the highlights:

-Spent six hours in a super thorough crit group. Who was the host? The fab Elana Johnson! I would like to get inside that woman's brain (maybe). Her ideas on how to shape our manuscripts were fabulous.

-Got to meet so many of my blogging buddies. Seriously, does everyone who blogs live out west? There are too many to even name...because I just tried and it was over 20!

-I got to have breakfast with most of my online crit group.

-Did my first ever in person pitch to an editor. Yes, I did get a request. No, it wasn't a full. Yes, it was still cool. Just being able to sit down (once the nerves left my body) and chat with her, was priceless. It's true people. Agents and editors are people too:)

-The learning. Unbelievable how much I was able to pack into my brain about writing. If you haven't been to a writing conference, you really need to go!

-Some quality time with my lil sister. She's sixteen and an aspiring writer and it was because of her that I was able to jump on a plane and go to this conference in the first place. Oh to have the perks once more of living at home and getting awesome Christmas presents. At least she included me in this wish of her:) Thanks Caity!

I would love to post some pictures, but for some reason I can never find my stupid sd card reader when I want to. I'm sure you've seen a lot of them just from the other blogs though, so yeah.

All in all, it was a blast.

Now, it's time to get to work!

Have you ever been to a writer's conference?