Win A Publishing Contract & BQOTW!!!!

Monday, Monday... The beginning of the week... Lovely! So for all of you that follow this blog, I will be posting my contact information where you can send queries and I will be live Feb 7!!!!

Secondly, don't forget to check out Punkin House's Novice Novelist writing contest! Enter for a chance to win a cash prize and... Dun dun dun... A publishing contract with Punkin House Press! The contest started Saturday... Check it out here... http://www.punkinhouse.com/Novice_Novelist_Contest.html


And last but not least, here is this week's Book Quote Of The Week! And it comes from Last Sacrifice by: Richelle Mead.

I grow and I shrink. I run and I crawl. Follow my voice, though I have none at all. I never do leave here but I travel around- I float through the sky and creep through the ground. I keep my cache in a vault although I have no wealth,
Seek out my decay to safeguard your health.~ Richelle Mead ~ Last Sacrifice.

Win A Publishing Contract...

Do you have the "write" stuff?

Well, do you?


Starting tonight at midnight, Punkin House Press is holding their first semi annual Novice Novelist Writing Contest, where the Grand Prize Winner wins $1000.00 dollars and a publishing contract with Punkin House Press.

Punkin House Press is an author-focused independent publishing company, that puts the author above anything else.. And you can read an article about the company itself right here.

http://womeninbusiness.about.com/u/sty/networking/share-womens-business-networks/Women-in-Business---Punkin-House-Press.htm

Punkin house never charges any fees for the author, EVER..

I have to say, that they published my novel Love Sucks and I couldn't have been more pleased. They go above and beyond for their writers. They include you in everything and I don't know very many CEO's that will personally answer any questions you might have. But the CEO of Punkin House does..

So if you think you have the "write" stuff, follow the link below and enter your query and the first 1000 words of your Mss for the chance of a lifetime, to see your book in print. There is a 35.00 entrance fee.

http://www.punkinhouse.com/Novice_Novelist_Contest.html

Cheers!

In The Town Of Sleepy Hollow...

I just have to say that I'm a huge fan of re-tellings. I obsessed over Jane and now apparently I can add a new book to that list...

When I originally picked up The Hollow by Jessica Verday, I actually had no idea that it was a re-telling of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. With that said, I was absolutely thrilled once I figured it out...

When Abbey's best friend, Kristen, vanishes at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, everyone else is all too quick to accept that Kristen is dead and rumors fly that her death was no accident. Abbey goes through the motions of mourning her best friend, but privately, she refuses to believe that Kristen is really gone. It only makes things worse that everyone now treats Abbey like either a freak show or a charity case. Thank goodness for Caspian, the gorgeous and mysterious boy who shows up out of nowhere at Kristen's funeral, and keeps reappearing in Abbey's life. Caspian clearly has secrets of his own, but he's the only person who makes Abbey feel normal again...but also special. Just when Abbey starts to feel that she might survive all this, she learns a secret that makes her question everything she thought she knew about her best friend. How could Kristen have kept silent about so much? And could this secret have led to her death? As Abbey struggles to understand Kristen's betrayal, she uncovers a frightening truth that nearly unravels her—one that will challenge her emerging love for Caspian, as well as her own sanity.(summary from goodreads)

Honestly, it took my a little while to get into this book but once I did, there was no stopping me..

I liked all the historical refrences to Washington Irving's masterpiece. Such as the actual bridge, museum's and so on in so forth...

If you enjoy a good retelling as much as I do.. I highly recommend this book!

Cheers!

A Week In Reflection...

Friday....

Friday is usually the day of the week where I like to take a second and look back at my week, refecting on what I accomplished thus far.

When writing, I know sometimes it may seem like you are never going to get to where you need to be. But if you take a second, once a week, you might surprise yourself.

This week, I edited and rewrote portions of a screenplay, started a new novel, changed my blog around, and started re-writes on my ya romance/thriller.

At the time, it didn't seem like I was doing that much but after reflecting back, yeah, I'd say I accomplished a lot this week.

Also.... In the next few weeks, I have another very exciting announcement! So stay tuned!

How about you guys?

What did your week have in store for you?

Enjoy the weekend!

Cheers!

You know I'd Die For You..

Or cut off my wings for you...

Okay, let me kick this off by saying I've already written a post about this book. But, it's so beautiful and utterly fantastic that I had to write another one about it.

Ashes To Angels by: Natalie McCollum is a love story told as a horror story and a horror story told as a love story about a fallen angel named Auryn who cuts off her wings for the man she loves, Asher, an artist who just happens to be an atheist.

I was awed at the tale of these two star-crossed lovers, whose relationship can be summed up in one word, troublesome.

The entire novel is written poetically. When I read it, I felt like I was reading the lyrics to a haunting love song.

So, I thought I'd give you a sample of what drew me to this story and tell you, prepare to be wowed.

So, I give you this week's Book quote of the week....

"There was a girl who fell out of the sky, they say, a love story drop-out, horror story knock-out, delinquent daughter of poison love, no sleeping pills to anesthetize the wing amputation, just gravity's laws of laceration." Natalie McCollum~ Ashes To Angels~

You Know What Time It Is?

Yes people, it's time for the book of the week! And this week's book of the week is none other than....

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White.

This book was first recommended to me by a couple of people on twitter. Then I saw the cover and thought I had to read this book. The cover is absolutely gorgeous! But I am 100% certain this is not just a pretty cover. I have heard wonderfult things about White's debut and cannot wait to dive into it.

What A Query Means To Me..

Let's face it people, writing query letters, is a grueling part of the writing industry. Some excel at it, others don't.

In my opinion, query's are your gateway into the literary world. And this is why...

A query letter is a publisher's/literary agents first impression of your writing talent and capabilities. This is your opportunity to show them what you're really made of. When writing myself, in the past, sometimes I'd re-write my query several times before hitting that send button. You want to make sure your query is in the utmost perfection before it is being read by your peers.

What I'd like to see in query's:

I want to be wowed. Make me want to read your book. Not in the sense of YOU believe that your book is better than everyone else's( speaking from an author's POV we all believe that about our manuscript's.) You don't need to tell me how fabulous your book is. If it's fabulous, your work will stand out on it's own.

Also, make sure your query is flawless. What do I mean by that? Free of all mis-spellings, typo's, and grammatical errors.

I promised myself along time ago that I would never be one of THOSE writers/literary agents. What do I mean by that? I mean that I will never not help anyone. If anyone needs help with a query or an answer to any question, I will provide the best answer possible.

I know that ficton writing is a subjective business, but I've been YOU. I've spent hours upon hours working on my manuscripts, query's, and everything else that comes with this business.

Good Luck with all of your writing endeavors!

Cheers!