Friday, January 30, 2015

Love List #1

Love this!

I say that a lot. I post it a lot, on Facebook or Twitter, usually with a picture or a music video or something attached that I've discovered lately.

So I decided. Friday will be my LOVE LIST day. I'm going to post anything and everything that I'm loving that week, whether it's a show, a movie, a quote, a song, a picture, a scene from my WIP... anything. Because I think we should celebrate and share the things we love.

Here's my first Love List:

The Thinking Out Loud music video. Love the song, I could listen to it all day, and the dancing in the video is gorgeous. Way to go Ed Sheeran.
 
Another song I'm crazy for is The Words by Christina Perri. Her video is that much more awesome because it stars Captain Hook, AKA Colin O'Donoghue. Yum.
 
What are you loving this week?
PS- If the videos don't work, the titles are links to YouTube.
 

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

What's Up Wednesday: News and Music

WHAT I'M READING
Finally finished All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr and it was really good. I think he overdid it on metaphors sometimes, but otherwise the writing was beautiful. The characters were excellent and I loved the slightly different setting and circumstances than other WWII stories I've read. My biggest complaint is something that happened in the end that I felt was a little bit of a letdown. But I'd still recommend it to anyone interested in historical.
Now I'm reading The Eighth Guardian and I'm enjoying it so far.

WHAT I'M WRITING
Wrote about 7k this week! Progress! My goal is to just keep on truckin' and don't lose my mojo.

WHAT WORKS FOR ME
I'm not great at writing on Saturdays, but when I do, earphones and my writing playlist help immensly. So even though the hubs was watching TV in the same room and the kids were constantly in and out, I got quite a bit written. Some new songs on my playlist are from Doctor Who, Season Five.
I AM THE DOCTOR
 
AMY POND'S THEME

WHAT ELSE IS NEW
If anyone missed my announcement from last Friday (scroll down), I'm going to be published!!! Samhain is publishing my adult Persuasion retelling. Woot woot!
Of course, nothing beats that, but I also had a couple of nights out for dinner, and saw American Sniper which was really good but hard to watch sometimes. When the movie was over and everyone was walking out, it was dead quiet. Definitely a movie to see. I'm also crazy in love with Call the Midwife. This show is so good! I hope my cable gets season four soon.
What have you been up to?

Friday, January 23, 2015

ANNOUNCEMENT!!! (with gifs)

It feels like I've been waiting five years to write this post, even though it's not the post I daydreamed writing in the first place. Meaning, it's not an "I have an agent" post.
 
But it's still just as good because...

I HAVE A PUBLISHER!!!
 
Here's my story (as brief as possible). I wrote my first draft of SWAY back in the fall of 2011. Holy crap that's a long time ago. Anyway, I  revised it and sent it to betas in 2012. I didn't query it until the year after that because during this time my focus was on my YA MS Daze and Knights.

SWAY didn't get a lot of attention when I queried. It's an adult retelling of Persuasion by Jane Austen. It's not a manuscript with a big hook or a funny/loud/snarky voice or a mind-blowing twist. But I still thought it was a good story. After a handful of fulls which all came to nothing, I decided to shelve it.
Then I thought (a while later), maybe I should try this MS with some small pubs.

Then I thought (even later still), nah, I really want an agent. An agent who will be interested in both my adult and YA writing. So I'll wait.

A few months later (ie last fall), I just decided. Try it. Give it a whirl. What have you got to lose? So I sent it to seven small romance publishers. One asked for the full almost right away and then later rejected it. Another rejected it. Two, I never did hear from (still haven't).

Then two weeks ago, I got an email. I was driving. I glanced at my phone. Saw the words OFFER OF PUBLICATION. I freaked out. I started laughing. I did this alot:
I made myself wait until I parked to read the whole thing even though I was dying the entire ten minute drive (especially at the stop lights).

Sure enough, it was an offer to publish SWAY. I nudged the four other pubs who I hadn't heard from. A day later: offer number two.
Another pub also asked if they could have two weeks to consider. I said yes.

I waited. I read the two contracts. I researched both pubs. I talked to authors from both pubs. I internet stalked anything to do with both pubs. I chewed my nails (and wished for an agent to help me with this decision).
 
Then I heard from the pub that asked for two weeks. OFFER NUMBER THREE.
After much debate and decision making and bugging my husband and my CPs, I decided. SWAY will be published with Samhain Publishing.

I still can't believe this is happening!

FYI- I still want an agent. Trying to understand contract lingo and decide which publisher would be best for my career was super hard. It definitely pays to have someone in your corner who can help out. Here's hoping I'll be able to write that announcement post someday soon. :)

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

What's Up Wednesday: Butt in Chair

WHAT I'M READING
STILL reading All the Light We Cannot See, and I have no idea why it's taking me so long. It's a great book, and I'm not going through a reading slump. I've just been busy, I guess. Should be finished reading it today though.

WHAT I'M WRITING
Wrote about 2500 words this past week which ain't great but it ain't nothing. I also finished beta-ing Rebecca's MS which was fabulous. This will be a "real" book soon, I know it.

WHAT WORKS FOR ME
Butt in chair. I can make up so many excuses why not to write, but if I just get my darn behind into my computer chair, I will get words down. Provided I don't get internet-distracted, of course!

WHAT ELSE IS NEW
I had a couple of health issues recently, both minor, but because they happened at exactly the same time I was a little worried. So I went to see my doctor, who brought in another doctor, and neither could tell what was wrong. They did all these tests and I went back last week to find out that all the results came back negative. Yay for that. Although there is one more test, the scariest one, that she didn't have a result on yet so I have to go back in February to find out. To be honest, I'm not all that worried. Maybe it's because I've got denial, or the fact that I've always been pretty healthy, but I just don't think it's going to be a big bad result. We shall see.
Oh, and also... I will have an announcement coming VERY SOON...

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

What's Up Wednesday: Insanity

WHAT I'M READING
Still reading All the Light We Cannot See. Great so far. I also finally downloaded the Kindle app on my iPhone because there were books I could never find via Apple. Even though I'm not one to read two books at once, it's nice not to have to carry a big book around everywhere I go. So right now on that I'm reading In the Rearview by Maria Green.

WHAT I'M WRITING
This past week has been a bit of a bust, but it's been a crazy week and I haven't been feeling well, so I give myself a free pass. I haven't done nothing though. I've written a new draft on my EPONINE query (still needs work), started beta reading a fab YA contemp, and finished reading through what I have on my WIP so far. Goal: to finally get some words written.

WHAT WORKS FOR ME
Brainstorming ideas while cleaning. True story. Nothing like coming up with brilliance while scrubbing the toilet.

WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO
Like I said, my week has been utter insanity. This has been me:
How was your week?

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

What's Up Wednesday: Yay For That!

WHAT I'M READING
Buy-bye reading slump! All thanks to Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas. There was this thing that happened in the middle that made no sense (and bummed me out because it felt like a device) but then she revealed more about it later so yay for that! Now I'm just starting All the Light We Cannot See by Anothony Doerr which is an adult historical novel set during WWII that my mom gave me for Christmas.

WHAT I'M WRITING
I haven't worked on my WIP since November. I thought I had less than 10k and that it sucked. Turns out, I have 17k and it's not as bad as I thought so yay for that! I've been rereading what I've got so far and then I hope to get right back into 1k a day.

WHAT WORKS FOR ME
Rereading what I've written. I know some people say never look back, but it helps me get back into the groove. Especially since I haven't seen my WIP in a couple of months. But even when I write every day, I always read back what I wrote the day before so I can jump back into the voice and my train of thought.

WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO
Oh, yanno, Christmas, New Years, visiting parents, daughter turning eight. I saw Annie and The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies (twice). I stayed up late a lot, started watching Call the Midwife (LOVE) and season five of Downton Abbey (yay for that!). And me and the hubs have been trying to catch up with all the shows we watch together. We were four episodes behind on EVERYTHING. We're still not caught up, although me and son have finished all episodes of Doctor Who (who's ready for a new Doctor, raise your hand).
And yesterday I took part in the release for THE LAST STORED by a facebook friend of mine Sonia Poynter. Check it out below.

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

An MC Interview from THE LAST STORED

Today I have a guest post by Sonia Poynter whose book, THE LAST STORED, comes out TODAY! We've interviewed her MC and I think you'll love the answers!

Thank you so much Melanie for allowing me to be on your blog. Melanie and I met on a Facebook writers group we both belong to.  (If you don’t have an excellent group, FIND ONE!) She is so supportive and I am overwhelmed by the encouragement she has given to me.

1.       Who are you, and can you tell me a little about yourself? My name is Cree, and I’m nineteen years old.  When I was ten my village burned to the ground and everyone I’ve ever knew died. Since then Fej has trained me to be Amber Megan Peel’s protector. I’m the last of my kind as is my Stored. If we fail my world will be lost and Earth will be next. 

2.       What special talents, if any, do you have? Not really a talent, although some say it is, but I’m a Windrider. No one in my village held this ability. I guess it is, or rather was, a rare gift. I can use the breeze to lift me and travel, as long as there’s air, I can even move through cracks.  Also, I’m a Seer, smells and emotions reveal themselves as colors to me. This gift was common among my people.

3.       Do you think you will ever find true love? I must stay focused on my task of keeping Amber Megan Peel safe. Love isn’t something I’m looking for.  Look, my world’s survival is at stake, I’m not looking for love. 

4.       So I hear through the grapevine that you like to eat.  What’s your favorite food? Well, so far I’ve never met a food I didn’t like, but I’ll pick a few of my favorites: Bacon – just the smell of it sets my mouth to watering. Marth, Fej’s cook, makes the best pumpkin soup in all the lands. Oh, and I’ve even tried Earth’s  Coke, a weird drink.  It bubbled in my nose, but I’m pretty sure I could get used to it.

5.       When and where were you happiest? The day of the Wonderlunk festival when my parents were still… Mother made sweet cakes, and we walked to the open field to watch the great bird soar in the late afternoon sky. Bly, my older brother, sat with Tilly, his girl.  They were to be wed in the spring. The wind fluttered my momma’s blond hair around her face. Skalm played his flute and strutted like the bird. It was a joyous day, but haunting at the same time.

6.       Will you succeed at keeping Amber safe? I don’t have a choice, I have to.  Lorthis will throw everything he’s got at us, but I’ve spent my whole life training for this.  I will succeed where the others have failed.  My whole life has brought me to this moment.  I will keep Amber Megan Peel alive, I have too.

 THE LAST STORED

After the sudden death of her parents, making it through the day is a struggle for Amber Megan Peel. In the midst of her grief, an exquisite bird perches on her garden fence and shows her visions of a vivid landscape and a dark lord slouching upon a throne.  She thinks the visions are tied to her sorrow. But when a boy flies through her kitchen window to tell her she’s the Last Stored, she wonders if she’s just lost her mind.

Cree of Din is tasked with one job: Bring Amber home. For seven years, Cree has trained as her protector and it is the ultimate responsibility. Failure means Amber’s certain death, and that’s not an option for Cree – especially since he’s falling in love with her.

The Returning has begun. Now all Amber and Cree have to do is enter Tali, a world of unimaginable splendor and equally unimaginable horror, and defeat Lorthis. If they can’t, not only will Tali plunge into darkness, but so will Earth.

This book sounds so intriguing, I can't wait to read it!

You can find The Last Stored here: Amazon and Anaiah Press

And now a little about the author:

Sonia Poynter grew up traipsing through the thick woods of Kentucky. The magic of the forest made her want to write. Currently, she lives in the sleepy community of Pittsboro, Indiana, with the love of her life and God has blessed them both with three amazing kids.

You can find her on Facebook, Blog, Twitter, and on Goodreads. Make sure to check her out, and check out THE LAST STORED.