The Soundtrack of My Summer

Be Your Everything

It's Road Trip Wednesday Time again, hosted by the awesome YA Highway. This week's topic:

What music has been your summer soundtrack?

Music! One of my favorite things, ev-ah. Seriously, couldn't live without it. I'm gonna have to restrain myself from sharing too many songs.

This summer, it's been all about my fave band who are finally putting out a new album. That's right, Boys Like Girls. Said new album doesn't come out till the fall, but they released three songs on an EP that I've been gulping up like crazy. My fave is the one up top (can't wait for the release of the actual music video for this song but the lyric video is pretty awesome too), and the other two are here below performed live and acoustic.

Life of the Party



The First Time

Another new singer I just discovered this summer is Ed Sheeran. He has got some amazing music, very honest lyrics, and his voice sounds like butter in my ears. His song, The A-Team is on the radio right now, but a song of his that I've been replaying over and over is called Kiss Me. If you need inspiration for a kissing scene in your writing, or heck just some background music- this is THE song.

What songs have you loved this summer?

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Right now I'm reading Incarnate by Jodi Meadows. Here's my teaser:

Shivers crawled up my spine when he said my name. And what a name. When I'd gotten the nerve to ask Li why they chose that, she said it was part of an old word that meant "alone" or "empty." It was also part of Ciana's name, symbolizing what I'd taken from her. It meant I was a nosoul. (page 26)

What are you reading right now?

Why Twitter Can Be Awesome

I'm a newbie Tweeter. I joined up in May and I still feel like I'm new to the whole Twitter party. And I definitely think Twitter can be a major time waster, like anything else online.

HOWEVER.

Here's why I think Twitter can actually be pretty awesome for writers:

1. You meet and interact with a whole new set of writers. I've met a ton of great writers through blogging, but there are even more in the Twitterverse. Some just want to spam you with mentions of their book every two seconds, but others are in the same boat you are: querying, writing, on sub, revising, whatever. It's always nice to hear of other people who are going through the exact same things you are.

2. You can interact with authors. This is one of the coolest things ever. I've had tweets back from Myra McEntire (author of Hourglass and Timepiece), Simone Elkeles (author of the Perfect Chemistry trilogy), Miranda Kenneally (author of Catching Jordan), and Julie Kagawa (author of The Immortal Rules and The Iron Fey books). And those are just the ones I can remember right now. Yes, it's usually just a, "thanks for reading," or "I'm glad you enjoyed the book," but STILL. It's AWESOME. It's like being tweeted back by somebody famous. I get all fangirly and have to restrain  myself from tweeting back, I LOVE YOU, YOU ARE AWESOME, I LOVE YOU!!!

3. You can interact with agents. Oh yes, the Gods of the Twitterverse (to us writers, anyway). The ones you want to tweet but you don't want to seem stalkerish, or suck-uppy, or idiotic. It gives you an inside view on what they like and don't like, and what they're like as a person. Sometimes they tweet about how busy they are, or that they've gone through their slush pile, or that they're loving an MS, so if you've queried them... well, let's be honest, it kinda just makes you all twitchy, but it still helps to know if they're busy or at a conference and so probably haven't gotten around to your query or MS yet.

4. Regularly on twitter are different chats, like kidlitchat, yalitchat, chicklitchat. Agents also hold "ask agent" sessions where you can get an answer straight from an agents mouth (or, er, keyboard). You also hear about contests, pitch sessions, cover reveals, book release dates, etc. And agents and editors often post tips on writing and querying.

5. *lowers voice to whisper*   There are rumors, Twitter legends if you will, of agents actually requesting manuscripts from writers based on something they've seen on Twitter. Not just from Twitter pitches either. This hasn't happened to me, but I've heard that it's true...

I write this post because I, myself balked at joining Twitter. I really only did it because of The Writers Voice competition. But since then, I've learned the value of being a writer on Twitter. If you haven't joined, think about it.

Best Book of July

Today's Road Trip Wednesday question asks:

What was the best book you read in July?

I've read some great books this month. Wait, do I start every best book of the month with that same phrase? (I bet I do.) Anyway, I really have read some great books:

There was a werewolf book (Nightshade), a contemp (Catching Jordan), a contemp/timeslip (Timepiece), a paranormal with witches/demons/werewolves/faeries (Hex Hall and Demonglass), and a vampire/zombie/post-apoc book (The Immortal Rules).

I don't think I can pick. Nightshade was incredibly sexy. I loved the story in Catching Jordan about a girl quarterback falling for the boy who threatens to take over her position. I also loved how it didn't go the way you thought it would at first. The Immortal Rules captured me from the start and I couldn't put it down, even though post-apoc and zombies aren't my cup of tea. In Timepiece I loved Kaleb's voice, the southern setting, and all things time travel. The book was exciting and funny and romantic all in one- everything I look for in a book.

And then there's Hex Hall and Demonglass. Okay, I'll say it. They're my faves for the month. Why? The VOICE. I feel there are some similarities between the MC's voice and my own MC Jessica. So naturally I feel an attachment. There were little bits on every page that made me laugh. The books are filled with mystery, there are twists at the end of both, and the characters really stick. I loved these books and I can't wait to get my hands on the third.

What was the best book you read this month?

Teaser Tuesday

I was absent yesterday because I had a sudden driving errand to do. Not in a Ryan Gosling, crazy, dangerous way. I met my mom halfway to her house (an hour and half drive one way) to drop off my oldest daughter who she's going to keep for the next couple weeks.

Wow, that was a boring story. Maybe I should've gone for the Ryan Gosling way.

Anyway, I'm back today for Teaser Tuesday hosted by Miz B. This week's teaser is from DemonGlass by Rachel Hawkins, a book I am LOVING. If you haven't read Hex Hall, you've got to get on that now. The voice, oh my heck, the VOICE. So. Good. Anyway, here's the teaser:

"You hoped I'd commit mirrorcide?"

He laughed, but it sounded a little breathless. "No, I'd hoped to see just how powerful you really are." His eyes were bright, and there was something that might have been pride in them. "You exceeded my expectations."

"Well, yay," I said. "So glad my skill at blowing crap up impresses you, Dad." (page 153)

What are you reading right now?

Gah! Querying

I've been spending all morning trying to come up with something to blog about today. To tell you the truth- I got nothing. My mind has been totally taken up with querying.

It's been a long time since I've actually queried. Last fall to be exact. It was last August that I got my first two full requests. One I heard back on almost immediately- a very nice pass. A month later, I won a pitch contest and sent out a partial. That partial also got a pass but with some very helpful crits on some things that could be tightened in the MS. With that one full still out there, my plan was to wait until I heard back from that agent. I hoped that if it was a no, she'd have some comments also, then I'd go back to the MS and revise.

December hit and I still hadn't heard so I nudged. She had never received the full! Aaahhhh!!!! That's how I felt anyhow. (So if you're ever wondering if you should nudge, here's proof why it's a good idea.) So I sent it off again. In the meantime, I'd written a new MS and was busy with that so the waiting wasn't so bad. Then came February and a contest. I entered- another full request. March- another contest, another full request. Then of course May and The Writer's Voice. Two partial requests. When the Xmas in July contest hit, I decided if I made it in, it was time to revise. So I did- finally.

I've since heard back from some of those subs, not all. But I've made the decision to get back into those query trenches. I'm not gonna lie, I'm starting to despair a little over this story that I love so much. But I need a few more rejections (I can't believe I'm saying that!) before I decide it's just not gonna make it out into the world and I shelve it for good. Really, I haven't actually queried it with my sparkly query all that much. So even though it's been awhile, I'm giving it a chance. After that, I've got another MS waiting in the wings.

So, querying. This post isn't advice. It doesn't tell you how to survive. It doesn't tell you what to do or what not to do. It's probably not useful to anyone but me- a chance to unload the stress that is crowding up my brain. If you've been in the query trenches, you'll know what I'm talking about.

So what about you? Any of you querying out there? How's it going?

Reincarnate Me

This week's Road Trip Wednesday asks:

If you could be reincarnated as any fictional character, which would it be?

 

Do I have to pick just one? Because you know I'm not gonna. I've got a whole list!

1. Hermione Granger

I'm guessing a lot of people might pick Hermione. I mean, come on. She's smart, she's brave, she's strong, she's a freaking good witch. Harry wouldn't have made it so far without her. Besides, she gets to punch Draco Malfoy in the face. Heck, I want to be reincarnated into this world so bad, I'd be Dobby if I had to. (Okay, not Dobby since he dies.)

2. Elizabeth Bennett

Also an obvious choice, but when you're an Austen-lover like me, how could I not choose her? Lizzie Bennett is witty and fun, she's got great comebacks and fine eyes. She may not be the richest or the prettiest, but she gets Darcy in the end.

3. Bella Swan

Don't groan at me. Who wouldn't want a rich, hot, sparkly boyfriend who is crazy in love with them, even if part of that crazy is, well, vampirism. And a best friend with abs like Jacob's? So, yeah, I wouldn't exactly be excited about the drinking blood thing, but other than that... sign me up!

4. Anna from Anna and the French Kiss

First of all, does this girl have a last name? Anyway, I remember when I started reading Anna, I had the thought of, why is this girl complaining? She's doing her senior year in PARIS. I mean, sheesh. That right there is enough to want to be reincarnated into her. Add in a hot British guy (St. Clair) and I'm in.

What fictional character would you want to be reincarnated into?