Happy Release Day to Peta Crake!

Happy release day to my friend and writing partner Peta Crake! Today Peta's debut novel, Harbinger, was released by Penguin Australia. It will be available worldwide in the next 4-8 weeks. I can't wait to read the published version of this fantastic book!

"As an Olympic messenger, suburban Aussie girl Ophelia Lind is used to being at the beck and call of the gods. But when gorgeous demigod Aden moves into her neighbourhood and starts taking advantage of her services, Ophelia believes life could not get any worse. She's about to be proven very wrong.

Ophelia tries to enjoy a normal, everyday life while running messages for the Greek gods – but without warning an odious creature - evil incarnate - begins to stalk her. As a messenger dealing with the all-powerful and sometimes frightening gods, Ophelia is accustomed to adventures and scrapes. But this is different. Even Aden, who is madly and deeply in love with Ophelia, finds it difficult to protect her. Suddenly Ophelia is in a battle for survival and begins to question everything – her upbringing, her identity, and her true feelings for the alluring and entirely frustrating Aden.

Harbinger is a terrific romance laced with humour, danger and adventure. The deeply likeable, unstoppable Ophelia takes us on a quest that puts all the memories she holds dear – and her own heart – at risk."

Oh did I mention?

This! I'm a finalist in the OCC/RWA Orange Rose Contest. That's 2 for 2 for me so far this year! Cue lots of jumping around and use of exclamation marks! :) Winners aren't announced until October 13th, so I guess I'll just try to forget about the fact that 3 agents and/or editors are reading the first fifty pages of my manuscript right now (!!) until then...

:)

Why writing partners are worth their weight in gold

L to R: Eleanor, Nancy, Rachel, Annie

This weekend, I spent a fantastic plotting day with my critique group and came away with book #3 (almost) ready to go! This is our second plotting day, we do it every six months or so, with an hour devoted to each of us, and help each other flesh out our next books. Did I mention it was fantastic? We have so much fun together and make some great story magic as well.

I'm lucky enough to be part of two amazing writing groups. These lovely ladies I met through my local RWA chapter. My other group I met through the romance writing class I took two years ago. We all met at more or less the same stage in our writing career, and now several are published or on their way to publication. It's so exciting to watch!

We've exchanged critiques and advice, and I know for a fact my writing is 100% improved because of them. Writing partners are the best!

Book Signing

Recently, I had the chance to attend and help my friend and critique partner Nancy LaPonzina with a book signing for her debut novel, Nardi Point. It was so exciting to see her realize this success, and she did a fantastic job putting everything together. Congratulations, Nancy!

Nancy and me after the signing. I was so happy to be a part of this special event for her!

A little taste of success

Earlier this Spring, I found out I was a finalist in the New Hampshire RWA's Query Quandary Contest. So naturally, I did my happy dance and celebrated this small success (and enjoyed seeing my name posted on the list of finalists). Anyway, I ended up coming in 5th out of the 5 finalists in my category, which was a little disappointing. But, not to worry, I've taken the feedback I received and made improvements. I am ready and excited to beging querying later this summer!

I did it!

I did it - I did it, yay! I'll confess, I'm totally hearing the Dora theme song in my head right now. Anyone else? :) Well, maybe I didn't rescue a magic unicorn, but I did finish book #2, and a week ahead of schedule too! That felt GOOD.

I learned a few things while I was writing this one..firstly, I am capable of making a tight schedule for myself and sticking to it (no more 5 years to write a book). Also, while it will need a lot of work, it's in so much better shape than #1 was at this phase. I'm excited to get back to it this summer when it's time to start revisions. First, I've got to get book #1 out the door! :)

(and yes, I am very late with this post! But still wanted to share!)

True Love

So, this is cheesy, but I was reading through book #1 last night before I printed out a copy for someone. I've read it probably 50 times (maybe more), but every time I take a little break from it and read it again with fresh eyes, I fall in love with my characters all over again. I laugh for them, and cry for them, feel their pain and their heartbreak. And I find myself reading on to make sure everything turns out all right for them in the end, even though I (obviously) know exactly how it ends. I love these characters, I love their story, and I love watching them fall in love.

Also? I'm 48,000 words into book #2. That's more than halfway through! And guess what - I love these characters too. There's something magical about creating these people, breathing life into them, giving them nearly insurmountable obstacles to overcome, then helping them triumph and of course...fall in love.

"Rich and velvety with a hint of iPad"

Also known as "adventures in find and replace." This actually happened a few months ago, but for some reason I was thinking about it tonight. I was working on revisions for Book #1 one night and came across this puzzling paragraph:

"The waiter approached the table and filled their glasses from a bottle of wine Kate must have ordered while he was outside. It was a Merlot, rich and velvety with a hint of iPad. Kate’s taste in wine appeared to be as classy and refined as the rest of her."

I started writing #1 five years ago, so to accomodate changing technology, I went in and did a find and replace to change a character's Blackberry to an iPad. The end result had my protagonists sharing a Merlot "with a hint of iPad." I still can't read that scene without laughing :)

Also, I just hit 10,000 words in Book #2! I'm currently ahead of the goal I've set for myself...let's see if I can keep it up.

Baby steps...

So, I started book #2 today, and I'm going to bed tonight with a word count of 1,210. That feels good!

I dabbled around, writing and rewriting #1 for five years (yes, five years) so setting a goal of 1,000 words a day to finish #2 in three months seemed a bit daunting. I can do this! Only ~89,000 to go...

Contest Results

I just remembered I promised to post the results from the Emily Contest when I got them. Out of a possible 75, I scored a 72, 69, and 64 from the three judges. I'm pleased with the results (especially the 72!), and the comments from the judges were mostly positive. They pointed out some clear areas for improvement, and I look forward to incorporating their advice into my next round of revisions.

Here's my favorite judge quote:
"I really love your voice! You have a wonderful writing style that is a pleasure to read. The story itself is fun and interesting, and I absolutely would buy this book."

So...that is a good way to end 2011. Let's see what 2012 brings!