Mommy Monday- Back to School

As I find myself preparing for Super Spawn to start school, I can't help but notice the parallels to my writing.

Not only do I enjoy buying unnecessary office supplies for my writing, but the actual process of primping, shopping, and prepping is very much like getting ready to query.

Primping:
School- you get your kid's hair cut, new clothes, new shoes, etc so they can look their best at school.

Writing- you revise, revise, revise until your prose is shiny and bright.

Shopping:

School- there are lists as long as the sheet of paper of things you must buy for school. Now, should you buy the hot brand that's "cool" or this other brand that may not be the hottest, but isn't necessarily any better or worse.

Writing- do you follow trends with your writing or dare to be different? Should you point out your story's similarities to the blockbusters or the differences?

Prepping:

School- you must open everything, write names on each tiny bit, and organize it all beautifully in the shiny-new-backpack so that it can be ripped open and spread around the classroom the first day.

Writing- you ask for feedback on your (as you see it) perfect query letter, only for it to be ripped apart and then you're told to put it back together. (In a good way)

Now it's time to go to school!

Friday Afternoon Randomness

Sitting at my desk after lunch sucking on a jolly rancher (which I keep in my candy jar for daily use) inspiration struck.

Sing this to the Toys-R-Us tune. I promise it will brighten your day immensely.

I don't wanna grow up, I'm a Harry Potter kid.
There's a million toys in HP World that I can play with.
From pygmy puffs to secret sensors, it’s the best magic store there is!
I don’t wanna grow up because if I did, I wouldn’t be a Harry Potter kid!

*Takes a bow*

You're welcome. It'll be stuck in my head for the next century.

Friday Fun

So, what did you all think of the Critique Party? Was it useful?

I know my query is going to sparkle and shine now!

Thank you all so much for participating, I had a lot of fun reading everyone's pages and responses. Even seeing people's critique's on someone else's work can make a light bulb go off in my head. "Hey, that's what my story needs!"

Well, I'm at 49 followers, and my birthday is this month. Sounds like it's almost time for a CONTEST!

I'm actually going to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter for my birthday.(SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!) Aside from my overwhelming excitement, I think I may just bring a prize back for a contest!! I've got some ARC's to give away, and paired with Harry Potter prizes? Well, I'm not sure it gets much better.

So, that's coming! My birthday isn't until the 28th, so I think I'll tie the contest around that date...somehow. OOH! Maybe I'll get my lovely cousin to pick the winner IN HARRY POTTER WORLD!!!!!! ON MY BIRTHDAY!!!!

OMG. I'm a little excited at the idea.

Dates and rules will come soon. Have a wonderful weekend, lovelies!

Book Review Thursday- Tithe

Tithe
By Holly Black

Blurb from Goodreads: "Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother's rock band until an ominous attack forces the sixteen-year-old back to her childhood home. There, amid the industrial, blue-collar New Jersey backdrop, Kaye soon finds herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms -- a struggle that could very well mean her death."


When I first picked this book up, I really wasn't sure I'd like it. The blurb didn't speak to me.

Boy was I wrong.

It's fast-paced with plenty of action, but also moments that made me laugh. I really like that Holly puts a fresh twist on old tales of faeries. I'm a big faerie fan -- the Irish type, not Tinkerbell -- so seeing the tables turned between the Seelie and Unseelie courts was fun.

There were a few head-scratching moments where, if this had been something I was critting, I'd have whipped out my handy dandy hot pink pen to make notes, but alas, it wasn't. lol

Definitely a good read.

Critique Party #8

Remember - I'm moderating the comments. This is meant to help one another, so be nice.

Our goal is to help each writer make their page stronger.

Dear Dream Agent,

Fourteen-year-old Mandy Samkirk is the only person who can return light to the world, but she isn’t sure she wants to.

Mandy’s parents have been keeping secrets. Not only is Mandy a marvel – complete with magical powers – but she is being forced to leave her life and friends behind for some ridiculous boarding school. How cliché.

When Mandy’s father is murdered right before her eyes, she is thrust into the heart of a battle she never knew existed. The marvel world is under siege by Temne – who consume light, or your inherent goodness – causing the world to get darker. The days creep by until the earth is covered in perpetual darkness, and death is certain for all.

Legend says there is only one who can bridge the gap between magical and non-magical beings to restore harmony to the precarious balance of good and evil. This harmony holds the key to restoring light to the decaying planet.

Even with the fate of humanity resting on her shoulders, Mandy isn’t sure she can face the villain she loves.

When battle is imminent, Mandy finds the courage to make a decision she never expected.

Emerald’s Keeper, a YA Paranormal novel, is complete at 61,000 words. I believe it will appeal to fans of Aprilynne Pike’s Wings as well as Holly Black’s Tithe.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Holly Dodson

Critique Party #7

Remember - I'm moderating the comments. This is meant to help one another, so be nice.

Our goal is to help each writer make their page stronger.

*A note about this page: The story is set in England and the author has used British spellings.*

Butterfly With Broken Wings, a contemporary YA novel by Laura Dunks

Time machines. If I could invent one, I’d hop in and go back to the days when things were simple. When I knew what came next.

You know when you become stuck on autopilot and the days go by so fast you don’t even stop to think? Then you wake up one day and realise that everything is about to change, but you aren’t ready? You haven’t even begun to prepare.

How was this worse than the changes every teenager must face? The truth was, I didn’t know. This time seemed different. A strange sensation nagged me every time I stopped to think. Things would never be the same.

So what did I, Amelia Jane Wright, do when life threw me so much uncertainty that I wanted to jump into bed, pull the covers over my head, and never wake up?

I relived amazing memories and dreamed of the future.

My best friend Gina and I lay on our stomachs on her bed watching our favourite old home movie - a compilation made by my dad. In the grainy video we were three-years-old, holding hands, and jumping into muddy puddles, to see who could make the biggest splash.

I rolled to face her. “You wanna like skip school tomorrow?”

She snorted. “You say that every summer.”

“Tomorrow our lives will be ruled by exams and gossip.”

She rolled her eyes. “Tell me about it.”

Although we were at the same school, Gina was fourteen and a year above me.

She beamed at the television and fiddled with her glasses. “I love this part.”

Critique Party #6

Remember - I'm moderating the comments. This is meant to help one another, so be nice.

Our goal is to help each writer make their page stronger.

[Contact Info]

Dear Dream Agent,

I'm seeking representation for THE SPIRIT-HUNTERS, a young adult steampunk complete at 80,000 words.

When her brother vanishes at the train station, Eleanor Fitt – a stubborn and naïve young lady-of-leisure – must leave the confines of corsets and courtesy to get him back.

It's 1876, and Philadelphia is hosting the Centennial Exhibition. It's also hosting rancid corpses that refuse to stay dead. When one of those decomposing bodies delivers a hostage note for Eleanor's scholarly brother, she resolves to do anything to get him back. But to face the armies of Dead that have him, she'll need a little help.

The Spirit-Hunters, a three-man team hired to protect the Centennial Exhibition, have different backgrounds and different skills, but they work together under a single goal: return the Dead to where they belong. Yet, what had begun as an easy job with only a handful of shambling bodies has escalated beyond the teams' abilities, and time is running out. Whoever rules the Dead is losing control of his power, and when the leash finally snaps, Philadelphia will be overrun with ravenous corpses.

From the steampunk lab of the Spirit-Hunters to the emptied cemeteries of Philadelphia, Eleanor must follow the clues – and the bodies – to find her brother and stop the Dead before it's too late.

I'm an active member of RWA, SCBWI, the Online Science Fiction and Fantasy Workshop, and YALitChat. I avidly read your blog daily [or insert some relevant comment for specific agent...] Thanks so much for your time.

Best regards,

Susan Dennard