Writing Perks -- Complete Your Draft Contest

This morning, I opened an email from the winner of Cindy Pon's ARC, Lesley. Thanks to her, I now know about the "First Annual Complete Your Draft Contest." You can be a newbie, be published, be aspiring -- it doesn't matter. The only requirement is that you write :)

Curious? Head on over to Anne Marie's blog and sign up -- if you desire -- for a chance to earn prizes while you finish your WIP draft this June. You can be at any stage with your novel, it doesn't matter: the point is to get the words in!! There are gift cards and book prizes to be won as well as a query critique from NYT best selling author Angie Fox of The Accidental Demon Slayer and The Dangeous Book for Demon Slayers fame.

Not only do you get a little nudge for completing your book, but you could win a prize for doing so! Consider spreading the word on your own blogs. After all, the more the merrier!

Hop on over -- check out the rules and regs, prizes and kudos. Hope to see you there!

Meet Knife, a Faery Rebel

And here is the promised excerpt from Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter by R. J. Anderson. Her ability to combine vivid language with strong characters has sucked this reader into an exquisite world where faeries have lost their magic. Read, enjoy, salivate for the release date!

Although not released until April 28th, you can pre-order now from Amazon. (Don't forget: if you pre-order, you save money!)

(And friends in Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, you can purchase now under the title Knife, though it has a different cover.)

***
Still clutching Paul's shirt, she gave one last kick--and felt herself shoot upward, shattering the pond's surface. She flung her head back and gulped air, then scissored her legs, propelling herself and the limp body in her grip toward the shore.

Her feet touched bottom almost at once. She stood up and dragged Paul through the shallows to the edge of the pool. His face was spattered with mud, eyes closed and mouth hanging open. Pulling him as far as she could up the shore, she wrenched him onto his side and began to pound his back. He lay motionless as she thumped him, and she feared that she had reached him too late. Then suddenly he coughed, and water gushed from his mouth.

She waited until he had stopped coughing before rolling him over again. His eyes remained closed, but when she laid a hand on his chest she could feel his breathing, ragged at first, but growing deeper. She slapped his cheeks. "Paul. Paul! Can you hear me?"

He did not respond. With her smallest finger she wiped the slime from his lashes, looking for some glimmer of consciousness beneath those lids. "Paul, please--"

His cheeks puffed out in a last, weak cough; he stirred, and opened his eyes.

"Aaaah!"

Alarmed, Knife let go of him and leaped back. Only then did she realize what had made him cry out, and she stared at her filth-spattered hands in disbelief.

"You," croaked Paul. "You're--"

"I'm big," said Knife blankly.

***
EXCERPT from pgs. 138-139 of FAERY REBELS: SPELL HUNTER (c) R.J. Anderson 2009

Day in a Sentence

It's here, folks! The weekly Day in a Sentence, brain-child of Kevin of the Meandering Mind (better known as Dogtrax), has officially arrived at the Alex Moore blog. Last week, Dogtrax held the event at the Stixy site and you can view it here. Many thanks to the man of vision and inspiration for graciously tagging me to host for a week.

If you've never participated in the event, all you do is boil down your day or week into one pithy comment, rich with imagery, pulsing with your own brand of energy, and leave it in the comment section.

Although I thought about challenging everyone to a haiku as a nod to literary agent Colleen Lindsay's recent Query Haiku Event, I decided to stick with simple yet elegant. Less angst over syllables, more spark over daily life.

So, here's the challenge: infuse your sentence with a metaphor or simile that captures the essence of your day or week.

Chain Reaction: Next Book Give-Away

Haven't won a book yet? Hoping your luck will change? Well, here's your chance. Head over to Dogtrax's blog and enter your sweet little self into his Book Give-Away. Recipient of the Artemis Fowl book I gave away, Dogtrax has risen to the challenge of hosting his own give-away AND upped the ante to five books. Woot!

I am, however, totally blaming him for the Red Hot Chili Peppers' song tumbling through my head right now. over and over. and again.

Write on the River: Meet Me in Wenatchee

It doesn't have the panache of 'meet me in St. Louis,' but it'll have to do. If you're somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, consider attending the Write on the River Conference. It's small, focused, and full of verve and spice.

Calling all writers, aspiring writers, and groupies of said writers: the annual Write on the River writers' conference has opened registration.

Things to Know:

• May 16, 2009 at the Wenatchee Valley College
• Keynote speaker is Jess Walter, author of The Zero
• May 17th workshop with Brian McDonald Invisible Ink: The Understructure of Story
• Cost for Saturday: (early bird/before April 19) $80
• Cost for Saturday conference & Sunday workshop: $110

More Important Things to Know:

I had the privilege of attending a Brian McDonald workshop last year. I learned more from him in the space of two hours than I did in five years of college. (Okay, that's not saying much, granted, but work with me here!) Although I've little desire to become a script writer and although McDonald is an award-winning filmmaker (if you've never watched his short film White Face, you're missing out), he held my attention in the cup of his hand like so much granulated sugar. And then he proceded to spin it into a fairy-land work of wonder. I walked away from that workshop once again at peace with the fact that I know absolutely nothing but feeling like I had all the keys to begin unlocking my own writing. And that, my friends, is a special gift.

Two agents will be in attendance at the Write on the River conference and a limited number of 10-minute appointments will be available. Register early for your opportunity to meet with either of them! The good news? They're both well-known in the publishing world. Kudos to the conference coordinators for bringing in the big dogs.

Both Donald Maass of the Donald Maass Literary Agency in New York City and Catherine Fowler, founder of the Redwood Agency in San Fransisco, will be there to listen to your pitch.

Writerly Friends

Head on over to D. M. McReynold's site and wish him all the best. Borders Bookstore has selected an excerpt from his book Alliance for their Tacoma The Word is Out reading event! Show up and support him, if you're in the area. If not, drop him a line and give him the kudos he deserves. Also, sneak over to the Pacific Northwest Writers Association's site where McReynold's bio is posted with other TWIO authors!

Also, if you haven't heard, you can pick up Douglas L. Perry's new book, Lost in the Sky. I haven't received my copy yet, but I'm ordering it through Amazon. Should be here any day, and I'm looking forward to reading it!

And finally, make sure you stop by tomorrow for the long-awaited interview with Cindy Pon. I am so excited I can barely wait myself! And the bestest news?! She'll be dropping by, reading your comments and questions, and choosing one of you to award an ARC to! Awww, ain't you the lucky ones?!

New Author -- First Book

The Third Step of the Annual Hated Book Give-Away is, by far, the best. Just to recap, you've had the chance to win three books, you've (hopefully) chosen three books off of your shelves and passed them on -- via blog or to charity or on to a friend -- and now you get to enjoy the first book of three new authors.

Here's my disclaimer: I do not have a dog in this fight. I have never met these authors, nor have I read their books, nor do I know anything about them that I haven't found for myself on the web.

My goal was simple: offer up three brand new authors for fellow writers to read and support. I advertised that concept on this blog. And you know what? Not one single new writer offered his or her services to me. So, I did what any adventurous Year of the Dragon grrl would do: I went hunting.

And, boy, do I have a treat for you! All three of the First Book Authors have intriguing blogs, books, and personal bio's. That's all I can tell you at this point. But you'll have a chance to meet them this next week, a chance to get to know about their writing lives, and, of course, a chance to order or pre-order their books.

New Authors? Gnooks Got 'Em

The feedback concerning new authors via comments and emails has been illuminating. So many of you want to support new authors -- buy their books, blog their success, and give them kudos (the non-icky, non-stalker kind) -- but there doesn't seem to be a slick, cohesive, convenient way to find them. At least not that we've found. So far. (Do contact me if you discover one.)


Although this isn't the answer we're looking for exactly, fellow blogger and word crafter extraordinaire, the other lisa of The Paper Tiger, blogs about a cool on-line tool called Gnooks:

According to the site: Gnooks - Welcome to the World of Literature! Gnooks is a self-adapting community system based on the gnod engine. Discover new writers you will like, travel the map. of literature and discuss your favorite books and authors.


So I tried it and it's pretty cool. It's not what we're looking for, I don't think, but it's good for an hour or so of entertaining exploration. There's even a feature for finding new authors you might like. When asked to type in three authors I like, I gave them Katherine Neville, Lois McMasters Bujold, and Edgar Rice Burroughs. I was given Ann Benson. (Not to be confused with Anna Benson, the American model, former stripper, and wife of Major League Baseball pitcher Kris Benson.) A quick google search reveals the literary Benson to be more closer aligned with Neville than the other two, but who am I to grumble? Woo hoo: new author Ann Benson, here I come!


An interesting addition: When I typed in Courtney Summers, it didn't recognize the name. So it asked me to verify spelling. Then it asked me if I wanted to submit the name for review. I clicked yes. The awesome thing is that the site doesn't just accept whatever name you submit. It then puts it up for review to the next site-comers, and everyone gets a chance to vote. Is this a real author?


So, try it out. See if we can get Courtney Summers on the play list. Explore and see if it really works, or if it's just yanking our chains. And keep an eye out for new authors. I want a list!

New Author First Book Challenge

If you're a new author, email me. Seriously.

I want to buy your book.

If it's not out yet, no worries. I'll still put your name in a hat.

See, it's all part of a diabolical plan to rid my shelves of pantywaist books and to fill them with uber goodness. Failing that, I just want to support new writers. (OOOhhh, that sounded super cynical for Boxing Day or post-Christmas hours or the Day After Christmas or St. Stephens's Day or whatever you celebrate. It's truly not intentional...Well, maybe a little of it is. But it's not directed at new writers. It's mostly directed at Publishing Companies who expect the new ones to publicize themselves these days. Tough row to hoe, I say.)

I'm also open to devoted followers of new authors dropping a name in the bucket. (Um, no sir, I have no idea why you'd think I was talking about you. Cyber-stalking? Why, I never mentioned it!)

Anyway, I'm buying three "firsts" and I'm challenging you-all to do the same. We can twitter away about our reading experiences, write ravishing book reviews, and post pics of book covers galore. It'll be fun.

Come On! What are you waiting for?

First Annual Hated Book Give-Away Details

Because this is the first annual and much lauded Hated Book Give-Away, I thought I'd better go over some of the finer points. Expectations, being what they are, exist only in my head. Do as you wish, since Free Will Matters, and join in only if you please.

The Three Non-Rules to the Hated Book Give-Away:

1. Tell me you want a much hated book via email or commenting. Please include the title of the preferred book (first draw gets first pick, of course). If you win, I will mail you the book before the end of January. Yeah, I'm cool like that.

2. Even if you don't want one of my books, pick out three of your own (recently purchased) hated books and put them up for giveaway on your site/blog/twitter/road sign. Then let me know so that I can participate and possibly win.

3. (This is my favorite part) Commit to buying three new books from three new authors. If you're a new author with a new book coming out (first book only, please), email me or leave a comment and I will buy your book. (If more than three contact me, your name will be put in a hat along w/ everyone else's and -- in a most fair and equitable manner -- I will draw out the winning three.)

So, if you haven't figured out what the three books are yet, despite the many clues located on this blog, here they are in no particular order:

1. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead (paperback)

2. Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead (paperback)

3. Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer (hardback)

Let the games begin!

Lost Thoughts: to Sleep Perchance to Dream

I know I'm not the only one: because so many ideas are unleashed at night, I keep a journal beside my bed. Sometimes the nighttime scrawl is illegible, but the idea is to make sure I don't lose anything. After all, those piercing images lose their sharpness after a night of conked out sleeping.

Last night, I'm fairly certain I solved every plot challenge known to man. In fact, that one missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle spun Matrix-like in the air a few breathless moments before plunking perfectly into place, completing my latest WIP conundrum. Like a flash flood, everything else that I didn't even know was missing crashed into place. It was glorious. It was spectacular. It was a dream.

Nothing is scribbled in my journal. No scrap of detail is left floating in my authorial stew this morning. There is nothing but a wispy, fleeting sense of euphoria. I had it all. I held it all. My hands are now empty.

Bransford's First Paragraph Challenge

Wanna have some frivolous fun? Wanna win a partial critique? (or query critique or 15 minute phone call with an agent?) Well, then, this is the post for you!

1. Go to Agent Bransford's blog.

2. Read the rules of his contest.

3. Post first paragraph of your WIP in the comment section.

3b. Do not post any snarky comment or nit-picky question about rules.

4. Do all of this before 4pm Pacific Time, Thursday, December 11th.

5. No angst. See rule 3b.

Since many of us have already posted our first paragraphs sometime in the past year for good old fashioned peer review, this is a natural second step! Woo Hoo.

Delacorte Press Contest for First Young Adult Novel

The deadline for the Delacorte Press Contest for a First Young Adult Novel is coming up uber fast. (I have never quite figured out why they post it under Kids@Random House, since it's open to any writer who has not previously published a young adult novel, but...) So dust off your manuscripts, polish them up, and send them in. December 31, 2008 looms.

Details:

• Contemporary setting suitable for readers ages 12 to 18;
• Manuscripts should be 100 to 224 typed, double-spaced pages;
• Include a cover page with title, author, address, and phone number;
• Submit in padded envelope; Include SASE for notification only.
• No simultaneous submissions;
• Authors may submit up to two manuscripts to the competition.

Send Manuscripts to:
Delacorte Press Contest
Random House, Inc.
1745 Broadway, 9th Floor
New York, New York 10019

Report on Your Life: FieldReport

November 15 marks this season's submission deadline for FieldReport, a website dedicated to your creative nonfiction memoir pieces. All you have to do is sign up (free), review five other pieces, and then you're able to post your own 2000-word-or-less personal narrative.

Founded with the desire to deepen Internet communities, this website allows readers to review, comment on, or simply read others' true life experiences. To sweeten the experience, a monthly prize of $1000 is awarded to the greatest story in each of the twenty categories, which is determined by a blind review process.

A quarterly prize of $4000 is awarded to the highest ranking field report (excluding previous Silver winners), and a Grand Prize of $250,000 is awarded to the highest ranking silver or bronze winner on January 1st.

A $25,000 teen prize is also awarded to those entrants who are between the ages of 13-17.

The Positives: There is no sign up fee. You can have up to three writing "personas" that allow for anonymity, if you're worried about posting under your given name. You keep the copyright, allowing FieldReport a "limited license on the work."

The Drawbacks: It seems that once posted, your story is there for all time.

Have any of you actually posted your stories on FieldReport? I haven't, so I'm curious about your experiences if you have. Positive? Negative? Ambivalent?

Riding the Glimmertrain

If you're a writer, you've probably heard of Glimmertrain. But, like most writers, you're probably busy and have forgotten about the opportunities available there.

Check out their Writing Guidelines. Because they've worked hard to shorten up their response time, they have implemented a "theme" of the month. They have also decided to accept simultaneous submissions since "it is so darned difficult to get one's work published."

Glimmertrain's Short Story Writing Contest for New Writers will open November 1st, closing at midnight on the last day of the month. There is a $15 reading fee with first place receiving $1200 and 20 copies of the issue with the winning story.

If you submit a story during their "Standard" months, there is no reading fee. Payment is $700 for first publication and onetime anthology rights.

Order a copy today, familiarize yourself with the type of writing they print, and see if you're meant to submit your piece. Depending upon the month, they accept fiction all the way up to 20,000 words.

NaNoWriMo Victim

It feels odd -- like a forty year old woman crashing a little kiddy birthday party and insisting on smashing the pinata herself. Or maybe a going-through-my-midlife-crisis-and-buying-a-little-red-sports-car older gentleman, who then decides to start combing his hair over, just in case it helps. I haven't yet sorted all the feelings yet -- and I am truly not attempting to insult the old pros out there who've done this for years -- but I've gone ahead and signed up. Yeppers, you can find me under Alex Moore at the Nanowrimo site.

Ignoring the fact that I'll be absent from my own home for two weeks out of the month -- one spent at a conference in San Antonio and one at my parents -- I've chosen to indulge in the hype and frothy excitement and tittering thrills of the National Novel Writing Month. I have to admit that I feel as giddy and nervous as a youngster on her first date... Wish me well.

Hone Your Writing Skills

So you've read my blogs on Odyssey, the annual 6-week Fantasy Writing Workshop, AND you've checked out their website and thought, "Oooh, now that's freaking awesome." Well, I'm here to deliver even more delightful news: there's a separate but equally as tasty workshop on the West Coast.

Clarion West, an intensive, six-week workshop for writers interested in science fiction and fantasy careers, just posted their requirements for Summer 2009 on their site Monday!! Here's your overview.

• Dates: June 21- July 31
• Application Deadline: March 1 ($30 application fee)
• Application requires writing samples and essay
• Scholarships available (full, partials, student of color, and NYC student)
• Six Stellar Instructors: John Kessel, Elizabeth Bear, Karen Joy Fowler, Nalo Hopkinson, David G. Hartwell, and Rudy Rucker. (Don't forget that Hartwell is Senior Editor for Tor Books!)
• Total Cost: $3200 (tuition, room, and partial board (breakfast + most weekday meals) for six weeks). Wireless Internet access is free.
• Did I mention there were scholarships?!

And, for our down-under friends, Clarion South is held in Australia every two years. Applications are now open and the "Boot Camp" will run from January 4 - February 14, 2009.

What are you waiting for? Click on those links; explore those sites; scribble out awe-inspiring application letters! Or, send me a stack of unmarked, non-consecutive serial numbered, non-inflation-impacted dollar bills and finance a scholarship of your own making...