Thursday's Children 1/31/13

Welcome to the Thursday’s Children Blog Hop, where writers come together to share whatever inspires them throughout their writing journey. Make sure to check out the other bloggers via the Link List at the bottom of this post. We’d love for you to join us!

This is my first post with the Thursday’s Children Blog Hop, and therein lies my inspiration.

I want to work on my current WIP every day and I want to post on my blog more regularly. But I, like many others, suffer from seasonal affective disorder, and that makes it really hard for me to get motivated during the gloomy winter months in upstate New York. It doesn’t help that I have a nasty cold and haven’t had a voice for 3 days.

So, I decided that by joining Thursday’s Children, that might give me the kick in the pants to post on a weekly basis. Then I decided that I needed a new workspace. That might help me want to sit down and write every day. I miss being in that place, where you can't pull me away from the computer. During the warmer months I usually take my laptop outside and sit at the table on the patio. But, I didn’t have a special place to work inside. I’ve tried different rooms and different desks, but nothing felt “just right.” I’m starting to sound like Goldilocks. lol. Well, today I found it! And it’s totally genius, if I do say so myself.

I have this cool antique sewing machine that a friend gave me about a year ago. I just love it.

Today I found an oval glass top (with no bottom) at our local thrift store.

And voila, my new desk! Genius, right?

I carefully removed the top wood flap and placed the glass on top. I also used some of those little sticky rubber feet that you can buy in a package of 4 at Wal-mart, to help secure the glass.

I liked the idea of being able to see the antique sewing machine through the glass.

"Just right"

The foot pedal is also quite comfortable. It's even fun to peddle while I type!

My Liebster Award

First, I want to thank Rhiann Wynn-Nolet, YA writer and Thursday's Children blog hop creator, for presenting me with the 

The Liebster is for blogs with fewer than 200 followers. The rules require me to answer 11 questions, nominate 11 more bloggers, and make up 11 questions for them to answer.

The Eleven Questions I was asked:

1. What’s your writing goal for 2013? To finish writing my second novel. Then revise, edit, and polish it.

2. If you could write like any author (living or dead) who would it be, and why? Oh my. That’s a hard one. My first thought is Jane Austen, because even after 200 years, her works are still popular. But that seems like a cheat, because I don’t know if I’ve actually even read any of her stuff. There are so many current authors that I admire for their story telling: Kami Garcia, Kimberly Derting, Maggie Stiefvater, Stephenie Meyer, and Suzanne Collins just to name a few.

3. What was your favorite book as a teen? Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews. I wasn’t a very good reader, so I didn’t read a lot as a teen. But FitA was different, I looked forward to sneaking away to read – probably because I was sheltered and FitA was considered naughty.

4. What would be the best thing about getting a book published? For people to read my words and connect in a way that leaves them wanting more. Also, seeing a beautiful cover with my name on it, on a shelf in a book store.

5. Ancient Egypt, Classical Greece, Renaissance Italy. You have to go live in one. Pick one, and tell me why. Renaissance Italy for the art and fashion. 

6. What’s the one thing that makes you decide not to finish reading a book you’ve started? I pretty much always finish reading, even if I’m not feeling it. I guess I’m always hoping it’ll get better. I am a true optimist. However, I have stopped reading on two occasions: once, because I just “wasn’t getting it” and the other was just “too slow” to keep my interest.

7. Tell me three things about the MC in the most recent book you’ve written. I’m only at about 5,000 words into my current WIP. She’s 15, angry, and keeps a photo face down under her socks in a drawer.

8. What’s the single best thing about writing? Creating.

9. Sea shell, oak leaf, rock, pine cone, cactus. Pick one, and tell me why. Definitely sea shell. There are so many different shapes, colors and sizes. And the creatures that live in them are amazing.

10. Do you hate or love editing/revising? I love editing. It’s like working on a piece of artwork, adding color and detail.

11. Scariest book. Ever. Why? The scariest book that I’ve read would have to be The House of Thunder by Dean Koontz. 

Here are my 11 Nominees:

1. Natalie Traver because she collects fortunes, and so do I.

2. Dannie Morin because I like her answers to 10 Questions, especially 9 & 10

3. Amber Mauldin because she is an amazingly strong woman, and a talented writer.

4. Angi Black because she has some awesome gifs – and Sam and Dean!

5. Wendy Knight because of dinosaurs, My Little Pony, and tumors. Lol

6. Sarah Fiete entirely because of the stuff in her sidebar. She cracks me up.

7. Jenny Kaczorowski because she’s from the duct tape capitol of the world. Awesome.

8. Paula Lesso because she’s my bff and has webbed toes, like me.

9. Mary Schneider because she’s also a friend and animal lover.

10. Jessika Fleck because my finger slipped (lol) and she writes paranormal.

11. Mary Holm because I liked some of the things she said in her April 11, 2012 post on The Hunger Games. "I'm not the arbiter of What is Good and What is Bad. Being a writer myself, I don't like to pronounce judgements on a work of art that someone just poured her heart, soul and guts into." I wish more people followed that rule.

And finally here are my Eleven Questions:

1. What inspired you to start writing?

2. What are your all-time favorite books?

3. What would be the best thing about being published?

4. What is your greatest achievement in life so far, and why?

5. Tell me about an embarrassing moment.

6. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

7. What is the most exciting thing you’ve ever done?

8. Who would you be most excited to meet in person?

9. Fur, feathers, or scales. Pick one and tell me why.

10. What are your biggest pet peeves?

11. What are your hopes for 2013?

Dickless (Clark, that is) and Vomiting

New Year’s Eve 2012

1 minute 14 seconds on the clock: My 15-year-old daughter squeals in delight, with her noise maker in hand and her boyfriend by her side.

1 minute 10 seconds: 19-year-old daughter enters the room with her boyfriend. She wasn’t quite as bouncy, as she was coming off an evening long sugar high.

50 seconds on the clock: Ryan Seacrest announcing that the ball has begun its descent. 

15 seconds on the clock: “Dad! Get out here!” 15-year-old yells.

13 seconds on the clock: Greyhound vomits in the middle of the room. It’s green and it smells.

12 seconds on the clock: A chorus of “Ewwwww! That’s so gross!”

11 seconds on the clock: I’m on the run for the nearest towel.

4 seconds: I return with a towel, as daughter yells again, “Dad!”

3 seconds: I throw the towel over the throw-up.

2…

1!

I throw my arms in the air, cheering, “Happy New—“ To my left, 19-year-old is making out with her boyfriend. To my right, 15-year-old is making out with her boyfriend. Husband is still missing in action. “Whatever." I slump off. "I’m going to bed.”

So, how did you ring in the new year?

On the Heels of Pitch Wars

I recently took part in Pitch Wars. It was a contest for aspiring writers to get some help shining up their manuscripts and then pitch to a panel of awesome agents. They had 592 writers apply for the contest. And while I didn't get matched up with a mentor, I feel like I still walked away a winner.

• I received some awesome feedback.
• I will be getting a critique of my query and first five pages.
• I connected with a lot of talented writers.
• The mentors started CPseek.com. A community for writers to find others to bounce ideas off of and find new critique partners or beta readers.

• And one mentor offered to scout through the entries for two independent publishers.

All of this really gave me the boost I needed, as I had been stuck in a rut for a while. Query. Reject. Query. Reject. Query. Reject. Revise query. Reject. Query. Reject. Query. Reject. Query. Reject. Revise query. Reject. Query. Reject. Query. Reject. Well...you get the picture.

I updated my sad lonely blog, wrote this post, and added the 2,876,369 edition of my query. That may be an exaggeration, but I'm not sure. And, as we head into the holidays I have some hope, some work, and a lot of thinking to do. What's my next step?

photo credit: Nic's events via photopin cc

Beautiful

We had a fun and exciting weekend at the Girls World Expo of Binghamton. My daughter, Lia Scott, was invited to perform. Here she is singing "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera -- a perfect song for a room full of hundreds of young girls.

This is all still pretty new to Lia and she continues to struggle with shyness, but she's getting there, and I am so proud of her.

Here she is surrounded by fans

Like Lia Scott on facebook and her first single "Blind" on iTunes and Amazon

Long time no see

Hey there! It’s been awhile. I hope you all had a wonderful summer --can’t believe it’s almost over. I wanted to share some exciting news. No. I haven’t found an agent yet. However, I have recently started querying again, after a major revision. And you know how it is…that means a new query and synopsis. But, I digress...

My youngest daughter has been playing guitar and singing since the age of 12. She would perform for friends and family, small local gigs, and open mics.

Then, in November of 2011, at the age of 14, she had the opportunity to visit a recording studio with a friend. She loved watching the recording process, and begged to get an appointment to meet with the producer. They recorded a couple of covers as a test. “THAT. WAS. AWESOME!” she said, with a huge smile and a tear in her eye.

I'm getting to the point soon. I promise.

So, we discussed writing and recording an original song for her --which was such a cool process to be a part of. She loved EVERY minute of it... and her producer was eager to work on another.

Check out her artist bio.

And now for the news…
Drumroll please...

She's been picked up by Playground Records, a small, up and coming label. It’s been such an exciting time for her...and me. I’ve been with her every step of the way. I am so proud.

Her first single "Blind" is available on iTunes and Amazon, and she is hard at work on her first album. Go to one of the links to listen to the preview. Maybe you'll even like it enough to buy it!

Pitch Contest with Victoria Marini

Chanelle Gray is hosting an agent judged contest on her blog Beyond Words.


Victoria is with Gelfman Schneider Literary Agency. The winner gets a chance to submit their entire manuscript, and in Victoria's words "at the very least, a critique." And since she seems totally awesome and I'm querying her anyway, I will be entering.

So, you wanna see my entry?
I thought you'd never ask.

Two sentence pitch:

To sixteen-year-old Melinda, getting a boyfriend is at the top of her To Do List, although she never imagined that he’d come from a hidden magical society. Of course, she also didn’t imagine she’d find herself in the middle of a civil war with a target on her back.