$150

$150

That's right. $150 is how much we've raised for our annual book donation charity from the query/MS bid.

This is AMAZING. I can't even tell you how excited I am. Honestly, I thought this would raise $0, but because of YOU it had a fantastic turn out.

Our winner is Jenny and she's been emailed with further information. Yay!

But honestly, I couldn't have done this without everyone who bid, everyone who spread the word on blogs/Twitter/social media, everyone who RT'd and made an effort to get the word out. Thank you so much. I don't know if you guys really understand how much this charity means to me. Giving books to these sick kids, whether they're in the hospital for a day or a year, really makes a difference in their lives. I really encourage you to give back to your local hospitals, too. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you <3

Query/Synposis/MS Critique Bid for Annual Book Donation Charity

So, I’m doing my very first critique bid for charity. For the last few weeks, I’ve been on a mission with my good friend Britney, trying to raise money/book donations for our annual book donation charity. 

This charity raises money to buy brand new books for children at local hospitals. With your help and donations, you can give a child the gift of adventure, inspiration, and happiness through a simple story.

This is the third year I’ve helped with this. I’ve always shied away from these sort of things because I didn’t think anyone would actually care about what I had to say regarding a critique. I’m not published. I don’t have any sort of official title that screams, LOOK AT ME, I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I’M DOING.

However.

I’ve had some experience. I critiqued my peers short stories in my college creative writing class. I’ve worked one-on-one with my agent on some of my own books and feel like I’ve learned at least a little on how to improve my critiquing skills and editorial eye from her notes and line edits. I’ve critiqued some of my friends work, published and unpublished, and have hoped they’ve found it helpful (At least, they didn’t tell me otherwise)

So I decided I’m going for it. What can I lose? Worst off, no one will bid and Books for Kids raises $0 toward our goal.

So here’s what I’m offering to the highest bidder:
-         1 query critique
-         1 synopsis critique
-         1 full manuscript critique (or WIP if your book isn’t complete)

I’m going to estimate that it will take me two weeks to do this. However, if your MS is over 100,000 words, it may take me a little while longer.

Here’s what you need to do to bid:
-         Leave a comment with the following:
o   Name
o   Amount you’re bidding
o   Email address (that way I can contact you if you’re the highest bidder)

Rules:
-         Bids start now and ends on 1/17/13 at midnight, pacific coast time.

I think that’s it! Let me know if you have any questions. Hopefully this isn’t a giant flop.

2012 Recap of Life (and stuff)

There are many, many things about 2012 that displeased me. It was totally not my year. This isn’t me looking for encouragement or compliments—it literally was a hard year personally. But I’m not going to go into the negative. Instead, I’m going to reflect on all the good things that happened in 2012. Because dammit, there were some freaking great times.

My main, overarching thing I’m taking away from this year is perspective. I sometimes have a hard time remembering that I am still young. I’ve only just turned 23 this year, and I sometimes get in a mindset where I’m so adult. I have TIME to accomplish everything I want to do. I have TIME to travel, see family and friends. I’m not tied down by family, marriage, kids, a “dream” job, etc. I’m independently young, and it’s time I take advantage of it.

I’m also a constant worrier. I worry about things. I worry about YOUR things, probably. My goal for 2012 was to not be such a people pleaser and with that I’m afraid I’ve turned somewhat cynical, but I’m going for a more carefree approach in 2013. My 2013 decisions may not be the best, but it’s time to start living life the way I want, not the way society says I should.

Take that as you will.

Now it’s time for another yearly reflection (in pictures! WOO) of the good 2012 brought.

Rung in the New Year in PARIS

 

Paris with some of my best friends was one of the greatest experiences ever. So what if I came home broke. So what if I drained my bank account. I had a BLAST, and I’d do it all over again.

Cheers to 2012 with Krista

CREPES <3

Friends and France <3

Finished my Masters (in Business. EWEWEW.)

This is a super boring one. I almost forgot to add it because it was so boring. I guess I should feel accomplished or whatever, but really I considered this time away from writing. It was a pain in the ass. And it also reminded me I cannot math for shiiiiiiz. But anyway. Yeah. Masters.

Finished 3 Manuscripts

2011 taught me that I can write out of my comfort zone (YA contemporary) and be strong with my writing. I wrote a dystopian in 2011, which I then turned into a thriller in 2012. I’d never written anything like it before and was CONVINCED it was the best thing I’d ever write in the history of writing.

But then I pushed myself further. In January, I wrote a YA mystery (psychological thriller? Idk. More of a mystery, maybe.) Still out of my comfort zone. It was so much fun to write and I ended up loving the characters. I thought my agent would be like, oh this is okay. But she ended up really loving it, which made it even better.

Then, while revising that, I ended up going back to my element and writing two YA contemporaries. One was meh, and that's okay. (Although I ended up setting it aside. It's really not that spectacular) But the other was better. It’s what I called my YA Road Trip Story.

I ended the year outlining two new YA contemporaries.

So I basically learned that even though YA contemp is my comfort place, I CAN write anything I can put my mind to and be strong within the words I weave. So if you’re a writer and corner yourself in a box, challenge yourself to write out of your comfort zone in 2013. You may end up loving something you never thought you could have.

So, that’s that. 3 finished MS, 2 outlines. Imagine what I could have done if I wasn’t in that stupid Master’s program. (Just kidding school isn’t stupid. Stay in school don’t do drugs.)

Traveled

I spent time in France, Germany, Los Angeles, New York (where I met my agent, who’s a real sweetheart), and Texas. I traveled with friends and had a BLAST.

Road trip to NM, land of the chile, where we picked some up fressssh.

 

Road trip to Sedona, AZ over the summer. (<3)

 

Jumping off cliffs in Sedona

 

 

Los Angeles for ALA with Lindsi

Los Angeles road trip with mah girls Kelsey and Lindsi <3

Beach time in LA with my cousin

Subway ride with Hector. I think the combination of me + BEA wore him out.

Ferry ride + statue of libery :)

BEA with these lovely ladies: Britney, Anne, Claire and Gabby

 

Met Awesome People

John Green

Stephen Chbosky

 

PUPPY

 

(August 2012)

Andddddd because I didn’t quit my Master’s (believe me, tears were shed more than once about giving up) my boyfriend bought me a PUPPY as a graduation present. GAH. I’ve wanted a little guy for so long, and he’s been like my child. And because he’s like my child, there will be no kids in my near future. Or, you know, far, far future.

(December 2012)

 

 

Had Happy Holidays

 

White Christmas in Texas!

Ugly sweater party <3

Decorating the tree with the sibling <3

SNOW :D



 

2013 Goals

• Be carefree, not tied down to what society stays my early 20s should be.
• TRAVEL MOAR
• Focus solely on my professional career goals (in other words, write more than 3 books in 2013. HOLLA.)

Previous End of Year Wrap Ups

I just stumbled across my 2011 yearly wrap up. SIGH. 2011 was an amazing year. Maybe because I was living off severance so I just partied wrote and traveled and hung out a lot. Ha!

Anyway, here's my 2011 End of Year Wrap Up if you're interested.

Alsoooooooooooooo!

Happy new year <3

Annual Book Donation Charity for 2013

For REASONS, I normally don’t cross my personal blog with my shared book-related blog, but I feel like this is also important if you don’t happen to follow my other one. This is the THIRD year Britney and I are raising money for our annual book donation charity, which is a charity organization we started to raise money to buy brand new books for children’s hospitals in our areas.

When kids are going through a tough time, the hospital can be a hard place to be at. Books brings them adventure, fantasy, and fun, giving them the opportunity to escape within the pages. As a book and publishing community, I think we ALL know how books can directly affect us. That’s why I’m asking for your help.

• This donation effort will run from now until the end of January (we know money is tight around the holidays, which is why we’re keeping it open longer.

• You can donate cash by visiting our donations page.

If you’re an author, reviewer, publisher, etc. who’d like to send us book(s):

• Books must be brand new OR gently used. So if the book looks nice but you know you wiped a booger on page 5, please don’t ship it.
• The Phoenix Children’s Hospital only accepts brand new books from donators, so all gently used books will be donated to Scottish Rite in Texas. Email britneyeatswords@gmail.com to find out where to send books or ARCs.

This charity means a lot to us personally, and ANY donation really does help. (Not to sound desperate—just putting things in perspective—but even $1 helps. Phoenix Children’s always need infant books, and those are great to find at the Dollar Store.)

In the past, we’ve raised over $1,000. We hope to continue to be successful in 2013. Even if you can’t donate, spreading the word really does help. Thank you SO much to those who help make this possible <3

Agentversery

A year ago today something pretty awesome happened. I came to work super early to use the printer (because I don't own one. I know.) and there, by myself, I signed my agency contract with Suzie Townsend. Suzie is not only an amazing agent, but has a phenomenal eye for editorial details. I really appreciate that she keeps it super professional yet knows exactly what you need to hear via emails. I couldn't ask for a better agent-writer relationship, so thank you, Ms. Suzie, for all you've done for me. :)

Here's a link to the post, if you enjoy spastic gifs and whatnot. 

Today is also my sister's birthday! So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DOLLFACE. I wish I could be home, but I'll see you for Thanksgiving <3

If you're interested in querying Suzie (which I recommend) or finding out more about her (in a non-stalkerish way) you can visit her website. 

In other news, I have a million* (*this is probably exaggerated) posts in drafts I should publish soon. So be on the look out for this blog to slowly come back to life. :)

Have a good weekend <3

ALA Anahiem 2012 Recap!

Hey guys!

I had the amazing opportunity to road trip down to Anaheim with my two friends, Lindsi and Kelsey (who also blog, whee!). The purpose? ALA 2012. 

Until last weekend, I had never been to any ALA event before. I figured it would be a good networking opportunity and give me the chance to meet some crazy awesome people. And oh, I did. 

I attended the author/blogger meet up hosted by YA Highway, attended ALA Saturday and Sunday, met one of my agent sister's, Leigh Bardugo (who is SO, SO lovely), and ended up showing Lindsi and Kelsey around CA since they'd never been before.

It was a whirlwind of a weekend, but I had tons of fun. Here's some pictures and captions of the shenanigans that ensued: 

In traffic on our way to day 1 of ALA

Kelsey, Lindsi, and me at the Anaheim Convention Center. 

While at BEA, I had the amazing opportunity to meet Claire Legrand, who I know through Britney since they used to work together. Anyway, I spotted Claire's book (there were only 2 left on the table when I walked up!) and took one! I'm really excited to read this MG. :)

I saw Sash (from Sash and Em) again at ALA! She's so sweet, guys.

I had the opportunity to meet John Corey Whaley and get a signed copy of his book. I've heard amazing things about it. Also he's also super nice.

We ran into Ally Condie and Marie Lu on the ALA floor! They are all so sweet. 

I ended up taking Lindsi and Kelsey to Seal Beach in CA. This is basically the beach I spent my summers at growing up, and since Lindsi and Kelsey had never seen a beach on the west coast I figured it was a perfect opportunity to take them. :)

Lindsi thought it would be funny to not warn us a huge wave was rushing in behind us. Needless to say, we got wet.

Happiness :)

Photo opp on the beach :)

At the YA Highway meetup, I got to meet and see a few people from the YA world! This is the darling Ava, who was super nice and lovely!

YAY! I got to see the lovely Melanie Goodman again! She's always super fun to be around. I was glad she made it out to the event. (The lighting outside was weird, so the coloring in these pictures are sort of bleh.)

Kelsey, Lindsi, and me.

Excited that we could wear pretty dresses again.

Pre-YA event.

The walk to the Anaheim Convention Center was SO GORGEOUS. Loved the palm trees and weather so much!

ALA day 2. I finally got to meet the lovely Lena (you guys, she's SO adorable) and see Lauren again! They are both absolute sweethearts. We took this picture because we all happened to be wearing stripes, ha!

Me, Kelsey, and Lindsi before the Dia Frampton concert at House of Blue's for Kelsey's 21st!

Dia performing. It was such a great show!

At the bar afterwards having a 1st midnight birthday drink with Kelsey!

So, ALA may have presented us with an opportunity to see an advanced screening of PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER. And I may have seen it. AND I MAY HAVE MET STEPHEN CHBOSKY. 

*dies*

THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER has been one of my favorite books for a long time. A very long time. It's one I'm always hesitant to recommend it to people because I don't know if my heart can handle it if they don't love it as much as I do. It's a powerful story that leaves you feeling impacted and heartbroken and emotional and amazing and many, many other feelings. 

So yeah. Seeing an advanced screening and meeting Chbosky pretty much made my life. If you want to read my (no spoiler) review of the movie, click here.

But basically Chbosky did a Q&A after the movie and the autographed books for us. Why? Because of the Freedom to Read Foundation. This *is* the reason why we were able to see Chbosky and an advanced screening of PERKS. 

Taken from the website, this is basically what FTRF is:

"The First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees all individuals the right to express their ideas without governmental interference, and to read and listen to the ideas of others. The Freedom to Read Foundation was established to promote and defend this right; to foster libraries as institutions wherein every individual's First Amendment freedoms are fulfilled; and to support the right of libraries to include in their collections and make available any work which they may legally acquire.

Founded in 1969, the Freedom to Read Foundation was the American Library Association's response to its members' interest in having adequate means to support and defend librarians whose positions are jeopardized because of their resistance to abridgments of the First Amendment; and to set legal precedent for the freedom to read on behalf of all the people."

If you've read the book, you know there's so material inside that is mature. This book *has* been challenged before, but we do have the freedom to have access to books of our choice. This is why Chbosky respects FTRF and why he was helping host this event. I thought it was absolutely phenomenal.

So, yeah! That just about wraps it up. I'm so glad I have the opportunity to attend ALA for the first time. It's definitely a great experience.

Oh! And I did get books. 15 of the ones I REALLY wanted to read. Also, 15 is a realistic number. JUST SAYIN'. 

(I also review books for those of you who don't know. I wanted ones I'd be able to review realistically in this last part of the year. So, yeah! Woot.)

The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett Cover Reveal AND Contest!

Hey guys!

I'm super excited to help Ms. Mindee Arnett reveal her gorgeous cover for her upcoming book, THE NIGHTMARE AFFAIR. Mindee has been an absolute sweetheart and support sister-agent over the last few months I've gotten to know her on the interwebs, so I was REALLY excited to see the pretty that is her cover.

If you haven't heard of THE NIGHTMARE AFFAIR, here's a synopsis from Goodreads:

16-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare. Literally. Dusty is a magical being who feeds on human dreams.

Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder. The setting is Arkwell.
And then it comes true.


Now the Dusty has to follow the clues--both within Eli’s dreams and out of them--to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target.
 

I am SO excited to read this book, you guys. Add it to your to-read lists immediately.

YOU GUYS HAVE TO REMEMBER MINDEE. I just realized I interviewed her on here, hello. You can read it here!

Are you ready for THE COVER?

.................

TA DA!

I love this cover so much! It's not cheesy or tacky and it holds a kind of eloquence to it. It's something I can see never going out of style. You know what I mean? Like, you see what all those 80's YA books looked like back then--like the Babysitter's Club books with sketches of girls laughing and lounging around. This? This I can see being SUPER SNAZZY forever.

Anyway.

More on Mindee:

Mindee Arnett lives on a horse farm in Ohio with her husband, two kids, a couple of dogs, and an inappropriate number of cats. She’s addicted to jumping horses and telling tales of magic and the macabre. Her short stories have appeared in various magazines, and she has a Master of Arts in English literature with an emphasis in Creative Writing. She also blogs and tweets, and is hard at work on her next novel in the Arkwell Academy series. Find her online at http://www.mindeearnett.com/.

CONTEST!

Both Mindee and the lovely Lori are kindly hosting a contest for this reveal! Here are the details:

The book is due out March 5, 2013, but in the meantime, we’re celebrating with a giveaway.

The first winner will receive an Advance Readers Copy of Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake as well as a signed ARC of The Nightmare Affair when they come available in October. The second winner will receive a copy of any current Young Adult title of his/her choice as well as a signed ARC of The Nightmare Affair.

The contest will run for a week.

GO ENTER, Y'ALL.

I also highly suggest following Mindee on the Twitters. She's great! You can find here HERE.

Le giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway