Geek Chick Radio--Zombies

Today I had my first experience on a radio show, Geek Chick Radio.  I had a blast.  It was hard not to laugh out loud.

The radio show is hosted by Danette (DJ) Westerfield and Sherry (SD) Ficklin. Check out their blog here.  And they were kind enough to invite me and  my Spencer Hill Press sisters, Kelly Hashway, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Angela Townsend, and Kate Kaynak--editor of Spencer Hill Press. 

We had a great time talking about zombies.  The history; favorite movies, television shows, and books; and why the popularity in modern culture.  

I'd like to invite you to listen to us have a great time. If you have any comments or would like to discuss further the Zombie epidemic, please leave a comment below.  

Here's the link to my facebook page with the link to Geek Chick Radio. 

And the winner is......

I want to thank you all for entering The Jacket Copy Contest.  I hope you had fun and learned something.  Jacket copies are not easy to write.  Well, that's my opinion at least.

I also want to thank Kate for hosting the contest with me and getting back with the winner so soon.  She truly does rock.

So.. now what you all been waiting for....Drum Roll please....

Hi folks!

We got some wonderful entries in this contest--thanks to everyone who contributed.

Before announcing the winner, though, I want to give everyone a couple of pointers for writing queries and jacket copy.

*pause as people scroll down anyway to see who won*

1) When writing jacket copy or a query, make sure that the first line hooks the reader. A logline isn't necessary, but if you have one, make it memorable. For example, the one for BENEATH THE SURFACE drew me in immediately:

A timeless love. An endless curse. Which one will survive the summer?

I can picture that on a book cover, and I can picture a lot of readers picking up the book because of a line like that. So, make sure that your first line draws the readers in... and that each additional line keeps them there.

2) Bring out your narrative voice in the query or jacket copy. WITCH COUNTRY and CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE CYBORG did a great job with this. If your character has a folksy or sarcastic or funny narrative voice, it sells the story. For example, there have been a TON of vampire books in recent years, but Molly Harper's NICE GIRLS DON'T HAVE FANGS had such a wonderful narrative voice, it didn't matter. Her series stood out as a great read IN SPITE of being a vampire story. Right now, the YA market is glutted--everyone is writing YA. Your narrative voice needs to be the sparkly hat that makes your book stand out in the crowd.

3) Some things to avoid:

Avoid clichés--put things in your own words. As an editor, I avoid clichés like the plague; they make me madder than a wet hen, and I wouldn't be caught dead accepting a manuscript full of them.

Avoid telling about emotions--don't say, "she was angry;" show us how her anger makes something burn in her gut or tighten her jaw. This goes for the rest of the book, too.

Avoid giving book reports--we didn't have any like this in this contest, thank heavens! But I've seen queries that read like something written before the bell in homeroom: "And then they leave the castle and go to the tavern. And then they get in a fight with a group of angry dwarves."

Avoid high fantasy plots in which people leave the castle and get in a tavern brawl with dwarves. It's been done.

4) The main difference between a query and jacket copy is that a query gives the agent or editor a full concept of the premise, main character, and major plot elements. The jacket copy should limit any plot references to the first few chapters, so there aren't any spoilers.

So, that's my 2¢. I'd like to invite all of the contributors to query Spencer Hill Press when we re-open to submissions in December. And you've GOT to check out PERFECTION when it comes out next May, of course! It's an amazing story--check out the jacket copy here:

And now, what you've been waiting for:

I'd like to give honorable mentions to the interesting plot elements of THE HOURGLASS BRIDGE, the wonderful twist of CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE CYBORG, the creeptastic premise of NETHER BOUND, the emotional bind of THE END WORLD, and the I-think-this-happened-in-NYC-when-TWILIGHT-came-out enjoyment of LURE.

The winner of the jacket copy query contest is...

THAT SUCCS by Larissa Hardesty

Congratulations, Larissa! Please get in touch through the Spencer Hill contact form for instructions on how to receive your partial critique. 

Wow!!! 

Thanks, again, Kate for the great advice.  And for giving everyone who entered a chance to query Spencer Hill in December. That is beyond awesome.  Be sure to mention you contributed to the contest in the opening paragraph to give Kate a reminder.

Grats to all the honorable mentions.

And a big CONGRATS to Larissa Hardesty!

Please leave Larissa a comment congratulating her and please leave another for Kate thanking her.

Keep a look out on my blog.  I'll be hosting another contest to torture...to torment...um...I'll just be hosting another contest soon. 

STOP!! The Jacket Copy Contest is closed

The contest is now closed and has been closed since 12 midnight.  Sorry for the delay in posting.  I thought I had the closing post all set up to post but apparently I am lacking in the know how to set a timer. 

I want to thank everyone for entering and for visiting my site.

I hope this will turn out to be a great learning experience for all.  Jacket copies are not easy to write.  Then again, writing is not easy; that's why I love hosting these writing contests for the opportunity to learn and, of course, the prizes.  :)

Kate is an awesome person for donating the prize to the winner, so please be sure to thank her for doing so in the comment section below.  

GOOD LUCK!!!!

JACKET COPY CONTEST

I'm so lucky to have Kate Kaynak be super awesome and co-host The Jacket Copy Contest with me.  Not only is this a great learning experience for everyone who enters, but an epic opportunity, too.  Kate is an editor for Spencer Hill Press, which has published awesome books.  Go check them out here.  Who better than an editor to give a partial critique (BTW, that is the prize).

Not only is Kate an editor for my publisher, Spencer Hill Press, but she's the author of The Ganzfield Books: Minder, Adversary, Legacy, Accused, Operative, and Soulmate, which won Best YA Series.  If you haven't yet, it's probably a series you want to check out.  I'll even be nice and give you her Goodreads link.  And if you're a stalker like me, you can find Kate hanging out at her blog, on twitter, and facebook.

Remember, a jacket copy is not a query, but a description of a novel as a whole.  If you haven't yet, take the time to visit your local bookstore, pull random books off the shelf, and read the jacket copy.  Ask yourself: "Is this a book I'd read?" or "Is this a book I'd never, ever bother to open up."  Compare them to see what it was you liked or didn't like, and why.

A jacket copy is one of the main selling points of a novel. 

Just to prove it, I'm gonna give you a scenario.

Picture yourself in a bookstore.  The scent of hardbacks and pages riding the light breeze of the air conditioner.  You're browsing in your favorite section, searching through hundreds and hundreds of titles and book-covers for that certain...*gasp*...there it is.  One of the most intriguing covers ever (I'm thinking it's a striking blue eye with a reflection of a butterfly). Your fingers lightly touch the spine of this novel you must have.  You pull it free from the bookshelf, yielding it like a lost holy relic.  

And what's the first thing you do?  

If you guessed open it up to read the summary, then you're probably right.  If that short description caught your attention, you're probably holding your new find to your chest like a newborn baby.  If not, then you slide the book right back into the place where it originally rested on the shelf.  Left behind as you scour the remaining books for that one find.

A jacket copy is a selling tool for you, the author.  In thirty seconds, you have to build your story to a level above all the other books vying for the reader's attention.  So, Kate and I thought it'd prove to be a great experience for you to write one for your book.

Your job is to sell Kate, (a.k.a. the reader) your book in 250 words or less.  Pretend she's browsing the shelves of your local bookstore.  

Here are the rules to enter the contest.

1) You have to follow my blog.  My contest, so I get to do that.

2) Post the jacket copy of your completed novel in the comment section as such:

Author: (Your name)

Title: (The title of your novel)

Jacket Copy: (The brief description of your novel written to entice the reader to buy in 250 words or less.)

3) If you have entered my other contests and even if you won, you can still enter this one, too.

4) You can enter up to two jacket copies for two different novels. 

5) The contest will close Saturday, April 14th at 12:00 midnight (central).  Um.. April 14th of 2012.

6) That's it.  There will be no comments or anything else with this contest.  I might do something fun like set up a poll for each entry for you to vote for your favorite jacket copy while we wait.   

7) If you have a question, please feel free to post in the comment section. 

PRIZE: A partial ten-page critique donated by Editor Extraordinaire, Kate Kaynak.

I'd like to take a moment and invite you to Goodreads to checkout PERFECTION, release date May 2013, here.  

CONTEST HEADS-UP: Jacket Copy

As you may or may not know:

I love hosting contests.

I love hosting different types of contests.

Writing is such an unending Ferris-wheel of ups and downs, learning, and experience.  And when I say unending, I mean that literally.  Since I started the voyage of writing many loops around the sun ago, I've learned so much.  From writing like I'm doing some sort of research paper to becoming my characters and breathing life into them.  From trying to incorporate everyone's advice to finding myself and bringing out my own voice within the words. And there is so much more for me to discover.

The contest I'll be hosting is with Kate Kaynak, editor from my most awesome publisher Spencer Hill Press.  You can mark PERFECTION as a "to read" on Goodreads.  Publication date is May 2013.  Yeah, it's a long way off, but everyday I'm still very excited.

Back to Kate...
Not only is Kate an editor for my most awesome publisher, but she is also the author of The Ganzfield Books: Minder, Adversary, Legacy, Accused, Operative, and Soulmate.  Go check out the Ganzfield site here.  When you're done with that, take the time to check out Kate's blog, follow her on twitter, and check out her facebook page  Yeah, Kate's pretty awesome!!

By the way, this is KATE!

So, you must be wondering what type of contest I've cooked up with you this time.  I'm gonna tell ya.

Here...

No, here...

Okay, here...

To enter this contest, you must write a jacket copy.  You know, one of the selling points of your novel.  As a matter of fact, Publishing Trends states it is the second most important part of selling your book.  Check out the article here.

You think it might be a good thing to practice?  Ya, me too.

So, your job is to sell Kate your book in 250 words or less.  Please note, a jacket flap is not a query.  It is a brief description of the book as a whole.  I highly suggest you read jacket flaps from books.  Bunch of  books.  Books you want to buy.  Books you don't want to buy.  Then compare them.

Sounds like a great reason to go to the bookstore.  *grin*

What's up for grabs?

A partial ten-page critique from Kate.  It's an awesome prize; not to mention, opportunity!

PLEASE DO NOT ENTER NOW! 

The contest doesn't open until April 9th.  This is nothing more than a heads-up.

On April 9th (not the day before, not the day after), I will post the rules to the contest.

So, take this time to do a little research and get your entries ready.  

Good luck!!

     

 

Revisiting A E Rought

I’m super excited to have my awesome friend, A E Rought, visit my little blog again. 

*bounces in, pulls up a chair*

This time, though, super exciting things are happening for Ann. Yep, she signed on with Strange Chemistry—a two book deal, and one of those books is her Young Adult, BROKEN, which I’ve had the privilege of reading. 

Let me be the first (well, maybe not the first, but I’m gonna claim it anyway) to tell you BROKEN is a must read. And when I say "a must read," I mean when it comes out go and buy it. Ann has a wonderful flare for imagery and her writing will suck you right into the pages for a dance around a dark world for a few hours. Beyond beautifully written.

You’re making my blush already! It’s my goal to give readers images they can see, and give them the emotions my characters feel. BROKEN has wrung tears from every reader, and given a few the willies >:} (Including myself. That one scene, with the deer? *shudders*)

Oooo.. yes the deer. Creepy in dark, broken (no pun intended) way.

Let’s get to know where you can find Ann and lurk…um…stalk…errr…follow (yes, that’s the word) follow her.

Woot! Yes, I need Followers! We can have a whole BROKEN Hearts Army! *maniacal laughter*

Ann is already an established published author, writing adult fiction spanning genres from westerns to steamy (when I say steamy, I mean toe-curling—yeah, I’ve read those, too) romances. Go check out her blog, Love Light and Shadow. You can also find Ann on facebook and twitter. 

Don’t forget about my Pinterest boards! BROKEN has its own, so readers can see images I think relate to the story.

She also co-hosts another blog, Oasis for YA, with my other adopted sisters, Jessica Souders,whose novel RENEGADE will be released Nov. 2012, Jessie Harrell, Nikki Katz, Sheri Larsen, and Larissa Hardesty.

Ann was lucky enough to land Gina Panettieri as her agent from Talcott Notch Literary Agency. Gina was kind enough to do an interview and a contest with me last year. Want to know a bit more about Gina? You can check out her interview here, and you can stalk her on twitter.

Gina, being the excellent agent that she is, sold BROKEN to Strange Chemistry, which is due to come out early 2013. 

Want a teaser of BROKEN? Good, cuz here it is.

Imagine a modern spin on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein where a young couple's undying love and the grief of a father pushed beyond sanity could spell the destruction of them all. A string of suspicious deaths near a small Michigan town ends with a fall that claims the life of Emma Gentry's boyfriend, Daniel. 

Emma is broken, a hollow shell mechanically moving through her days. She and Daniel had been made for each other, complete only when they were together. Now she restlessly wanders the town in the late fall gloom, haunting the cemetery and its white-marbled tombs, feeling Daniel everywhere, his spectre in the moonlight and the fog.

When she encounters newcomer Alex Franks, only son of a renowned widowed surgeon, she's intrigued despite herself. He's an enigma, melting into shadows, preferring to keep to himself. But he is as drawn to her as she is to him. He is strangely... familiar. From the way he knows how to open her locker when it sticks, to the nickname she shared only with Daniel, even his hazel eyes with brown flecks are just like Daniel's.

The closer they become, though, the more something inside her screams there's something very wrong with Alex Franks. And when Emma stumbles across a grotesque and terrifying menagerie of mangled but living animals within the walls of the Franks' estate, creatures she surely knows must have died from their injuries, she knows.

Be sure to mark it as a “to-read” at Goodreads. Seriously, go to Goodreads and mark it.

Please do! BROKEN hearts need love too ~_^

I’ll wait while you go do that.

*twiddles thumbs*

*sips tea*

Back? Good. Let’s get to know A E Rought.

Thanks Ann for coming back to my blog.

I’m happy to be back. ^_^ What an awesome opportunity to talk about BROKEN with my Beta Bestie! Thanks for the invite.

So, since the last time we talked, lots of cool stuff has happened. Would you care to share with us your journey over the last month?

Um. Can you combine a roller coaster and a tilt-a-whirl? The waiting was suddenly over, and I had a high like being the only rider on a coaster, at the top of the tallest hill and wanting to scream about it, but someone put duct tape on my mouth. Then we announced the sale, and had interest immediately in BROKEN. It’s so surreal, like the world is spinning and I’m on the ride, and still on the middle watching it whip around me. 

Beyond that, it’s been paperwork, bouncing back and forth with Gina and my editor Amanda, and doing guest posts and interviews (already!?), and trying to work on a new WIP all at the same time.

When Gina told you she sold BROKEN, what was your first reaction?

I literally stood up from my typing chair, thrust my fist into the air and shouted “YES!!” Such a huge rush of energy, of knowing that dream I’d been chasing was in my claws. It makes your heart swell, and your throat tighten to know someone loves what you’ve done and wants it. Then, of course, I picked up the phone and called people!

Breaking into the young adult market must be very different than the adult genre. Can you tell us a little about the transition?

When I decided I wanted to make the leap, my adult romance CP told me I had always written a young-adult type story anyway. I adore the “first love” stories, and all the entanglements and emotions that come with them, so YA was really the place to be, for me. I found it wasn’t just about age and First Loves, YA is more than that. I had to nail the tension, pacing, tone and voice, too. A tricky balance when still keeping a foot in my adult romance publisher.

Why did you start writing young-adult?

Well, I’m a Young Adult reader. I reached a point in my writing where I needed a change, and writing YA turned out to be it. I might as well write what I read, right? ~_^

Which do you prefer, writing adult fiction or young-adult? 

Oy. They both have the challenges, and boundaries, and joys. When you pare away the differences, I’m always going to gravitate toward the First Love stories. Right now, that’s definitely YA for me. I have a couple adult romances on the back burner, though.

What spurred the whole idea of BROKEN?

I’d finished rewriting (yes, rewriting, not revising) my first YA story, and couldn’t connect with anything else I had started. Horror, sci-fi, paranormal, dystopian…I batted them all around, all while the type of story BROKEN is grew and pressed and demanded attention inside my head and chest. I felt BROKEN before I knew what it was. 

Finally I called Lexie, my young adult YA beta reader, the one I bounce plot ideas off from and told her I HAD to write something dark, and twisted and heartbreakingly romantic. She started tossing out ideas, and we both hit upon a rewrite idea at the same time. Fairytales are having a hayday on the shelves right now, and I’m not one for following the crowd. Plus, I didn’t really care about writing BROKEN for sale, I just HAD to write it. Lexie and I talked Gothic fiction, and from there the dark, twisted, gutwrenching heartache of BROKEN started taking shape. 

Share with us your pitch for BROKEN.

Well, this is what heads the synopsis I eventually pitched to Gina: In Broken, a modern spin on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a string of suspicious accidents ended in the death of Emma Gentry’s boyfriend. Her loss comes back to haunt Emma when newcomer Alex Franks shows up with her dead boyfriend’s quirks, and a fascination for her that could destroy them both.

Gina took that and made it into this for submissions: Imagine a modern spin on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein where a young couple's undying love and the grief of a father pushed beyond sanity could spell the destruction of them all.

Can you tell us a little about Emma, the main character in BROKEN? Who is she to you?

Emma is that girl who loved so deeply it fundamentally changed her. She carries her loss like a torch, using the burning pain to keep her memories alive. This isn’t to say she’s a wuss or whiner, because she’s got a quick wit and a hard right punch, and knows how to use them both. (Ask Josh, he’ll tell you…)

To me, Emma’s the metal I heated and twisted, heated and twisted, to see how much heartache one character could take before breaking. I still think I’m rotten for what I put Emma and Alex through.

Tell us a little about Alex.

Ah, Alex. Tall, athletic, tortured Alex. My heart hurts just thinking about him. Before the book opens, he’s hurt in a horrid accident, and the scars from the surgery afterwad go soul deep. If I could, I would hug that boy, press his head to my shoulder and apologize for what I did to him. He was Mr. Popular at his academy, on the fast track to med school, until he woke up in recovery and shunned the life his father was trying to shove down his throat. Plus, he kicks some ass. Being an MMA student can do that. ^_^

Would you share with us your favorite line from BROKEN?

Oh hell yeah! It’s one of Alex’s, whispered in a darkened room. “It doesn’t beat for me.” *sigh*

Ahh, yes, my favorite, too.

I can’t wait to see the book on shelves next year. As I said, it’s a must read. Just beautiful.

Thanks, JL! I love BROKEN. The story is beautiful and pained, the writing has a lyric quality, and what Alex and Emma have together (despite what I did to them) still gives me chills.

Any teasers you’d like to share of the next book you’re itching to write?

Sneaky devil, you. Being my Beta, you know how close I played BROKEN to the vest. This one is, too. I’ve done more research on this story than on any one previous, YA and adult. There is less romance than in BROKEN, but way more action, a mass homicide/missing persons mystery couched in a sci-fi/paranormal. What kind of clue can I give your readers? Hmm… Very, very little of it happens on land.

You know what’s great about Ann? She has many talents. Not only is she a great writer, but she makes stuff. 

Lots of stuff.

Really cool stuff!!

What talent!

Tell us a little about your love of crafts. Where do you think you inherited your talent from?

My dad was a tinker by nature. Emma’s dad in BROKEN is totally based on him. He was always building something. My mom taught me the love of fabric arts, sewing, quilting, etc, and she started me on the path in the kitchen. Though, she is a lot more timid than I am, I wear a camouflage apron for a reason! *snort*

Do you have any other hobbies?

 I weave baskets. I bead jewelry. I paint ceramics. And, a rarely shared hobby…I collect Build-a-Bear and Squishable stuffed animals. Shhh…don’t tell anyone, okay? o_O

A woman of many talents.

Share with us an easy recipe that you make for your family.

Ha! Very little I do in the kitchen is easy. Mostly it’s time consuming and messy. One of the family favorites is Bacon Popcorn:

Cut ½ lb bacon into 1” chunks and fry in popcorn pan until golden crisp.

Pour 3scant handfuls of popping corn into the bacon chunks and grease.

Pop popcorn and pour off into large bowl.

Melt ½ stick of butter (no margarine!) and drizzle over popcorn

Season with garlic, salt and pepper.

Another favorite are Lavender Cookies:

Sugar cookie mix, plus 2 tbs of lavender flowers

Prepare and bake as normal (I double it, because they go really fast!)

Enjoy with lemonade.

Perfect for this crazypants hot weather!

OMG!! Both of those sound delicious!!!

Delicious yummy stuff!

Well, I guess I picked your brain enough. LOL!

I had fun, so no worries!

Thank you so much for visiting me again. And a huge GRATS to you for your sale. It is well deserved.

Thank you, JL. You were one of the main BROKEN supporters, insisting it was going to sell, and threatening violence if it didn’t. (Did my heart good!) You kept me up when I could’ve sunk and pouted.

Hopefully, you can stop by when your book is released. Maybe we can do a little contest. (hint, hint)

You betcha! We’ll figure something out. Maybe a signed, annotated copy of BROKEN in a snazzy book tote made by me? I’m up for it if you are ^_^

Ooooh.. That sounds beyond awesome!

Please leave Ann congratulations below.  

OMG! My Cover Reveal

I'm super excited to share my cover reveal with all of you.

I honestly can't believe it. May is right around the corner even if it is 2013. A whirlwind of excitement.

My daughter's design was used as a template and then...



How beautiful is that?

Here's a little teaser...

Synopsis:
The personification of Aryan purity, Ellyssa's spent her whole life under her creator's strict training and guidance; her purpose is to eradicate inferior beings. She was genetically engineered to be the perfect soldier: strong, intelligent, unemotional, and telepathic.

Only Ellyssa isn't perfect.

Ellyssa feels emotions--a fact she's spent her life concealing. Until she encounters the epitome of inferiority: a dark-haired boy raised among renegades hiding since the Nazis won the war a century ago. He speaks to her telepathically, pushing thoughts into her mind, despite the impossibility of such a substandard person having psychic abilities.

But he does.

His unspoken words and visions of a place she's never visited make Ellyssa question her creator. Confused and afraid her secret will be discovered, Ellyssa runs away, embarking on a journey where she discovers there is more to her than perfection.

Title: Perfection

Author: J.L. Spelbring

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press (www.SpencerHillPress.com)

ISBN: 978-1-937053-34-5

Release Date: May 7, 2013

Formats: paper & e-book

I'm so lucky to have a wonderful agent, Lauren Hammond, wonderful agency sisters, and an awesome publisher.

Just an fyi...
I'm working on another contest, AND my Ann Rought will be paying a visit soon to give us an update on all the awesome things coming her way.

Stay tuned!