Fun Friday: Winner of THE FIRST TIME Giveaway

And the winner is.....................

THE SECRET

WRITER!

Congrats! I just

ordered your book

and you should

have an e-mail

with information

shortly!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Just Teasing

Tip of the Day: Remember, you have until midnight tonight to enter the giveaway for The First Time Anthology. Comment HERE. Winner announced tomorrow.

Right now I'm in the middle of revisions on my latest book, THE PAPARAZZI PROJECT. The teaser I'm including is from Chapter 2 when the main character, Livvie, is reading tabloids for an assignment in her Interpersonal Communication Class and notices the cute guy next to her.

I find the page and oh man, it’s true! It’s totally Shaz A.M.! Nasty, nasty, nasty! Man, she had to be scraping his denture cream off the back of her tonsils after this make out session. I flip the page for more pics. “Ok, seriously,” I say to the cute guy in the desk next to me in class, “you’ve gotta see this.” I hold up the magazine for him to see. “She’s going to make ol’ dude break a hip in that position, right?”

The cute guy laughs and his hair shakes out of his eyes. “That’s just wrong.”

I take a longer look at him. Wow. Why haven’t I noticed him before? Serious hotness. He’s got these crazy dark eyes and even darker hair. If he wasn’t dressed so preppy he’d almost look kind of goth. Not that I’m into goth. I myself don’t have any super interesting style. I’m your average whatever looks cute yet is still comfy kind of girl. Hence the worn-out jeans, tee, and converse I’m sporting today. I really want to talk to this big cup of cuteness some more though. “What are you reading?” I ask.

He holds up a National Enquirer. “Botched plastic surgery,” he says. “See, this one’s bottom lip looks like it ate her top lip.” He points to a picture of a woman who looks more feline than female.

I lean over for a closer look. “Whoa! You’re right!” I say. “I bet she wishes she could hit undo on that.”

He smiles. “My name’s Chas Montgomery.”

“Cool name, Chas,” I say, sitting back in my seat. I bet on the weekends he likes to kick back with a nice cigar after a rousing polo match with his buddies, Thurston and Chadwick.

“And you are?” he asks, holding a hand out like he just pointed to a letter on Wheel of Fortune.

“Livvie Peterson,” I reply. “Livvie’s short for Olivia. But I’m sure you already guessed that. Not much else it could be short for, right? Maybe Olive. But who would name their kid Olive? Outside of Popeye’s girlfriend’s mom. About a million and a half years ago. ‘I yam what I yam’, right? But, I babble. Yeah, anyway, it’s Livvie.” Wow. I am all kinds of smoothness here. I don’t know how he’s keeping his hands off me right now.

Kristina, Miss Author in Action

NaNoREMo Teaser (or Public Viewing, Take One!)

Tip of the Day: There is still time to bid on some great kidlit writer items in Jean Reidy's Light up the Library Auction!

I am still plugging away at my revision to meet my goal this month. As I read through earlier chapters that have been in existence the longest, I find myself tweaking just words, so I know it is close! In the later chapters, I need to make some detail changes to the "science" part of the book, but I see how it is going to all come together.

My teaser is from the very beginning of the novel, BLACKOUT. The book is told in alternating povs, Leo and his younger sister Jenny. Chapter One starts with Leo's pov:

Dad and Jenny hugged goodbye. It was like they thought they’d never see each other again or something. I watched their silhouettes from the living room window. Like an outsider.

I never got that close to them. And they never got that close to me.

I shoved my duffle bag and portable amp into the back seat of the SUV, unzipped my guitar case, and strapped the Strat over my shoulder. I could compose an alt-rock hook in the time it’d take for my sister and Dad to say adios. The two of them could go on about solar cells or neutrons or whatever for days. They had gone on about it for days.

Leaning against the car’s door, I played around with a heavier riff. Dad had no neighbors to complain about the noise. Not for miles. For five days I’d been stuck with two people who didn’t know a bass guitar from a violin and didn’t care if they ever learned.

Mom’s side of the family had music going for it, but it also had an aunt who went nuts when she was 17. Like me. The age, not the crazy part. Not yet.

I didn’t fit in with Dad’s side of the family, and wasn’t sure I wanted to fit in with Mom’s.
###

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

Teaser Tuesday

Tip of the Day: my friend and critique partner Shana Norris just released another eBook this week called Surfacing. Check out the info about it here.

After spending time working on a variety of books, this is the current one I've been editing lately. Not only is it getting polished...again, it's also getting a new title. But it was formerly named Con Girl. I'm sure you can imaging why :) The new title is a secret (mainly because it keeps changing :) ) Hope you enjoy!

“Whit,” he said, catching me off-guard before I could initiate the plan. “I think we should talk about this. I never meant to hurt you or lie to you.”

He released his arms from me, but the feeling of his touch remained as my skin tingled. I backed up closer to the tree, trying to shoo the feeling away. Knowing he still powered over my thoughts made it harder to curl my arms up and touch the edge of his jacket, but shear will-power forced me to continue on with my plan.

I couldn’t move the light, down-filled coat much, but I did enough that I could feel something heavier in his right pocket like I had suspected.

“It’s water under the bridge,” I answered, turning on the charm and smile. I even made my hair flip out and fall, so it could seductively brush up against his hands. “I was actually coming to apologize to you. I felt bad about the way I treated you at the airport. I realize now you were just doing the job your dad and my parents wanted.”

He touched my hand as I was going lower on the zippered edge of the jacket. “Nice try, Whitney, but you do realize I know who you are, don’t you?” He pulled a set of keys out of his right pocket, pinning me against the tree again with his left hand, and dangled the keys out of my reach. “Fishing for these?”

At the sound of his voice, I got mad for a variety of reasons. First, I couldn’t believe I almost stole something. Even if it was just keys. I had never stolen anything in my life. Sure I’d been given many things under false pretences, but never took something. Even if I was going to give it back. Second, I couldn’t believe I had gotten caught. Preston always fell for the feminine charm. That’s how Tasha and I got him to stock most of the displays for us.

“Actually, you knew Whitney Campbell. Whitney Brown is much more forgiving.” The tree bark felt like nails clawing into my skin as I pushed further into it, but I didn’t care. “Like I said, I just came to apologize to you. Besides, I think it’s best for both of us if we just forget we ever knew each other prior to Copper Town.”

“You want me to forget everything that’s happened in the past two months? Our entire friendship?”

--Emily

Welcome to Teaser Week!

Tip of the Day: Thinking of publishing with a small press? There's never been a better time. Writer Beware has updated information posted about small presses and what you should consider.

This week we'll be posting snippets from our works in progress. This is from smack in the middle of my WIP about a teenage girl on the Moon searching for both her missing boyfriend and her kidnapped brother. She finds shelter in a lunar residence--a mansion owned by a very rich family. She's never been around rich people, she's not sure if she's breaking any laws, and there's a war going on besides, a war in which she has no idea what side her hosts take. The reason I picked this passage was because it proves to me that that book is written on revision. The first draft had her thinking about her confusion. "I might as well have been lost in the desert of Texizona." On revision, I replaced this with action.

... But she has me spooked. Unless we sneak out now without food or directions, we are completely in the power of these strangers. If Corinth connects us to the factory, he might decide we belong there, and I have no idea what the rules are out here.

The glider still must have me motion sick because the floor below us seems adrift. A gilt-edged mirror hangs on the wall across from the bed’s real wood headboard. I unpin my hair, sprinkle it with water, and comb it with my fingers. Carefully, I pull my hair back, pinning up the loose strands over my ears.

I like the idea of my main character fixing her hair to get herself under control rather than fretting in internal dialog. It's a small triumph, but those small triumphs are what makes this crazy writing thing worthwhile.

-- Kate, Miss Perfecting the Pages

Fun Friday: Give Away! THE FIRST TIME

We're doing a giveaway this Fun Friday for the new YA e-anthology, THE FIRST TIME. Details about the book below. Giveaway info here:

All you have to do is comment on this post and we'll randomly pick a winner next Friday! Leave your e-mail address for faster delivery of the book or if you don't want to leave your e-mail, check back next week to see if you're the winner and then contact me: Kristina (at) KristinaSpringer (dot) com.

This books is in e-book format only and I'm sending it to you from Amazon so you need a Kindle (or download the Kindle app for free onto your iPhone or iPad) to read.

Now about the book:

You never forget your first...

In THE FIRST TIME, 25 young adult authors contribute 25 stories all about firsts: first loves, first kisses, first zombie slayings, and more. Featuring New York Times bestselling authors Carrie Ryan and Jessica Verday, plus a host of others. From humor to horror, and everything in between, these stories will make you laugh, cry, cheer, (and maybe even scream) as you experience something brand new from the authors that you love.

Contributing authors include: Cyn Balog, Lauren Bjorkman, Leigh Brescia, Jennifer Brown, Kirstin Cronn-Mills, Janet Gurtler, Teri Hall, Cheryl Renee Herbsman, Stacey Jay, Heidi R. Kling, C. Lee McKenzie, Saundra Mitchell, Jenny Moss, Jackson Pearce, Shani Petroff, Carrie Ryan, Sydney Salter, Kurtis Scaletta, Jon Skovron, Kristina Springer, Rhonda Stapleton, Charity Tahmaseb, Jessica Verday, J. A. Yang, and Lara Zielin

Get it from Amazon

Get it from Barnes & Noble

If you don't have a Kindle, you can still read this eBook on your phone, computer, iPad, e-reader, etc. Just grab the Amazon Kindle app here.

If you prefer the Barnes & Noble Nook app, get it here.

My story is called CART PRINCESS. Let me know what you think of it!

Writer Party!!

Tip of the Day: Anyone going to YALLFest this weekend? They're going to have 26 authors on stage at once competing in storytelling games. Sounds fun!

You guys know I have four kids but you might not know that I'm a crazy overboard themed birthday party planning type of parent. I've thrown all kinds of parties for my kids in the last nine years from a Dora party where I hand-sewed purple backpacks and filled them with the items they'd need to go on an adventure (complete with The Map) through the backyard to a Strawberry Shortcake festival with carnival food, a huge tent, and all the carnival games and prizes you'd ever need to a Scooby Doo party with a mystery to solve ending with a zombie yelling that he would have gotten away with it if it weren't for you meddling kids. Last month I did a super girly tea party for my 7 yr old with an awesome cake. Ok, cake picture has to be added.

And this weekend is the 9 yr olds lego extravaganza party with, of course, lego building, lego board games, lego wii, lego movies, and lego goody bags.

All this party got me thinking, why doesn't anyone throw me a party? Like a WRITER PARTY?

Wouldn't that be fun?! Ok, so for my Writer Party (if you're planning on throwing me one), you have to invite only other writers and promise me that they'll moan and groan with me about all of their writerly problems. And look really sympathetic and nod a lot when I tell them mine. They'll bring me gifts like new USBs, notebooks, books I have to read, and contracts for film deals based on my novels. Oh, and did I mention that everyone HAS to come in their pajamas? Well, they do. And please none of you show offs with your matchy new looking stuff. Sloppy pony tails and no makeup and/or crusty leftover eye makeup from day before is also a must. Decorations will be blown up covers of my favorite books hung all over the walls. Food will consist of chocolate in every form known to mankind, booze, and a fountain of coffee. And for games we can hang up any old bad reviews (ahem, Kirkus) and throw darts at them or play What's the Next Trend? and develop characters like shapeshifting winged turtles with magic shells that can forsee the future. And goody bags. There HAS to be goody bags filled with more chocolate, post-it notes, colored pencils for revisions, and Starbucks gift cards.

Did I miss anything? If not, get to work and I promise to look surprised!

Kristina, Miss Author in Action