Contest Circuit: September 24

Congrats to Meredith Johnson for winning Liz Norris's Unraveling! Meredith, I'll be emailing you soon to get your address and send you the book!

As I'm adjusting to life with my newborn (aka lack of sleep and lots of laundry), my posts have been limited. I also haven't had much time to visit many blogs lately, which I've really missed. Hopefully I'll at least be able to start hopping around the blogosphere soon!

Now for this week's upcoming contests:

Contests, Blog hops, and Giveaways:

Brenda Drake of Brenda Drake Writes...under the influence of coffee still has THREE upcoming contests. Seriously? She's amazing. Novella Pitch to Month9Books on Oct 1; A Super Secret Pitch Contest on Oct 15-19; and Trick or Treat with an Agent on Oct 24.

Deana Barnhart has done a spectacular job of putting together GUTGAA (Gearing Up To Get An Agent). If you haven't checked this out yet, you should. Small Press Pitch Contest Call for Entries is Friday, Sept 28.

Writer Therapy is having a first page contest. Enter your first pages for a chance to win critiques by literary agents Sara Crowe, Molly Ker Hawn, and Nicole Resciniti. Entries must be in by Sept 29.

Jessa Russo is celebrating her book release with Ghosts and the Girls Who Love Them, a flash fiction blog hop and giveaway of amazing prizes including signed books and critiques. Check out the list - it's pretty incredible. Flash fiction entries should be about ghosts and should be between 300-1,000 words. Entries should be posted between Sept 15 and Sept 30.

Miss Snark's First Victim is hosting her third annual Baker's Dozen contest with 13 agents. Enter your first 250 and a log-line. Critique rounds begin Sept 24. The actual contest begins Oct 30.

Harper Voyager, the scifi/fant imprint of HarperCollins will be accepting unagented manuscripts from Oct 1-Oct 14. This isn't a contest, but it's too great an opportunity not to mention.

NA Alley is hosting Editor in the Alley, a pitch contest with Entagled Publishing's Editor Libby Murphy. Include the query and first 250 of your NA manuscript. The submission window will open Oct 3 at 8:00 amEST.

Deanna Romito, Summer Heacock and Kat Ellis are hosting Hook, Line and Sinker. This contest will accept entries in MG, YA and Adult and involves five agents. More details to come. The entry window opens at 11 a.m. EST on Oct 13.

Jamie Corrigan is hosting Spooktacular Pitch Extravaganza. She'll be taking submissions Oct 13-16. On Oct 17, she'll pull 50 names from a hat. Those entries will email her a 3 line pitch and your first 250 for agents Brittany Booker and Jordy Albert of Corvisiero Literary Agency to win your pitches. More details coming Oct 8. (Thanks Xan for pointing this one out to me!)

YATopia and Down Under Wonderings are hosting a YA pitch contest, Get Your Pitch On. Submit your pitch of 50-70 words and editor Marisa Pintado of Hardie Grant Egmont will be judging them on Oct. 15. They are even hosting workshops to prepare for it starting Oct 1.

Sharon Bayliss and Curiosity Quills are hosting The Haunted Writing Clinic and Contest. The blogfest begins Oct 8 with coaching and critiques. It ends Oct 31 with your submissions of queries and first pages to three editors from Curiosity Quills.

Every other Friday, Romantic Friday Writers hosts a flash fiction prompt for writers to respond to. You can sing up via linky and be a permanent part of their blog hop or just participate for fun. Submissions should contain an element of romance and be under 400 words. A list of upcoming prompts can be found here.

Jane Ann McLachlam is hosting the October Memoir and Backstory Blog Challenge. Blog 25 times in one month! Blog every day about a memory or event that took place during each year for the first 25 years of your life. Sign ups start Sept 24.

 

Women on Writing is hosting a flash fiction contest due Nov 30. Open prompt should be 750 words or less. The contest will be judged by agent Jessica Sinsheimer.

Genre Favorites Blogfest and Contest Circuit: Sept 17

This week, my giveaway for Liz Norris's Unraveling ends on Thursday. My birthday is Thursday. What better way to celebrate than by giving away a fabulous book that I loved reading this summer! You can enter my going HERE.

Genre Favorites Blogfest:
Before I get to this week's contests, blog hops and giveaways, I'm participating today in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Blogfest. List your favorite genre of movie, music, books and a guilty pleasure from any of those categories.

Movie: I love action/thriller/drama movies. I love a good intense build up. I love twists and turns that keep me guessing. I love a good fight scene - hold the gore please. However, my action/thriller MUST have good characterization and some type of romance in it. I'm such a sucker for romance.

Music: Coffee House Rock. I'm convinced one of God's greatest creations is Pandora. I love my Damien Rice station. Ironically, I'm a bit burned out on Damien himself, but I love what Pandora offers me as his contemporaries.

Books: Young Adult. In the last few years, I've started reading almost exclusively YA, partly because I'm a middle school English teacher. But also because I've stopped wanting to read books about serious "adult" topics. YA books tend to have an element of hope and naiveté that keep them just a bit more lighthearted. Naturally, I especially love YA with an element of romance to it.

My guilty pleasure: Pretty much any story about young love, which often makes me feel like a literary cougar. I've found myself loving Peeta, Four, even Edward pre-Rob Pattinson. My other guilty pleasure involves whatever genre mash-up makes up Princess Bride, and lately Snow White and the Huntsman.

Contests, Blog Hops and Giveaways:
Krista Van Dolzer is hosting "An Agent's Inbox" with literary agent Victoria Marini. Entries include queries and the first 250 words of your MS. Ms. Marini will select the winners and announce the prizes after reading the entries. Submission window opens on Sept 17 at 1:00 EST.

Brenda Drake of Brenda Drake Writes...under the influence of coffee has worked really hard to put together FOUR upcoming contests. Seriously? She's amazing. Critiques by a Teen Intern on Sept 17; Novella Pitch to Month9Books on Oct 1; A Super Secret Pitch Contest on Oct 15-19; and Trick or Treat with an Agent on Oct 24.

Deana Barnhart has done a spectacular job of putting together GUTGAA (Gearing Up To Get An Agent). If you haven't checked this out yet, you should. Small Press Pitch Contest Call for Entries is Friday, Sept 28.

Karen Wojcik Berner of Bibliophilic Blather is hosting Fright Fest 2012, a flash fiction contest. Entries should be 1,000 words or less. Due Sept 21.

Writer Therapy is having a first page contest. Enter your first pages for a chance to win critiques by literary agents Sara Crowe, Molly Ker Hawn, and Nicole Resciniti. Entries must be in by Sept 29.

Jessa Russo is celebrating her book release with Ghosts and the Girls Who Love Them, a flash fiction blog hop and giveaway of amazing prizes including signed books and critiques. Check out the list - it's pretty incredible. Flash fiction entries should be about ghosts and should be between 300-1,000 words. Entries should be posted between Sept 15 and Sept 30.

Miss Snark's First Victim is hosting her third annual Baker's Dozen contest with 13 agents. Enter your first 250 and a log-line. Critique rounds begin Sept 24. The actual contest begins Oct 30.

Harper Voyager, the scifi/fant imprint of HarperCollins will be accepting unagented manuscripts from Oct 1-Oct 14. This isn't a contest, but it's too great an opportunity not to mention.

Women on Writing is hosting a flash fiction contest due Nov 30. Open prompt should be 750 words or less. The contest will be judged by agent Jessica Sinsheimer.

Contest Circuit: Sept 10

For my entry in the GUTGAA Pitch Polish Blog Hop, please go HERE.

To sign up for my Unraveling Giveaway, go to the bottom of my interview with the lovely Liz Norris HERE.

Contests and Blog Hops:
Deana Barnhart has done a spectacular job of putting together GUTGAA (Gearing Up To Get An Agent). If you haven't checked this out yet, you should. She has contests and workshops scheduled for six weeks. Agent Pitch Contest Call for Entries is Friday, Sept 14. Small Press Pitch Contest Call for Entries is Friday, Sept 28.

Brenda Drake of Brenda Drake Writes...under the influence of coffee has also worked really hard to put together FIVE upcoming contests. Seriously? She's amazing. After the Madness Twitter Pitch Party on Sept 13; Critiques by a Teen Intern on Sept 17; Novella Pitch to Month9Books on Oct 1; A Super Secret Pitch Contest on Oct 15-19; and Trick or Treat with an Agent on Oct 24.

Karen Wojcik Berner of Bibliophilic Blather is hosting Fright Fest 2012, a flash fiction contest. Entries should be 1,000 words or less. Due Sept 21.

Women on Writing is hosting a flash fiction contest due Nov 30. Open prompt should be 750 words or less. The contest will be judged by agent Jessica Sinsheimer.

Writer's Digest is hosting a contest for YA fiction of 4,000 words or less. $500 cash prize and promotion in an upcoming Writer's Digest issue among other prizes. Due Sept 14.

Jessa Russo is celebrating her book release with Ghosts and the Girls Who Love Them, a flash fiction blog hop and giveaway of amazing prizes including signed books and critiques. Check out the list - it's pretty incredible. Flash fiction entries should be about ghosts and should be between 300-1,000 words. Sign-ups for the blog hop are until Sept 15.

Laura Eno, M. Pax, Brinda Berry, and Ciara Knight are hosting "What's Your Chocolate" Blogfest. Post about your favorite chocolate - what it means by you, where and when you indulge, a favorite memory - anything chocolate-related. Sept 10. 

Alex J Cavanaugh will be hosting Genre Favorites Blogfest on Sept 17. List your favorite genre of Movie, Music, Books and a guilty pleasure from any of those categories.

GUTGAA Pitch Polish Blog Hop

For GUTGAA, I'm participating in the Pitch Polish Blog Hop. Below are my query and first 150 words of me MS. Feedback is welcome! *grits teeth, bites nails, smiles sheepishly*

Title: THE BEAUTY OF DESTRUCTION
Genre: YA thriller with paranormal elements
Word Count: 102,000

QUERY:
The easiest way for fifteen-year-old Mia to cope with her own vicious murder is to forget about it.

When she wakes up in Afterlife, Mia’s blocked out everything – her death, her friends, her family, even her real name. All she knows is that she’s too young to be dead, and she absolutely hates Afterlife’s suffocating serenity.

Mia will do anything to escape it – even serve as Guardian to the lip-glossed and venomous Valerie Wittier. Unseen and unheard, Mia must prevent Valerie from making fatal errors that, if not amended, will lead to the school shooting that kills six freshmen. But though Valerie holds the power to prevent – not cause – others to die, she’s too selfish and headstrong to care.

Feeling helpless and incompetent, Mia watches the week spin out of control in a kaleidoscope of rumors, fights, rivalry, and romance. She tries to redirect Valerie and save those in jeopardy of dying, but seems continually distracted by Valerie’s best friend, Grace Hewitt, aka Miss Perpetual Bystander. It’s Grace’s ambivalence towards wrongdoing (and blatant denial about her feelings for the reckless Will Pendergrass, who clearly adores her) that infuriates Mia to the point of obsession. By the time Mia realizes she’s presiding over the last week of her life, it may be too late to save everyone involved.

THE BEAUTY OF DESTRUCTION is a YA thriller with paranormal elements that holds enough unexpected twists to prove that first impressions are often deceitful, especially in high school. In the vein of THE LOVELY BONES meets NINETEEN MINUTES, it is complete at 102,000 words.

FIRST 150:

My Awakening

I was falling, tossed through the sky like a shirt in a dryer. Hair whipped across my face. My arms and legs flailed around, spinning me in circles. I couldn’t tell which way up or down, but I knew I was dying. I remembered once hearing that when you fell in a dream, you never hit the ground. If you did, you’d die. The thought made my chest constrict so tightly I wondered if my life was squeezing out of me, preparing me for a giant splat of my body against the pavement. A small part of me clung to the hope that I’d never stop falling – that I’d go on like this forever. But, of course, that didn’t happen.

I stopped with a jerk like I’d been riding some rusted carny ride and found myself standing with my eyes tightly closed. I was pretty certain that my bones weren’t broken. My guts weren’t splayed across an empty sidewalk. But I didn’t exactly feel good or safe. I felt like I was waiting, hanging in that moment of uncertainty where nothing had been confirmed... 

Bloh Hop: Fact vs Fiction - The Reveal

Thank you so much to our lovely hostesses Melodie Wright and Emily King. This blog hop was so much fun. I really enjoyed reading everyone's stories and wish I could have made it to all of them! So sorry to those I didn't visit!

Fact: I married the hot groomsman I met at a wedding. Only 3% of couples can claim that.
Fiction: I gave birth to my second son on his due date after having my first child at 32 weeks. (Only 5% of babies are born on their due date) Baby Boy #2 was born 22 min before his due date. Everything else about that story was true.

What I didn't tell you was that Baby Boy #2 was born on the day my grandmother, his namesake, passed away. My grandfather that I'd mentioned in the story passed away shortly after I found out I was pregnant. At about 8 months pregnant, we found out my grandmother (different side) had cancer. We thought she'd have several months. But on August 14, she died suddenly, luckily before the cancer could cause much pain. Like with my grandfather, I sobbed for most of the morning. Then half way through the day, I knew with absolute certainty that I would go into labor that day and everything would be fine. (I'm a big gut-instinct person if you can't tell).

My pregnancy had been high risk for a million different reasons, and my husband and I were no strangers to the difficulties of labor. We almost lost my first son during labor. For me to go into labor on August 14 feeling confident that everything would be okay was a wonderful blessing - something I'm sure my grandmother had a hand in. My labor was complicated and got dicey towards the end, but both baby and I are safe, happy, thriving and enjoying the miracle of life.

First picture taken 3 hours before Baby Boy #2 was born. Second picture taken 2 days after birth.

Blog Hop: Fact vs Fiction Post #2

Once again, I’m double booked. Eeks! Today I have IWSG and the Fact or Fiction blog hop. Unfortunately, I didn’t get my IWSG post done, so I’ll meet you all back for that in October where my post will most certainly discuss why I must train myself to be exactly like Tina Fey.

Recap: on Monday, I shared that I was a statistical anomaly because I married the hot groomsman I met at a wedding – something only 3% of married couples can claim.

Today, I’ll share how I’m once again a statistical anomaly because I gave birth to Baby Boy #2 on his actual due date. Less than 5% of babies can claim that.

Statistical Anomaly Post #2: Fact or Fiction?

My hubby, aka the “hot groomsman,” and I eventually decided to start a family. Though it took longer than expected to get pregnant, we were eventually blessed with a 4lb beautiful baby boy born at 32 weeks gestation. After a rough start to life, our adorable, little fighter soon began to thrive, and we discussed having another child. Only this time getting pregnant took longer. We saw a specialist who unexpectedly told me I had a less than 10% chance of ever getting pregnant again. According to him, it was a near miracle that I’d been pregnant once already. He promised to do whatever he could to get me pregnant again, but didn’t want to give me false hope. Naturally, I was devastated and we prepared for a long, bumpy, emotional road ahead.

A week and a half later, my grandfather, called his seven sons and daughters to tell them he was dying. He just “felt” it. He told them it wouldn’t be that night, but it would be soon. When I heard the news, I cried for the 682^nd time that week and was emotionally drained, spent, done. But at the end of that evening, for whatever reason, I knew I was pregnant – just like my grandfather knew he was about to die. There was absolutely no reason I should’ve been pregnant. I’d just had a specialist tell me it was near impossible for me to get pregnant again. Yet my gut told me, by some miracle, I was. Sure enough, the following week I discovered I was pregnant with Baby Boy #2.

Like Baby Boy #1, I had a million different statistics thrown at me about everything that could go wrong in my pregnancy – none of which ended up affecting my pregnancy. My biggest concern became having another preemie. My due date was in August, something we never expected to see. Yet, June came and went. July came and went. August came around, and I didn’t know what to do with myself. I was fat, exhausted, not sleeping at night, and thrilled to be so pregnant.

I had strong labor-like Braxton Hicks for five weeks leading up to pregnancy, but didn’t go into labor until the night before my due date with Baby Boy #2 safely delivered the next day. We’d become a statistical minority yet again – especially crazy considering we’d anticipated another preemie baby in June.

So, fact vs fiction: 

Did I meet my hubby choose me over the pageant queen in a love at first sight whirlwind encounter at a wedding? Less than 3% chance of this being true…probably way less than that if you factor in the pageant queen part…

Or did I get pregnant with a less than 10% chance and have a beautiful baby boy on his actual due date? Less than 5% chance of this being true….

I know….mind blowing…so hard for you to decide…did I mention I suck at this game because I’m not the crazy, cool, adventurous type? Thank God I have statistics to make me totally unpredictable… 

GUTGAA, Fact or Fiction, a Few Contests and a Giveaway!

Today, I'm participating in two blog hops: Deana Barnhart's Meet and Greet for GUTGAA and Melodie Wright and Emily King's What I Did Last Summer Fact or Fiction Blog Hop. After that, I have a few contests worth mentioning and my own giveaway for Liz Norris's Unraveling.

The only thing that could make this post any more fun is if sometime today I can hook three more followers to get 200 followers. That would be kind of cool. ;)

GUTGAA Meet and Greet:
For this, Deana asked a series of questions for us to answer on our blogs this morning. (If you don't have an agent, I highly recommend checking out this six week mania of workshops and contests that she's worked so hard to put together.)

Where do you write?
The best spot in my house for me to zone out is my bedroom. I typically sit cross legged on my bed and write there. 

Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down, and look to your left. What is the first thing you see?
Feel free to stop reading this response right now, because I'm about to be totally honest. A huge jug of water, a bottle of IBProfin, and a breast pump. Sorry - I just had my second son three weeks ago. Those three items about some up my day to day life right now.

Favorite time to write?
Nap time. And any other time I can squeeze in during the day.

Drink of choice while writing?
Water. Lots and lots and lots of water. Of course lately I've been on a huge Sprite Zero kick.

When writing, do you listen to music or do you write in complete silence?
Complete silence. I need it to concentrate. However, when I'm brainstorming, usually in the car on the way to and from work, I have a writing mix I must listen to. 

What was your inspiration for your latest manuscript and where did you find it?
My inspiration for my manuscript is wrapped up in its theme: that everyone has both a good side and a bad side to them. Wonderful people have horrible, ugly sides to them and detestable people have beautiful sides to them. This is something I experience teaching 7th grade English on a daily basis. 

What I Did Last Summer: Fact or Fiction? 
The point of this hop is to write two stories one of which is true and one of which is made up. The story should be about something that happened one summer. It doesn't have to be this past summer. Then, participants will hop around and vote "fact" or "fiction" in the comments section for coveted prizes.

First, my disclaimer: I have always sucked at this game. Part of that is due to the fact that I’m not the crazy, cool adventurous type. I have nothing in my bag of tricks that is so mind blowing I could fool you all into thinking that it’s made up. Because of it, I’ve toiled over what I could possibly write for this. What I realized is that while I’m not outrageously unpredictable, I am a statistical anomaly.

Statistical Anomaly Post #1: Fact or Fiction?

Back in my twenties, weddings were the greatest way to spend a weekend night out. Free food, free drinks, and plenty of beautiful single people dressed up and on the prowl – kind of like college all over again. During that time of my life when there seemed to be a wedding every month, I met a handful of lovely looking men. Sadly, though I’m sure many of them were true gems, nothing ever came of those “relationships.” The drunken haze would clear and Prince Charming would turn into a total douchebag. Or, Man of the Evening would live in one state; I would live twenty states away. While I actually did try to make a couple of them work, those promising happily-ever-afters never lasted. (Let me assure you these encounters were totally innocent. Remember when I said I’m not the crazy, cool, adventurous type? That part is complete fact.)

When my best friend got married, however, I met my exception. On the night of her rehearsal, the bridesmaids and groomsmen met for the first time. I couldn’t stop looking at one groomsman with dark hair and dark eyes. Luckily, he didn’t stop looking at me. (And that group was full of beautiful single people. Seriously. One of the bridesmaids was a pageant queen – talk about hard to compete with.) But, for whatever reason, be it fate, gut instinct, or love at first sight, we sought each other out. Despite the fact we lived several states apart, we left the weekend festivities with emails exchanged and the promise of “if you’re ever in town.” Eight months, a couple dozens visits and several hundred emails and phone calls later, I quit my job, sold my condo, and moved to Chicago to be near family, friends, and the hot groomsman I’d met at my best friend’s wedding. Two years after that, I married the hot groomsman. And six years, two kids and one dog after that, I find myself more madly in love with the hot groomsman than ever.

 

What makes this a statistical anomaly? Not the love at first sight part, or defeating the long-distance relationship part, but the fact that we met at a wedding. Less than 3% of all married couples result from people who meet at weddings making me one reason I am a statistical anomaly.





Last, but not least, a few CONTESTS worth mentioning! I promise my lists will be extensive again once I start getting just a bit more sleep at night. Baby Boy #2 and I are working on that. ;)

Brenda Drake is hosting Pitch Madness. The last submission window opens Sept 4. Brenda Drake will also be hosting The Teenage Nitpick - 10 first page critiques. Sign ups start Sept 17. 

Writer's Digest is sponsoring a YA fiction contest for manuscripts of 4,000 words or less. $500 cash prize and promotion in an upcoming Writer's Digest issue among other prizes. Deadline is Sept 14.

Chuck Sambuchino is hosting another "Dear Lucky Agent" contest for mysteries - adult or YA. Deadline is Sept 15. 

Cupid's Literary Connection is hosting "Come and Get It," a contest with several judges and agents. Two submission windows on Sept 4 and Sept 7.

Finally, go HERE for my interview with the fabulous Liz Norris and a chance to win UNRAVELING! Giveaway ends Sept 20.