One Month Anniversary Contest for AWYSI

Any Way You Slice It has been out for about a month, and I’m so excited about the response it’s been getting!

One of my favorites is from a reader on goodreads.com. She says, “There is just so much to love about this book. A female trying to make it in a man's sport always excites me. She goes after what she loves, even if her parents don't agree. Penelope wants to play hockey instead of following in her father's footsteps of slinging pizzas but her parents have a different idea. This book has all the elements of a great book. A good plotline, great characters, A strong female lead and a romantic arc!”

To celebrate a month of being out in the world, I’m holding a selfie contest! Here’s how you can play…

1. Take a #selfie eating pizza OR playing hockey OR holding your favorite e-reader with the cover of AWYSI showing. Any combination of the three earns you more points!
2. Post your picture on FB or Twitter with the hashtag #AWYSI and, this is important, you MUST tag me so I’ll see it! I’ll copy all the pics to my Pinterest page, so everyone can see them. 
3. That’s it!

I have four amazing celebrity judges who will help decide the winners.

• Jen Brooks (author of In A World Just Right)
• K. R. Conway (author of Undertow and Cruel Summer)
• Trisha Leaver (author of Secrets We Keep, Creed, and the forthcoming Sweet Madness)
• Jen Malone (author of At Your Service, and Map to the Stars)

The Judges will vote on their favorites, basing the winning entries on creativity, and personal preference. I will make the final decisions, with their input.

Prizes: free Query Critique from @QueryGodMother (value $20), $15 Gift card for Papa Ginos, $10 Amazon Gift Card, Digital copy of Any Way You Slice It. 

Thanks for helping me celebrate! I can't wait to see your selfies! Say “bacon pizza!”

Cover Reveal for The One Thing by Marci Lyn Curtis

I can't tell you how thrilled I am to be a part of Marci Lyn Curtis's cover reveal for THE ONE THING. First of all, she is one of the sweetest authors I know, and second of all, her book absolutely rocks. I had a chance to read a pre-copy edited version and I absolutely fell in love with Marci's characters. I can guarantee this is one to put on your TBR and most anticipated list!

Without further ado, here's the cover--isn't it gorgeous!!

BLURB: 

A soaring tale of life and love, of sacrifice and renewal, and learning to see people as they really are.

Maggie Sanders might be blind, but she won't invite anyone to her pity party. Ever since losing her sight six months ago, Maggie's rebellious streak has taken on a life of its own, culminating with an elaborate school prank. Maggie called it genius. The judge called it illegal.

Now Maggie has a probation officer. But she isn't interested in rehabilitation, not when she's still mourning the loss of her professional soccer dreams, and furious at her so-called friends, who lost interest in her as soon as she could no longer lead the team to victory.

When Maggie first meets Ben, she thinks she can add crazy to her list of problems. But the precocious ten-year-old isn't a hallucination. Maggie can actually see him. She immediately befriends the kid, desperate for any chance to see again.

It turns out Ben's older brother is Mason Milton, the the ridiculously hot lead singer of Maggie's new favorite band. Music is the first thing that has made Maggie feel alive since losing her sight. But when she learns the real reason she can see Ben, Maggie must find the courage to face a once-unimaginable future...before she loses everything she has grown to love.

About the Author:

Marci Curtis grew up in Northern California, where she went to college and met an amazing guy in a military uniform. Two college-aged kids and one dachshund later, she lives in Maryland, where she laughs too loudly and eats peanut butter off spoons. Her YA contemporary debut, The One Thing, comes out September 8^th, 2015 via Disney-Hyperion. Learn more about her at Marcilyncurtis.com.

Website: http://marcilyncurtis.com/ 

Goodreads): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18369372-the-one-thing

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Marci_Curtis

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marcilyncurtis

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/marcilyncurtis/the-one-thing/

My YA Life: A Revision Meme

This meme started as an experiment on January 8, 2014 by Kristine Carlson Asselin. The idea is to tell an anecdote from your own young adulthood—and how you would revise the true story if it were a novel. Something true – good or bad – that harkens back to the days when you were the star in your own YA. It can be written however the author wants—no rules, except to include how you would revise the actual event.

Tag five friends to write about their own. Here’s my first entry. If you tweet about it, please use the hashtag #MyYALife. And feel free to tag me, and I'll RT! @KristineAsselin

I’m tagging Laura Pauling, Lisa Maxwell, Jenny Kaczorowski, Christine Duval, and Trisha Leaver.

***

The arctic blast, polar vortex, whatever-you-want-to-call-the-damn-cold-weather reminds me of his eyes to this day. They were ice blue and even though he looked straight through me every single day—not once really seeing me--one glance and my heart fluttered. My knees went weak. My throat constricted. I had it bad. Crush, Obsession, Lust.  My feelings ran deep.

His voice was a dusky, baritone. It didn’t really mesh with the blonde hair, blue-eyed, slight build. But it was sexy, so it didn’t matter. I probably said less than a dozen words to him after Freshman year. It didn’t keep me from thinking…no, knowing…that he was my soul mate. My one true love. The one for whom I should save myself.

I even named a certain type of weather after him. You know, the bright blue sunshiny day when from your living room looks perfect? But when you go outside the cold takes your breath away and you have to gasp to breathe.

Just like today, in fact. Today is a Jason Day

If I could revise #MyYALife, I’d make the MC bolder. More confident. Able to speak to the object of her affection. Or better yet, I’d make her realize he wasn’t worthy of her affection. I’d make her look again at the sophomore who watched her shyly all during Junior year, and whom she blatantly ignored. I’d make her shake her dream world and live in reality—whether or not her heart got broken—I’d have my heroine take a risk, rather than waste so much time dreaming about someone who was never going to be the right one.

More Kissing in the Rain

Clearly, we like kissing scenes. :)

My post popular post on this blog is called Kissing in the Rain, from Valentine's Day, 2012. It gets about 50 hits a week, presumably from Google searches. The excerpt is from my YA novel THE SWEET SPOT, which is under revision with my agent.

Soooo, I thought you might like the following excerpt, from "Stella's Hero," a short story in TIMELESS: AN ANTHOLOGY OF YOUNG ADULT ROMANCE (from Pugalicious Press) written by me and my writing partner, Ansha Kotyk. It's also a kissing-in-the-rain scene. Enjoy!

 ***

She would never see Jie again. She would never see his smile or touch his beautiful face. Knowing these things made her steps even heavier. For a brief moment, she thought about walking to the waterfront. It would be easy in this weather to just keep walking. Into the harbor. No one would miss her. All the pain would be gone. Her dress, heavy and wet, would help her sink into oblivion. She began to cry tears of frustration, anger and remorse. Someone grabbed her arm from behind.

Fear gripped her heart. She wrenched free and ran as fast as she could in her sopping skirts.

“Stella!” Jie's voice. Desperate and hoarse.

She stopped but couldn't turn around. A million emotions coursed through her. Relief. Joy. Anger.

His warm hand rested on her shoulder as he turned her to face him.“Stella.” He was out of breath, but he looked determined. “I couldn’t live without...”

She searched his eyes. He leaned toward her and kissed her softly on the lips. An explosion of emotion seared her brain as she pressed her body against his.

He pulled away. “You understand what this would mean?” His eyes met hers, asking her.

“Sometimes you have to give up comfortable living for your dreams,” she said, putting her arms around his neck and pulling him close. She kissed him again, his arms closing around her waist. Nothing in this world was going to take him away from her again. She wouldn’t let anyone tell her this wasn’t right.

And when the kiss ended and the rain fell between them, Jie held her hand tightly. “My whole neighborhood will know about this in an hour’s time. There is no going back. Are you sure this is what you want, Stella Thompson?”

She nodded. “Always. This is what I’ve always wanted. I just didn’t know it until now.” 

***

You can read the whole piece and six other short stories in TIMELESS: AN ANTHOLOGY OF YOUNG ADULT ROMANCE.  Available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Write with Purpose

I'm one of the leaders of a fifteen-girl Girl Scout troop. We often tell our girls to 'walk with purpose' when we're going somewhere. Head held high, shoulders back, striding forward.

When you walk with purpose, you show the world you mean business. You look people in the eye. You exude confidence. And that's important in today's world.

Do you write with purpose? Do you use words that are strong? Or do you write like a wet noodle using words like was, like, and start.

He started to walk across the street. He was walking across the street.

No. He either walked or he didn't walk.

He walked across the street. Maybe he walked across the street dragging his backpack. Or maybe he dragged his feet as he walked across the street. Or maybe he strolled, or strutted, or marched. Maybe he crawled. Maybe he shouted a curse word as he stumbled into the street. Think about the words you use, and use the ones with purpose. Use the ones that show the emotion of the character.

Every word you use should have purpose. Head held high. Shoulders back. Fingers on keyboard.

Write with Purpose. Using words that are strong. Words that mean something. Words that show your story in living color in black and white on the page.

Point of View

After reading this great post--here--on point of view on the SF Signal blog, I wanted to blog about it myself.

This is a great article describing the three different points (first, second, third) of view in writing: http://suite101.com/article/points-of-view-a24900

I've just finished a complete rewrite of my WIP, taking it from third person past tense, to first person present tense. While the plot remained basically the same, the POV shift required me to touch every sentence.

When I started the story, I couldn't write it in first person. It was too close to my personal experience. Too personal. Too much inside my own head. I was so afraid it would be too much like baring my soul.

But you know what? The story really needed to be told in first. And once I had the story out of my head in third person, I realized I could write it in first.

And I didn't realize it until I started this rewrite. I'd dragged my feet until it was absolutely clear. Staring me in the face. Kate needed to tell her own story.

To my surprise, it also came out in present tense. That part wasn't my intention, and I'm less confident about it. But sometimes you have to go with what your gut is telling you to do. I hope I've been able to make the story more immediate. More relevant.

How do you know? You don't always. I got my agent with the story written in third. I know plenty of people who've revised to first after getting an agent or contract on a book written in third.

Write the story the way it comes out of you. You can always revise. And while it IS daunting to stare down a 75K word rewrite, you do it one word, one sentence at a time. Until you're done.

What POV do you like to write in?

Timeless: Interview with Kip Wilson

Timeless, an anthology of young adult love stories, is now available as an ebook. The story “Stella’s Hero” that I co-wrote with Ansha Kotyk is included in this wonderful anthology of great love stories.






Today, I have the extreme pleasure of interviewing Kip Wilson, author of “And the Nightingale Sings,” the second short story in Timeless: An Anthology of Young Adult Romance from Pugalicious Press. Kip and I first met through the Verla Kay Blue Boards, and then realized we live in the same state. We’ve met at Meet Ups and Conferences, and I’m so proud to call Kip one of my writer buddies. It makes me even more excited to be a part of Timeless with her, and to share her story with my readers.

Kip’s wonderful story is based on a medieval poem. For the second part of this profile, Ansha Kotyk (my writing partner for Stella’s Hero) asked Kip about how the poem inspired her story. 

Comment on this post and tell us why you love YA romance to have a chance to win an electronic version of Timeless. (Tell us if you prefer, Kindle, Nook, or a .pdf version.)

Without further ado...

Kris: You’ve recently published your first YA short story in the Pugalicious Press Anthology Timeless. What made you decide to submit your story to PP?

Kip: Yes—I’m so excited about the anthology! I saw the call for submissions on twitter and knew immediately that I wanted to write a story for the anthology because it combined three of my favorite things to write: YA, historical fiction, and romance.

(Kris: you can follow Kip at @kiperoo!)

Kris: What made you start to write seriously?

Kip: When I finished my doctoral dissertation after working on it for two years, I didn’t quite know what to do with my “free time.” The first thing I wrote was a musical with a musician/director in Austria—where the play was produced—and then I began to write fiction and non-fiction for kids.

      

Kris: A musical with a director in Austria? That is so cool and deserves a follow up question! Can you tell us more about how that worked? Where you met and how/when it was produced?

Kip: The musical was a lot of fun. It was called A Midsummer Nightclub and was basically a modern twist on A Midsummer Night's Dream (in a nightclub instead of a forest, and the magic was delivered in the form of a drugged drink). My partner was the high school music teacher at the same school in Austria where I taught English on a Fulbright, and the production was put on for and by young adults, with the actors and stage designers a combination of high school and college students. We did all original music for the show as well (I did the lyrics). Working on this right after my dissertation definitely got my creative juices flowing!

Kris: It sounds amazing! What about now? Do you have a current work-in-progress? Can you tell us about it?

Kip: I have a few works-in-progress! I’m currently querying a WWI-era historical for young adults about the ballerina who inspired Rainer Maria Rilke to write his Sonnets to Orpheus. My in-progress drafts include an Icelandic Sci-Fi adventure and a thriller set in modern-day Germany. Both of these are for young adults as well.

Kris: Those sound amazing, Kip. Where do you find your inspiration?

Kip: For most of my work, I have to admit that I’m inspired by the great works of German Literature I studied for my Ph.D. My story for the Timeless anthology has its roots in German poetry as well, since it was based on a poem by the medieval troubadour Walther von der Vogelweide. See my interview on Ansha Kotyk’s blog for more details about the poem!

Kris: Are you a full-time writer? What is your non-writing life like?

Kip: Right now I juggle writing with raising my small twins, and it works really well. I used to work crazy hours as a project manager in the software industry, so I feel lucky to have the freedom to be able to divide my time this way instead of just collapsing at the end of the day.

Kris: I think many of us can relate to juggling our writing with our families. Besides being a fantastic juggler, what is your biggest challenge with your writing?

Kip: Patience. I depend a lot on my wonderful critique partners to catch things that aren’t working in what I write, but I’ve also come to realize that I need to set my manuscripts aside for as long as humanly possible to be able to come back to them with fresh eyes and make them shine. I am not a patient person, so this isn’t a lot of fun. A trick I discovered recently is to work on more than one manuscript at a time so I always have something that needs my attention.

      

Kris: Ah yes, the art of patience. We all have to learn to do that—great advice to use your waiting time by working on other things! What are your favorite books?

Kip: My favorite all-time YA books are The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff, and The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson.  Favorite recent reads are Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma and The Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. I definitely have fairly literary taste, so for fans of literary YA, these are all great books to read.

      

Kris: Nice book recommendations! I admit I haven’t read any of those, but they just went on my TBR pile. Lastly, just for fun, do you have a favorite “guilty pleasure” you want to share?

Kip: Most of my pleasures aren’t that guilty! I love reading, traveling, and eating foodgasmic meals. I guess the only thing I love that’s a little naughty is a good beer. I’ve dabbled as a homebrewer and really appreciate a good stout or IPA.

Kris. My new favorite word is foodgasmic. J What did I miss? Anything else you’d like to share?

Kip: I hope everyone loves the anthology!

Thank you so much, Kip, for answering my questions! I loved your story, and I’m so proud to be a part of the book with you! To my readers: if you love YA romance or YA historical fiction, I really think you’ll love the stories in Timeless. They cover an interest range of eras as well as genres. And for under $4.00, you get 7 great short stories.

Visit Kip Wilson's Blog

Timeless is currently available through all major outlets as an ebook.  Look for more blog interviews with the authors from the anthology in the coming weeks.Click here for Ansha Kotyk’s discussionwith Kip about the poem that inspired “And the Nightingale Sings”

Available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Love stories that transcend time. From a thousand years ago to the unknown future, Timeless will show how love is timeless. This anthology of love stories contains “The Storyteller’s Daughter” by Gayle C. Krause, “And The Nightingale Sang” by Kip Wilson, “A Light Of Victory” by Jennifer Carson, “The Angel Of The Bastille” by J.R. Sparlin, “Stella’s Hero” by Kristine Carlson Asselin & Ansha Kotyk, “In This Moment” by D. E. Atwood, and “It Lies Beneath” by Magda Knight.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Timeless, post a comment below and we’ll choose a random winner.  Good Luck!

O is for Outlining

I cringe when I hear this word. It's not my favorite part of writing.

It's a necessary part of my contract work. Every work-for-hire assignment requires an outline, just to make sure your vision and your editor's vision are in the same stratosphere.

I've recently done a bit more outlining for fiction. I just completed my most comprehensive outline for a novel ever. Literally, at least one (more often two) paragraphs about each chapter. It's almost 10 pages long. This is a feat for me, even though for some of you plotters it may not sound like a big deal.

I'm hoping this will make for an easy road map for my rewrite. Yes, I'm rewriting my novel. Hopefully it won't take five years. I'm aiming for mid-summer. And I hope my outline will help.

Do you outline?

H is for Horizontal

But not the way you think...

We've been talking about writing dangerously, and while I'm not ready to go THERE yet with my characters, I did throw them in some mud.

Literally. Well...Literarally, anyway.

They've got a golf cart stuck in a mud pit on a golf course. And one of them falls in. And the other one tries to help...And chaos ensues...and maybe a little stirring of something something...

And I haven't been so excited about a scene in a long time.

What curve balls have you thrown at your characters lately?

F is for Fantasy

Growing up, some of my favorite books were fantasy. The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle and The Sword of Shanara by Terry Brooks were two I loved. Also, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle.

Does fantasy exist today in YA? Has it split into paranormal, dystopian, and time travel? I feel like fantasy is alive and well in Middle Grade, but not as much in YA.  Or am I completely off base?

What are your favorite current fantasy books?

Write Dangerously

My crit partner, Laura Pauling, coined this phrase recently (she's awesome, go read her blog and then come back...I'll wait...)

Ok. So if you know me at all, you know I don't do anything dangerously. I look both ways. I drive the speed limit (more or less), I don't drink to excess, I avoid the thrill rides.

But Writing Dangerously. Hmmm. What does that mean? Here's what I think it means...

Taking chances with your writing. Writing outside the box. Changing characters personalities. Eliminating characters. Cutting out stuff you love. Killing the darlings. To make it better. Stronger.

I heard Cynthia Leitich Smith speak once--and she talked about writing the first draft of her whole novel. And then deleting the whole thing (yes, on purpose) and starting over again when she knew her characters better. Now that's writing dangerously.

I still don't think I could do that. I have to save the previous, oh, twenty or so drafts. But I did start writing on a clean, white page yesterday. Writing in first person. And trying to write my MC a little less naive. A little stronger. Same story, slightly different twist.

I'm only 1000 words in. And who knows how much of it I'll keep. But I'm trying. Not that I'm riding the roller coaster any time soon, but who knows?

Diving in again...

So I'm diving back into my YA novel...yeah, the same one. I love it. I'm committed to it. I'm ready to revise again to make it the best it can be. I really want you all to have the chance to meet Kate and Scott and the gang.

I've revised the first chapter. It starts in a different place. I'm eliminated a main character (boy, was THAT hard) and I'm re-envisioning many scenes. Trying to up the tension, make the supporting characters more real, and make the plot more seamless, rather than split into three sections.

I'm in the middle of chapter two. I've got a long way to go. But it feels good. Wish me luck.

Gay Parents in YA Lit

In August 2011, Jonathan Arnston and I were debating the lack of gay families represented in Kid Lit. 

We did some research, read some books, and sponsored a series on our blogs. (Click on my link at the top of my banner for the series from last summer).

This year, we’re doing it again. Bigger, Better, and More Organized. We’d also like to focus it exclusively on YA. And we’d love to include our favorite bloggers and writers.

Interested? 

Can you commit to reading at least one YA book featuring (in some fashion) a gay parent or guardian? We’d love the book to have been published in the last five years.

Can you commit to a post (or two or three) in May 2012?

If you want to participate, leave your name and contact information below and one of us will get back to you with details.