My Book Deal Announced: THE SWEET SPOT

I've signed with Meredith Rich of Bloomsbury Spark for my YA novel, THE SWEET SPOT!!!

I have been holding onto this news for weeks. I'm still pinching myself that it's actually real. Here's a screen shot on Publisher's Marketplace from yesterday that proves it's real (September 9, 2013):

Here's the text, if you can't read that tiny print.

Kristine Carlson Asselin's THE SWEET SPOT, in which it is hard enough being a sporty girl in a guy's world without having to figure out who wants to destroy her family business, especially when it could mean accusing her best friend… and secret crush, to Meredith Rich of Bloomsbury Spark by Kathleen Rushall of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.

***
SQUEE!!!!

Some of you may remember reading excerpts of this YA manuscript on WriteOnCon, or years ago when it was a short story on Critique Circle. There have been various versions of the MS, and some of my fabulous friends have read multiple versions (I'm looking at you, Laura Pauling, Natasha Sass, and Jennifer Carson). Thank you to all of you who provided critique or insight!

I want to thank my amazing agent Kathleen Rushall of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency for working out the details of the contract. I'm so thankful to Meredith Rich for falling in love with a twitter pitch, and then the novel. And thanks to Brenda Drake and her team for #Pitmad this past May--Meredith favorited my pitch and the rest is history.

Actual tweet favorited by Meredith from #PitMad: A near-miss kiss from Scott, Dad hires a hot new Brit & SOMEONE torches the 8th green. How can Kate focus on her golf game? #YA #pitmad

I looked back in my archives. The very first words of this story were written from a kernel of an idea in August 2006. I've learned a ton from reworking the words over the last seven years. Some day I'll post those early words as an interesting comparison.

In the meantime, I'm ecstatic about working with Meredith to polish up the novel. And I really can't wait to share THE SWEET SPOT with the world. I'm dying for you to know and love Kate and Scott, like I do.

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.

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?

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?

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?

Kissing in the Rain: Happy Valentine's Day

I didn't participate in the That's YAmore blogfest, so my blurb is 313 words, not 250. But I really wanted to post a kissing scene from my work-in-revision novel THE SWEET SPOT on Valentine's Day. Especially since this particular kissing scene might get cut. Not sure yet, but it's a possibility.

Anyway, Kate's just been left in a parking lot a few miles from home by another boy. Scott's been following her in his car after telling her hours before he just wants to be friends. And then it starts to rain.

***

A little rain never hurt anyone.

But the next step squelched and she sank up to her ankle in mud. She stretched out both arms to catch her balance. Cringing, she pulled her foot out with effort. Pink Chuck Taylors covered in thick mud.

Everything from the last three days crashed down. Covering her eyes, Kate screamed. Screamed in guilt for blaming Giles. Screamed in despair for losing the golf course. Screamed in heartbreak for losing Scott.

He splashed through the puddle behind her, and the next thing she knew, his arms were around her and he pulled her close. “Sshh,” he crooned. “It's okay.”

His shirt was soaked, but she leaned into him. She wasn’t sure if it was him or the lilacs, but the world suddenly felt safer.

He pushed a strand of wet hair away from her face. Trying to catch her breath, a sob caught in her throat and she shuddered. She covered her mouth with her hand.

Gently, Scott pulled her hand away and cupped her face in both hands. His eyes were bright, his lips parted. He stared at her. It looked like he was weighing the risks.

Her heart in her throat, she met his gaze. His turquoise eyes flickered as though he wasn’t sure of his next move.

This is the last chance. There won’t be another one.

She laced her fingers behind his head and pulled him down just enough for their lips to touch. His were smooth and soft.

The sweet spot.

He pushed back with just a little pressure. Tentative at first, like he was afraid she’d break if he kissed her too hard. And then his arms were around her waist and he crushed her tightly, like he was afraid she’d vanish if he ever let go.  

A lifetime passed. Or a couple of minutes. She never wanted it to end.

picture credit: http://www.layoutsparks.com/1/78934/kiss-in-the-rain-3.html

 Don't you just love this picture? It's totally Kate and Scott.

***

Update: If you like kissing scenes, you might like TIMELESS: AN ANTHOLOGY OF YOUNG ADULT ROMANCE. Available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. My writing partner, Ansha Kotyk and I contributed "Stella's Hero" to TIMELESS. And there's a kissing-in-the-rain scene in that story as well. Read an excerpt here: Stella's Kiss.

Golf Tip Tuesday: What To Wear

One of the things Kate, my main character, struggles with is what to wear when she's playing golf. She wants to look good (you know, good) for her crush. Unfortunately there's a lot of twisting and bending in golf. And she forgets to do the bend-over test before a big tournament. Yeah. Not good.

Dress code is important in golf. I remember being in a KFC with my husband a few years ago and the local golf team walked in.

You know how I knew?

Teenage boys wearing khakis and collared shirts. Dead giveaway. Preppy.


So what's a girl to do? Back when I was playing junior golf, they didn't have cute outfits for girls who played. You had to sort of make do--skorts and your mother's collared shirt. But today's girls have so many more choices. There are even websites devoted to clothing for girl's golf.

Here's a whole pinterest board devoted to golf wear for girls. 

I'm not sure who these girls are, but they look good. And they are right in line with the dress code. But I do wonder if they've done the bend-over test. Kate would approve.

Golf Tip Tuesday

I'm experimenting with a new series. Since my [as yet unpublished] book, THE SWEET SPOT, is about a girl golfer, I thought I'd devote Tuesdays to talking about the finer points of the game. I'm not limiting myself to terms or strategy, though I might go there. Just anything that comes to mind about the game...

If you have questions or ideas of things you'd like me to cover, please let me know!

So the general object of golf is to finish the game with the fewest strokes possible, right?

Easy Peasy.

Anyone ever use the phrase "par for the course"? Know what it means? Par is a term used for the number of strokes it should take to get the ball in the hole. It's not exactly the average--cause so many people aren't ever going to get par--but it's the score that you should be aiming for. When you say "par for the course"--it's the cumulative score of the full 18 holes.

Used in context, it means "eh, I expected that" or "that's what usually happens".

Par for the course.

And now you know.

Time Capsules aka Old Manuscripts

My crit partner, Ansha, was weeding out her hard drive the other day. She found a file called "Knight.Asselin.doc" dated May 7, 2008. It was a critique she had done for my short story, THE KNIGHT IN TAN KHAKIS, approximately 2300 words.

The weird thing is, Ansha and I didn't become crit partners until after the NESCBWI conference in 2009. We'd met the year before, but I have no recollection of her critting my short story.

That particular story ended up being published in Golfer Girl Magazine in the fall of 2008. As I spent the summer of 2008 revising the short story, I started think it might be a novel. Just thinking.

72,000 words, three years, and who knows how many drafts later, it IS a novel. With an agent.

When I opened the document, it was like a flash back in time. Lots of telling, no showing. Not enough dialogue. But the characters were there, just waiting for me to write their story.

I've learned about writing in those three years. I've made some wonderful friends. I've published some nonfiction. I have been paid to write. I am an author.

Wow.

I wonder what the next three years will hold? Thanks, Ansha!! ::hugs::

What do you seen when you read an old manuscript?