Writing Muses

It's been a while since I've posted any pictures like this, and since I'm having a busy week, I figured now would be a good time. Below are some photos that I'm loving because they are providing me with great mental images for my newest WIP.

Bet you can't guess what tree is prominent to the story. :-)

Happy Writing everyone!

P.S. If you'd like to follow me on Pinterest, you can find me HERE.

Be My Valentine Giveaway!!

In celebration of Valentines Day and in an attempt to make some space on my way overcrowded bookshelves, I've decided to give away a few ARCs I've been holding onto, and just because I happen to have the time right now, I'm also offering up a 20 page critique.

Here's what's up for grabs:

FRACTURE by Megan Miranda

THE DISENCHANTMENTS by Nina LaCour

BEWITCHING by Alex Flinn

 

EVE by Anna Carey

 MELODY BURNING by Whitley Strieber

and a

20 page critique of your YA novel by me

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment telling me which prize you'd like to win (you can list them all) with a way for me to contact you. Being a blog follower, tweeting or facebooking this giveaway will get you an extra entry for each, so be sure to leave links and let me know what you did. Giveaway ends at midnight on February 14th.

Happy (early) Valentine's Day lovelies!

Falling for Comtemps

I was never the biggest lover of contemporary books. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy the writing, it was just that for the longest time I was really only into reading paranormal novels. If you take a look at my bookshelves in my house, you'll find that the paranormal books outnumber the contemps three to one.

But lately I've been reading more and more contemps than ever and really, really loving them. Loving them like never before. Loving them to the point of wanting to read them again as soon as I put them down. They're just so well written and the stories are so captivating that I find myself wanting to live inside the fictional world for just a little bit longer.

My latest loves are these gems:

and

I have a few more contemps lined up to read that I'm super excited about and now I'm finding myself leaning more towards them than my usual paranormal novel. It's kind of refreshing.

What about you? Have you read any great contemps lately? Or if you usually read contemps, have you read any great paranormals that have surprised you?

AMAZING NEWS!

Congratulations to my amazing and wonderful and talented and kind and all kinds of awesome crit partner, Jennifer L. Armentrout!

Want to know what she's celebrating today? LOOKIE:

Here is what Publishers Marketplace says:

Jennifer L. Armentrout's DON'T LOOK BACK, pitched as Black Swan meets Pretty Little Liars, featuring a teen girl who had it all until the night she and her friend go missing, and she loses all recollection of who she is, but must piece together a life she no longer wants and the events that led to her friend's disappearance, to Emily Meehan at Disney-Hyperion, in a pre-empt, in a two-book deal, by Kevan Lyon at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency (World English). Foreign rights: Taryn Fagerness Agency

Virtual confetti everywhere!!

So proud of you, Jennifer!

You can check out her blog HERE and congratulate her there or on TWITTER.

The idea that just won't leave you alone...

About a year and a half ago, when I was knee deep in still writing the first draft of the last version of my current WIP (was that confusing enough for you?), I woke up with this vision of a girl in my head. I only knew one thing about her, and nothing else.

Over the course of the past eighteen months I've successfully ignored her for other writings and chose to keep ignoring her even though she wouldn't quite leave me alone. I kept telling her to go away and to stop bothering me. She had no story. What was I supposed to even do with her? I continued to push her away until finally, last night, I decided I'd write down what I did know about her. That one tiny thing and see if anything else came to light.

It did. She presented a whole host of new facts about herself and within an hour I figured out exactly (okay, maybe not exactly) who she is and what story she wants to tell. It was amazing and exciting and I'm so very excited to get started writing all about her. And to make it even better, I'm heading out for a writing retreat in less than a month and the fact that I actually have something new to work on--and it's something I'm excited about--is making me super duper giddy.

And you know, I'm not even annoyed at myself for making her wait this long to get to know her story, because now just feels like the right time. Did I mention I'm excited?

Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway Hop Sign-Ups!

Welcome to the second annual Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway Hop! This year I am co-hosting with Books Complete Me and I am a Reader, Not a Writer. Read below to sign up!

What is a giveaway hop?
Simple - Each participating blog hosts a giveaway and then we link up together allowing our followers & blog readers to hop easily from one giveaway to another.
For blog readers this means lots of chances to win.
For blogs hosting a giveaway it means lots of new visitors.
It's a win-win!

Each participating blog will host their own giveaway. There is no requirement on the minimum or maximum value of your giveaway. It's up to you to decide. You can giveaway anything you would like. It does not have to be a book or gift card but should be something a book lover would enjoy. 

All participating blogs will be linked up through a Giveaway linky.
Please keep the process to enter your giveaway as simple as possible.
This hop has a limit of 6 entries per person.  1 mandatory entry and up to 5 optional entries.

As you prepare your giveaway post please remember the following:

1. The Follower Giveaway Hop Images needs to be part of your post.
2. Include the linky list with all the participating blogs at the end of your post OR link to this giveaway hop page or the post on Rachael's Site.
3. Keep It Simple!! Keep the way to enter your giveaway as simple as possible. 1 Mandatory entry and no more than 5 optional extra entries.  All entries must be able to be done on one visit to your blog - Entries such as tweet once a day are NOT allowed (tweeting once is fine).
4. This must be a giveaway specifically for this hop and must run only the 8 days this hop is scheduled.
6. Keep your giveaway easy to find for the 8 days this hop is open. If you post often and your post does not stay near the top of your main blog page then please post a link to your giveaway at the top of your blog or sidebar.  If we can't easily find your giveaway you will be deleted from the linky.

Please mark your calendars. A reminder email will be sent out a few days before the hops starts.

Questions can be emailed to: toobusyreading at gmail dot com

To Sign Up To Host A Giveaway:

Add your blog to the linky!  Be sure to include your shipping info in parenthesis after your blog name.

Only "Family Friendly" sites please, no Erotic/18+. Many adult sites are family friendly.  We will be excluding sites that are covered with steamy pictures & erotic covers.  I try to ensure my site is family friendly and would like my giveaway hops to be that way as well.  Please email me if you have any questions.

Sign-up below:

Road Trip Wednesday: Pseudonyms

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments on YA Highway, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.

You can participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link - or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments.

This Week's Topic

If you couldn't use your own name, what would your pseudonym or penname be?

My answer:

I'm already using a pseudonym--sort of. My first name is real, but my writerly last name is not. I decided on this for a few reasons:

1. Anonymity. With the ability to find anyone anywhere in the world these days, I figured a little anonymity couldn't hurt. Plus, my husband's job demands some level of this, so it just made sense.
2. The real last name is surprisingly difficult to pronounce to the general public. 

I think coming up with the perfect pseudonym was the hardest part of this. How do you choose a name that both represents who you are, but also gives you some privacy? I mulled over it for months before making my choice.

I do kind of wonder, though, how fun would it be to have a name like: Penelope Winterbloom or Constance Merriweather? (apparently my dream pseudonyms all contain some element related to the seasons)


What about you? If you were to choose a pseudonym, what would you choose? And if you're already using one, why?

What's in a word?

It's that time of year when almost everyone is making resolutions for the new year. I even made a post of my goals for 2012 last week on the Tangled blog.

Then this past Tuesday I read a truly inspiring post over at fellow YA author Katy Upperman's blog. Katy had read a post on Erin Bowman's blog that referenced yet another author, Jessica Corra. Jessica has for several years now decided against resolutions and instead chooses a Word of the Year. Jessica actually got the idea from another person, but you get the gist. Good ideas travel.

After reading Katy's post, I was hooked. The idea of choosing one word to represent what you want and what you will aim for in the year just makes sense. It didn't take long for my own word to surface. It too just makes sense.

BELIEVE

It's from the quote that has propelled me to begin and keep writing:

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. Eleanor Roosevelt

These words are my laptop background. They stare at me from a magnet on my refrigerator. The word "believe" is something I've been telling myself to do for years.

So that's what I'm going to do. In 2012, I'm going to BELIEVE.

If you already choose one word of the year for yourself, I'd love to hear what it is. And if you're new to this idea like I was, I'd love to hear your thoughts and if you decide to participate.

Goals for 2012

As you may nor may not know, I am one of the writers that blog over at Tangled Up In Words.

Today I talked a little about my goals for 2012 and since I'm furiously trying to be productive today, I'm just going to link you to that post instead of sharing all of my goals here. Plus, the Tangled girls are kind of awesome. I'd like you to meet them!

Check it out:

New Goals for the New Year