Category: Good News

NaNo Update #8

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Oh, hey. Remember when I won NaNoWriMo?

Yep, yesterday I crossed the 50,000 word mark, which still feels sort of  surreal and very unbelievable.

November has been a month, let me tell you. Some crazy stuff has gone down recently (stuff I’ll probably blog about next week), and for a while there, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to finish this NaNo thing. But, peer pressure community support is a beautiful thing, and I did not want to let down the awesome people who’ve spent all month cheering for me. I didn’t want to disappoint my husband and my daughter, who have been enthusiastically rooting me on (though neither of them gets that you don’t actually win, like, a trophy or money or whatever). And then there was my stubborn conscience and that pesky internal voice that wouldn’t shut up until I met my word count goal every. Single. Day.

That is why my word count bar graph looks so pretty and harmonious. I know myself, and if I would have fallen behind, there’s no way I would have had the motivation to catch back up.

So, that’s my NaNo tip, the one piece of advice I’d offer to anyone who felt crazy enough to give 50K words in 30 days a shot: Be consistent. Write every day. Bank words if you know you’ve got a busy weekend coming up, but still, try to up your count (at least a little) each day. Do NOT fall behind. Do NOT give up.

I feel it’s important to mention that my draft is not done. I’ve still got about 25K-30K to go, and then there’ll be plenty of revising to tackle. But National Novel Writing Month got my little story idea off the ground, gave it a heart and a life of its own, and now that I’m in deep, I know I’ll finish it. I love my characters too much to desert them now!

A big shout out and hearty congratulations to everyone else who has successfully completed NaNoWriMo, especially The English Badass Liz Parker, who somehow became my pace buddy over the course of the month and “won” yesterday too!

In other fun news, I got the coolest “K” mug from Kelsey Macke, my Sip Swap match. It’s big and has a graceful handle and is a lovely cerulean color inside. I adore it! And doesn’t Kelsey have the coolest stationary? Love!

Finally, I must wish the happiest of birthdays to my mom. She reads my blog and comments occasionally, and she’s about as supportive and amazing as they come. Happy birthday, Mom! I love you!

So, that’s my BIG Friday news. I’ve got lots of awesome on deck for next week, too, including an interview with a very savvy friend who’s got experience in all the major areas of publishing, as well a Bookanista recommendation of one of my favorite contemporaries of the year.

Have a fantastic weekend, lovelies! 

One-Word Wednesday

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First and most importantly, HUGE congratulations go out to my longtime blog friend Rebecca Behrens. Her debut novel When Audrey Met Alice is going to be published by Sourcebooks and I couldn’t be happier for her! Not only is Rebecca smart and sweet and generous, but her story sounds AMAZING. You can read more about it HERE, and you can read Rebecca’s official announcement HERE.

Congrats, Rebecca! I couldn’t be happier for you!

And, here’s what I’ve been up to lately…

#WhatImReading #TheRavenBoys #YALit #Books #Unputdownable #SignedAndDoodled
Spellbinding
(Seriously. This book rocks. And look! I splurged on a signed and doodled copy! Find The Raven Boys on Goodreads.)

#HearstCastle #California #NoFilter
Opulent
{My dad visited last week and we took him to visit Hearst Castle, the “ranch” once owned by William Randolph Hearst. The property and the house are gorgeous, and if you ever find yourself near San Simeon, CA, I definitely recommend checking it out. (Though, I don’t necessarily recommend driving down Highway 1, especially if you’re traveling with kiddos. My poor girlie had a bit of a carsickness episode about two miles from Hearst Castle, so that was fun to deal with. Oy.)}


Warm
{Indian Summer has arrived in Central California, and I’m SO HAPPY. I adore heat and sunshine and afternoons on the beach. :)}

#HighwayOne #PacificOcean #NoFilter
Prettiness
{Like I said… I love the beach.}


Boo!
{My husband loves Rice Krispie Treats, so my girl and I decided to surprise him with a very festive jack-o-lantern version. Yum… Homemade Rice Krispie Treats are the best!}

#Errand :: My girlie and I have a big #craft project in the works! #FMSPhotoADay #Peacocks  
Craftiness
{So, Dolly needed a bed. Rather than spend $150 on the American Girl version, my husband and father-in-law crafted her one from old banisters and crown molding, and I painted it. Then, I made Dolly linens from the somewhat garish peacock fabric my girlie picked out. All in all, it turned out pretty darn cute, and the final cost was a fraction of what American Girl was asking. Success!}


Gratuitous
{Because my girlie and I like to get our pose on!}

Tell me: When’s the last time you were crafty? What did you make?

FINALLY!

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Over the weekend, I finished my WiP with these words:

I couldn’t stop smiling. I STILL can’t stop smiling. There are few feelings better than knowing you’ve drafted an entire story.

Technically, this WiP was a re-drafting, or a rewrite. I imported scenes from the original story (which I wrote in June of 2010), but approximately 80% of the manuscript is new material. The characters are reimagined (I love them so much more now!) and their story is fresh and more complex. The romance is more authentic, the conflict bigger, and the stakes higher. It’s far from perfect, but for the first time in a long while, I’m truly excited about it.

And now I get to tackle my slightly intimidating list of revision notes:

  I much prefer revising to drafting, though, so I’m looking forward to diving in. Time to make this manuscript shine so I can send it to my brilliant CPs and, eventually, Agent Vickie (cue nerves!).

As the summer carries on, my blogging will continue to be sporadic, but I’m slowly crawling out from my cave of WiP madness.

Yay!

Where are you in your writing journey?

MAY I ask something about you?

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First, an important bit of business: The announcement of the FIVE winners from my Reading is Sexy giveaway, chosen randomly. Congratulations to…

Charissa, Jaye, Jillian, Yahong, and Doreen!

The first winner to email me at katy(dot)upperman@live(dot)com will have her choice of ONE of the following: A signed copy of The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour, a copy of Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins, or a Reading is Sexy bumper sticker. The second winner to email will have second choice of the remaining prizes, the third to email will have third choice, and so on. (Also, please don’t forget to include your mailing address in your email so I can get your book or sticker to you!)

Congrats again, Charissa, Jaye, Jillian, Yahong, and Doreen, and thanks so much to everyone who entered and helped spread the word about this giveaway!

:)

Second, my first post over at YA Confidential is up today, a review of the fabulous This Is Not a Test by Courtney Summers (out next month!). I’d love it if you’d drop by to check out all the reasons I LOVED this book!

This Is Not a Test

Third, I’ll be taking a bit of a blog-cation over the next couple of months. Yep… April and May were chock full of blog posts around here, and I had a blast writing them, reading all of your thoughtful comments, and visiting your blog in return. But, I’ve decided to dedicate my free time this summer to my family and the rewrite I’ve been working on. Blogging is a blast, but it’s also quite time-consuming, and if I don’t take this break, I won’t be able to prioritize my time in a way that will best allow me to complete my rewrite. That said, I’ll still be reading your blog, and I’ll still do an occasional Bookanista review. I’ll also still be posting over at YA Confidential. But all in all, things around here will be pretty quiet. Never fear, though… I’ll be back early August when school starts and my girlie begins spending her days at –*gasp*– Kindergarten!

Relaxing Summer

I leave you with this question: What are YOUR summer plans?

Z is for ZOMG!

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Today is the final day of the A-Z Challenge!

I honestly can’t believe it’s over and that I completed it successfully. And guys, I have such fun news to wrap the challenge up with…

I’ve been invited to become an Operative over at YA Confidential!

If you’re unfamiliar with YA Confidential, the short story is this: It’s a fantastic teen-centered blog featuring everything from YA book recommendations, roundtables, teen interviews, critiques, advice, shared wisdom, giveaways… Really, there’s something for everyone! And the Operatives — they’re all kinds of awesome: Cristin Terrill, Copil Yanez, Alexandra Shostak, Cambria Dillon, Sara McClung, Karen Amanda Hooper, Alison Miller, as well as my fellow new Operatives: Jessica Love and Matthew MacNish.

So… Are you curious about my Operative Profile?

Operative: Katy Upperman

Codename: K-Sizzle

Legend: Once danced onstage at a Korn concert… in a lavender GAP button-down. Now a soldier’s wife, a princess’s mama, and a writer of young adult fiction chock full of cute boys, intense romance, and steamy kisses.

Known Whereabouts: katyupperman.com and @katyupperman, as well as bookstores, country-western bars, and shopping malls spanning the globe.

Known Accomplices: Vickie Motter of Andrea Hurst Literary Management

🙂

You should most definitely check YA Confidential out if you haven’t already. I’m honored and thrilled to be a part of it!

N is for Noteworthy

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First, an important bit of business: The announcement of the TWO winners from my Lucky Me, Lucky You book giveaway, chosen randomly. Congratulations…

Jaime Morrow and Sophia Richardson

The first winner to email me at katy(dot)upperman@live(dot)com will have her choice of either a signed copy of John Green’s The Fault in our Stars or a free book of choice from The Book Depository, up to $20. The second winner to email will receive the remaining prize. (Don’t forget to include your mailing address in your email so I can get your book to you!)

Congrats again, Jaime and Sophia, and thanks so much to everyone who entered and helped spread the word about Lucky Me, Lucky You!

🙂

And… Here’s a super fun idea you might be interested in participating in, especially if you’re looking to rejuvenate your blog, or get into (or back into) the habit of blogging regularly:

Gorgeous banner created by crazy-talented Tracey Neithercott! 

The brainchild of writer/blogger/all-around-awesome-person Sara McClung, Blog Me MAYbe is a weekly blog format for the month of May, an easy schedule to follow with topics built right in. Of course, if posting every day sounds like too much, or if you miss a few days, or only do a couple posts a week, no biggie. Blog Me MAYbe is all about ease and fun! You don’t have to worry about following every blogger who participates or commenting on everyone’s daily posts (though if you want to do that, feel free!). The intent of Blog Me MAYbe isn’t to gain followers — although that could very well happen — but to branch out, make a few new friends, share information, and get into the head space where ideas for blog posts flow freely.

Here’s the schedule:

  • Mondays: May I tell you something about writing?
    • This can be anything writing-related. A post on craft. A post on your process. A snippet of your WIP, if you like to share. A book on craft that you want to recommend. Things you struggle with. Things you rock at. ANYTHING at all!
  • Tuesdays: May I tell you something about myself?
    • Pretty self-explanatory… Share something about yourself that your followers might not know. Or, maybe they do. It doesn’t matter–this is just so people who read your blog can get to know you a little better. 
  • Wednesdays: May I ask something about you?
    • Ask your followers something about themselves.
  • Thursdays: May I tell you something about someone else?
    • Make this post about someone else. A writing friend. A critique partner. A person from history who’s fascinating. A character from a book. Have a guest poster. Give an interview. Get creative, but let the spotlight shine on someone else!
  • Fridays: May I share something funny?
    • Fridays = The start of the weekend… BOOYA! A reason to celebrate and laugh on its own — plus, who doesn’t want to see something amusing after a long week?

Fun, right?! I’m already committed to participating, as are Sara, Cambria, Tracey, Jessica, Lola, Alexandra, and Alison. Blog Me MAYbe begins on the first of May, so head over to Sara’s blog if you’re interested in signing up, and feel free to grab our banner or the button in my sidebar to use on your own blog.

Tell me: Will you participate in Blog Me MAYbe? 

Yippee!

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 Guys, I have FABULOUS news…

My fantastically talented CP A.E. Rought (Ann) has signed a two-book deal with Strange Chemistry Books! I could not be more thrilled for Ann or more excited about her YA fiction being released into the world!

Here’s the official press release:

Strange Chemistry, the YA imprint of Angry Robot Books, is delighted to announce the signing of another wonderful author. A. E. Rought has been signed to Strange Chemistry in a two book deal with worldwide English rights negotiated between Amanda Rutter and Gina Panettieri, of the Talcott Notch Literary Agency. The first of these two books will be called Broken and will be published by Strange Chemistry in early 2013.

And more information about Broken: 

A modern spin on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, where a young couple’s undying love and the grief of a father pushed beyond sanity could spell the destruction of them all. 

A string of suspicious deaths near a small Michigan town ends with a fall that claims the life of Emma Gentry’s boyfriend, Daniel. Emma is broken, a hollow shell mechanically moving through her days. She and Daniel had been made for each other, complete only when they were together. Now she restlessly wanders the town in the late Fall gloom, haunting the cemetery and its white-marbled tombs, feeling Daniel everywhere, his spectre in the moonlight and the fog. When she encounters newcomer Alex Franks, only son of a renowned widowed surgeon, she’s intrigued despite herself. He’s an enigma, melting into shadows, preferring to keep to himself. But he is as drawn to her as she is to him. He is strangely… familiar. From the way he knows how to open her locker when it sticks, to the nickname she shared only with Daniel, even his hazel eyes with brown flecks are just like Daniel’s. The closer they become, though, the more something inside Emma screams there’s something very wrong with Alex Franks. And when she stumbles across a grotesque and terrifying menagerie of mangled but living animals within the walls of the Franks’ estate, creatures she’s certain must have died from their injuries, she knows…

Doesn’t Broken sound amazing?! Congrats, Ann! I am so very happy for you!

Who else has good news to share today?

Winner!

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Thanks so much to everyone who participated in the Apple Cup Book Giveaway Sarah Enni and I hosted last week! We had so much fun talking college football with all of you!

While I’m disappointed that my beloved WSU Cougars lost to the UW Huskies, I’m thrilled to announce that Kathy Bradey guessed closest (at 60 points) to the actual final combined score of the two teams, which was 59 points (Huskies 38, Cougs 21). Fantastic guess, Kathy, and congratulations! You win copies of Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins! Please email me your mailing address (at katy(dot)upperman(at)live(dot)com) and I will get your books in the mail right away.

In case you’re wondering, Joanna Farrow was the grand prize winner, since her guess (at 58 points) was closest AND was made on Sarah’s blog. Joanna wins copies of Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me and Laini Taylor’s The Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Congratulations to Joanna!

Thanks again to all who participated. This giveaway was so much fun! Hopefully it (like Busch Light) will become an Apple Cup tradition. 🙂

A Halloween Recap (and Awesome News!)

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My girlie and I had a fantastic Halloween! Her costume was a hit, and she scored more treats than she’ll be able to finish in the next YEAR. As promised, a few pictures from the big day…

Headed out to the Preschool Halloween Bash.

Jack-o-lantern pizza… fun!

My girl wore her blonde wig for the official trick-or-treating, and I dressed up as Hermione. My scarf is obviously from Hogwarts. 🙂

Ready to hit the streets…

Treats!

Checking out the haul…

During the above candy count/inspection, I was checking my email (as all good writers frequently do). Well, imagine my surprise and excitement when I read a note from  The Bookanistas asking me to be a part of their amazing group!

Here’s a bit more about The Bookanistas:

We are a group of writers in various stages of the publishing process who have banded together to recommend/review the special books of our peers. Combined, we reach over 10,000 followers. (Crazy right?!) We recommend and review all kinds of children’s books, but focus mainly on YA, middle grade and now, picture books. (yes picture books too! Shocker!). As fellow writers, we have decided to only recommend books we absolutely LOVE, therefore, we do not post anything negative! Yes, that’s right! We give nothing but love! We post every Thursday covering a variety of book topics– upcoming ARCs, books we love, diamonds in the rough, classics, and even dish out some cover love from time to time.

How awesome is that?! I’m thrilled, of course. The Bookanistas write fantastic book reviews, and I’ve wanted to be a member for months. And now it’s official! I want to extend a big thank you to all of the Bookanistas for taking me on, and especially Carolina Valdez-Miller and Jessi Kirby for their help and  support when I approached them about the group. You girls are amazing!

So, what does it all mean? Well, you can expect an influx of Thursday book reviews right here on my blog, plus links to reviews and posts from all of the other Bookanistas!

Win-win for all of us, I think. 🙂

So, here’s to November! Let’s hope this month continues its journey down the road of positivity, especially for my blog friends who are participating in NaNo… Good Luck, and Happy Writing!