Category: Good News

Links (Because I’ve Got Nothin’)

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Guys. I’m smack in the middle of incorporating a change into Where Poppies Bloom that has me absolutely giddy with its awesomeness. Unfortunately, all this revising has completely zapped my creativity and wit, so I’ve got nothing new or unique or valuable to contribute to the blogosphere today. BUT… lucky for you, my writing friends have managed to come up with some amazing posts and news, which I’ve compiled in the tidy little round-up below. Visit. Peruse. Comment. Enjoy. 🙂

This post on Suspense in Writing by the lovely Katharine Owens, complete with stills from some classic Alfred Hitchcock movies. Kat’s post is compilation of tips from Simon Wood’s original article for Writer’s Digest, which you can find HERE.

This bit of fabulous from Alison Miller on Reading for Pleasure.  “Look, I’m as busy as the next person, but reading is a priority to me.” Yep, I couldn’t have said it better myself, Alison. Not only is reading fun, inspirational, and relaxing, but for a writer, it’s crucial to professional development.

My CP Jus Accardo‘s debut Touch is available in eBook today!

You’ll have to wait until November 1st for the paperback version, but if you’ve got an eReader, you can find Touch at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Books on Board. And do check back here for more about Touch and an interview from Jus in the very near future!

And, finally, we’ve got an October novel for Tracey Neithercott’s Fall Book Club!


Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky. In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low. And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.  Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”; she speaks many languages–not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out. When one of the strangers–beautiful, haunted Akiva–fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

I couldn’t be more excited about this selection!

We’ll be discussing the book on Friday, October 28. If you have a blog, post your thoughts on the book there, then leave a link to your blog over at Tracey’s on October 28th. If you don’t have a blog, leave your thoughts in the comments on other members’ blogs, which you can easily get to by clicking the links on Tracey’s post. I hope you’ll participate!

So, that’s what I’ve got for you today. Do you have anything writerly, readerly, or otherwise interesting to share?

Have a lovely Monday, and I’ll see you in two days for Road Trip Wednesday!

7X7… An Award!

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My blog received an award! Coolness!

The deal with the 7X7 Award is to share seven past blog articles that fit the superlative given. Then you, lovely reader, get to go and check out those posts, if you’re so inclined. I’m also supposed to share the award with seven other bloggers.

First, thank you so much to Alicia Gregoire for passing this award on to me. She’s adorable and her blog is all kinds of fun (and funny!). Definitely check it out if you’re not already a member of her Lurkdom.

And, without further delay, I present you with my 7 blog posts…

Most Beautiful: This is a hard one! I’m going with my entry for Campaign Challenge #1 – Last Kiss, a piece of flash fiction I’m pretty proud of.

Most Helpful: Probably my hints On Querying or To Plot or Not to Plot, in which I discussed my views on (duh) plotting.

Most Popular: My How I Got an Agent story… I always love to read these too! Good news, good news, GOOD NEWS!

Most Controversial: Hmm… I’m not really a controversial kind of gal, but I last year I did a post on some Bad Advice I heard at a local writing event. You may or may not agree with my thoughts.

Most Surprisingly Successful: Ha! It’s Cookie Day! My readers love their treats. 🙂

Most Underrated: Probably a Tales From the Trenches post entitled To Be, or Not to Be, which is chock-full of fantastic questions writers might ask an agent during The Call. I spent a good, long while compiling those questions!

Most Prideworthy: An oldie but a goodie: A brief but enlightening conversation about publishing…  And a new post about inspiration, plagiarism, and Making It Yours.

And I’d like to share the 7X7 Award with the following fantastic bloggers:

Katharine Owens
Lindsay Currie
Erin Schneider 
Tracey Neithercott
Rebecca Behrens
Chantele Sedgwick
Kirsten Lopresti

Hope you girls have fun with the 7X7 Award!

What a difference a year makes…

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This is my sweet pea just before her first day of preschool last year. Don’t be fooled by that big grin. She began sobbing as soon as we pulled into the drop-off line and continued sobbing well into the first hour of school. She was fine by the time I picked her up, but holy heartache, her tears were just about my undoing.

Here she is today on her first day of Pre-K. First of all, where did last year go? When did my girl become such a little lady? And what a difference a year makes! At drop-off she couldn’t have been more excited. She couldn’t wait to see her friends and her teachers and show off her new outfit (isn’t it cute? :)). I had to remind her to give me a kiss! But that’s okay. Seriously. I’d so much rather a cheerful, independent girl who’s excited about new experiences and happy to be social and learn new things. I’m such a proud mama!

And speaking of last year… it was on this first day of school one year ago that I wrote the very first scene of Where Poppies Bloom (that scene has remained largely unchanged, in case you’re wondering). I’ve since revised Poppies a dozen times, queried, revised some more, and signed with an amazing agent. I’m currently finishing up some final edits and then–*gasp*–the submission process begins!

I’m curious… How has your life changed in the last year?

Friday Fun: Touch, Titles, and Technology

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First and foremost, huge CONGRATULATIONS to my fantastically talented CP Jus Accardo, who now has a cover for her amazing debut YA novel, Touch (available November, 2011). Observe the awesomeness:

A fine example of perfectly capturing the mood of a book...

And of course, the official blurb: When a strange boy tumbles down a river embankment and lands at her feet, seventeen-year-old adrenaline junkie Deznee Cross snatches the opportunity to piss off her father by bringing the mysterious hottie with ice blue eyes home. Except there’s something off with Kale. He wears her shoes in the shower, is overly fascinated with things like DVDs and vases, and acts like she’ll turn to dust if he touches her. It’s not until Dez’s father shows up, wielding a gun and knowing more about Kale than he should, that Dez realizes there’s more to this boy—and her father’s “law firm”—than she realized. Kale has been a prisoner of Denazen Corporation—an organization devoted to collecting “special” kids known as Sixes and using them as weapons—his entire life. And, oh yeah, his touch? It kills. The two team up with a group of rogue Sixes hellbent on taking down Denazen before they’re caught and her father discovers the biggest secret of all. A secret Dez has spent her life keeping safe. A secret Kale will kill to protect.

Guys. I have read this book. It is INCREDIBLE. Add it on Goodreads HERE. And, if you’re so inclined, pre-order it from Amazon HERE.

And a Friday Five, hosted by Paper Hangover, a fantastic group blog offering writing tips and advice, book reviews, weekly blog topics, and teen interviews. Here’s today’s prompt:

I love titles that are catchy, intriguing, and image-inducing. I love titles that make me ask a question or wonder about a character. The below titles stole my attention and I’ve added them to my Goodreads To-Read queue based (originally) on title and title alone. I’ve yet to read them, but I’m hoping the stories behind these fantastic titles will live up:

1) Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

2) The Cavendish Home For Boys and Girls by Claire Legrand

3) The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer Smith

4) Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

5) Raw Blue by Kirsty Eager

And, I chose to read the following books based solely on their fabulous titles. I can honestly and happily confirm that each one is equal to (or better than!) the splendor printed on its cover:

1) The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

2) The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

3) The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

4) Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

5) The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney

What book titles do you love? Are there any you’re not a fan of?

And a fun Would You Rather…?

Would you rather live a month without the ability to talk on the phone or the freedom to check your email? 

(This one’s easy for me! I’d MUCH rather check my email than talk on the phone… you?)

Have a wonderful weekend! 🙂

A MARA DYER Winner and Friday Five…

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Thank you so much to everyone who entered my The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer ARC giveaway. I’m thrilled that so many people are excited about reading this book! I used random.org to select a winner from the many entrants and the lucky winner is…

Tracey Neithercott!

Yay, Tracey! Please email me your mailing address at katy(dot)upperman@live(dot)com and I will have Mara to you in a few days.

An unexpected perk of hosting this giveaway were the awesome book recommendations you all left in the comments of the original post. So, for today’s Friday Five, I’d like to share a countdown of the top five most anticipated book releases selected by you, my lovely blog readers. Here they are:

5. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (October 18, 2011)


4. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson (September 20, 2011)


3. (TIE) Bloodlines by Richelle Mead (August 23, 2011)


and Shut Out by Kody Keplinger (September 5, 2011)


2. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin (September 27, 2011, and no surprise, since the giveaway was for this very book!)


1. And, with by far the most mentions, Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins (September 29, 2011… this is my most anticipated release too!)


Happy Friday… Have a wonderful weekend!

Quotables

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First and most importantly, a HUGE congratulations to my adorably Australian, super supportive, and terrifically talented friend Amie Kaufman, who has recently signed with Tracey Adams of Adams Literary. Amie writes YA and MG, and if the snippets of her work I’ve read during blogfests and contests are any indication, she’s amazing! Amie also runs a fantastic blog that you should definitely be reading. Learn more about her signing HERE. Congrats, Amie… I’m so very happy for you!

In other news, Monday blogging is always sort of hard for me. I often find myself wondering, What to write, what to write, what to write? But while procrastinating online the other night (something at which I’ve become alarmingly adept), I came across a website full of quotes on writing. Some were inspirational, some were snarky, a few were pretentious, and some were humorous. Several are worth sharing…

Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.  ~Anton Chekhov

The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shockproof shit detector.  This is the writer’s radar and all great writers have had it.  ~Ernest Hemingway

One must be drenched in words, literally soaked in them, to have the right ones form themselves into the proper pattern at the right moment.  ~Hart Crane

Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness.  One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.  ~George Orwell

A good style should show no signs of effort.  What is written should seem a happy accident.  ~W. Somerset Maugham

You write to communicate to the hearts and minds of others what’s burning inside you.  And we edit to let the fire show through the smoke.  ~Arthur Polotnik

Be obscure clearly.  ~E.B. White


Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it.  ~Hannah Arendt

I love writing.  I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions.  ~James Michener

And my very favorite, from “Great Rules of Writing”:

Do not put statements in the negative form.
And don’t start sentences with a conjunction.
If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a
great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.
Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
Unqualified superlatives are the worst of all.
De-accession euphemisms.
If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
Last, but not least, avoid clichés like the plague.
~William Safire

What are your favorites quotes on writing?

And the winner is…

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As promised, I’ve selected a random winner for my Moonglass giveaway…

Congratulations, Meagan Spooner!

Please email me your address at katy(dot)upperman(@)live(dot)com and I will have your brand new book on the way. I hope you love it as much as I did!

Good news, good news, GOOD NEWS!

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Remember how I was going to take a blog hiatus? Well, I’m thinking there’s no better time to interrupt that hiatus than to share some pretty amazing news… I’ve signed with a literary agent!

There’s a lengthy story behind my search for an agent. Here’s the moderately exciting condensed version (because I’m aways curious about how others arrive at agentdom): I wrote a story, queried it, and soon figured out it wasn’t fit for publication. I trunked it. I wrote another story, queried it, and soon figured out it was in need of rewriting. I shelved it. I wrote another story, truly believed in it, queried it widely, raked in some requests and then some “This is lovely, but I just didn’t fall in love” rejections. I revised, then revised again, queried some more, raked in some more requests. And then… THEN…

I scheduled a vacation with my family. I resolved not to stress about writing, not to query, not even THINK about querying. I climbed on a plane with my kiddo and turned off my phone. I flew, then landed. I turned my phone back on. And, of course, there was an email from one of the agents who’d been reading my full: I’d like to schedule a phone call to talk about your story.

Isn’t that always the way it is? When you stop obsessing, big things happen.

I spoke to the agent on April 29th while I was in Georgia, the day my husband graduated from Ranger School. She offered representation. Naturally, I was thrilled. A fun side note: A few months ago, my husband and I set goals for 2011. His was to get through Ranger School. Mine was to sign with a literary agent. Though I didn’t actually sign with an agent on that day, I had serious interest. It was as if my husband and I both hit our goals right at the same time, and it was very cool.

I happen to have a picture from April 29th (because all blog posts are better with pictures!).

After speaking with the offering agent, I emailed the agents who were reading partials or fulls of my manuscript and asked them to get back to me within ten days (serious torture for an impatient girl like me!).

Turns out the wait was worth it. Another offer came in about a week later, from Vickie Motter of Andrea Hurst Literary Management. Vickie had been at the top of my list since I started reading her blog a few months ago. (She has awesome taste in YA literature and does a fantastic Wednesday Reads series. Check it out!) When we spoke on the phone the next day, I just knew she’d be amazing to work with. She’s friendly, smart, collaborative, and has some incredibly thoughtful revision ideas for my story. Still, I made myself think, really consider my choice from all angles, and as much as I liked the first agent who offered, I kept coming back to the same conclusion: I wanted to work with Vickie.

It was seriously difficult to contain my enthusiasm when I emailed her to accept her offer of representation.

Me and my I-Have-An-Agent Bubbly!

So, now I’m agented (so surreal!) and I get to tackle another revision of Where Poppies Bloom, (one recommended by Vickie :)). I can’t wait to get started!

Thankful Thursday: FLY AWAY!

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Oasis for YA knows that the surest way to get good things in life is to be thankful for what you have.  So why not encourage a group thankful-fest once a week in which we all send out good energy and hope to get some back in return? Plus, participating in Thankful Thursday is a great way to connect with other writers.

Here are the rules:
1.  Do your own blog post on what you’re thankful for today.  It doesn’t have to be book or publishing related (but it can be!).
2.  Be sure to grab our badge and include it in your post.
3.  Post a link to your blog in the comments here so that others can find you.
4.  Go forth and share your gratitude!  (And when friending new blogs, be sure to let them know you found them because of their participation in the meme.)

So much to be thankful for today!

As you read this, I’m headed to Atlanta with my daughter and in-laws to watch my husband graduate from Ranger School at Ft. Benning, GA. This is a big deal for several reasons:

A) Ranger School is no joke. The failure rate is somewhere around 45%. My husband is old by Ranger School standards (thirty, while most of the participants are in their early twenties) and he STILL rocked it.
B) Not only have my daughter and I not seen my husband since February 9th, we’ve only talked to him a few times over the last three months. Needless to say, that sucks. We canNOT wait to see him!
C) After the graduation ceremony, we’re loading into a van and driving to Orlando. My parents are meeting us there, and we’ll spend a few days visiting Mickey, Minnie and a gaggle of Princess. Trust me: There is nothing better than seeing the joy on your child’s face when immersed in the world of Disney. 
D) I’m going to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter! Yay, yay, YAY!!! I cannot properly express how badly I’ve wanted to visit the home of The Boy Who Lived since I learned of its conception. I fear I’ll be one of those crazy fanatic adults guzzling butter beer and snatching up magic wands, scaring the younger tourists. But you know what? I’m over it.

Yep, I’m very thankful, and SO looking forward to the next several days!

What are you thankful for today? 

The Versatile Blogger :)

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Yay! The lovely Sophia Richardson (of My Fleet-Footed Self) has passed The Versatile Blogger award to me. I’m honored and excited–my very first blog award! 🙂 Thanks so much, Sophia!

Here are the rules of the award:
1. Thank the person who gave you this award (of course!).
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to 10 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic for whatever reason.
4. Contact the bloggers you’ve picked and let them know about the award.

So, um… seven things about myself. Why do I feel so much pressure to be entertaining?!

1. I started out a reluctant blogger. Basically, my critique partners applied some gentle pressure (okay, they may have hounded me) to which I finally succumbed. That was about a year ago. Somehow, I’ve morphed into an enthusiastic blogger–so much so that sometimes I’m blogging when I should be writing.

2. I’m an unapologetic Disney-aholic. I’ve passed on my love of the parks, the characters, and the movies to my daughter. Now, we’re a team capable of hounding my husband into watching Princess movies on Friday nights and taking multiple trips to Disney World when he swore he’d only go once a decade.  Yeah, right.

3. I’m a country music freak, and I absolutely love going to concerts. There’s nothing better than seeing Kenny Chesney or Tim McGraw or Sugarland perform live. My obsession began when we lived near Nashville, and has only grown since. Next on my must-see list? Zac Brown Band.

4. I’m most inspired by the writing and storytelling of Jandy Nelson, Melina Marchetta, Gayle Forman, Judy Blume, JK Rowling, Curtis Sittenfield and Ken Follett.

5. Michael C. Hall is, in my humble opinion, the best actor EVER. Loved him as David on Six Feet Under, adore him as Dexter.

6. I’m reluctant to the most trivial kinds of change. I eat the exact same breakfast every day. I drive the original route I learned to get someplace, even if I later learn a quicker or easier way. I hate starting new books and getting to know new characters . I plan my days, weeks, and months in advance as carefully as possible. I’ve always been this way, but I think my “condition” has been exacerbated by my constantly changing Army wife lifestyle. When your husband gets shipped out on a moment’s notice and you’re forced to move every two or three years, you learn to grasp on to the little things you can control.

7. I used to teach fifth grade. At the time, I loved it and poured everything I had into it. Now, I have absolutely no desire to go back. Ever since my daughter was born, I’ve stopped caring about other people’s children. Is that terrible?

And ten fantastic bloggers I’d like to share this award with:

Heather Howland
Jessica Love
Katharine Owens
Amie Kaufman
Caroline Tung Richmond
Tracey Neithercott
Erin Bowman
Rebecca Behrens
June Goodwin
Brenda Drake