Archive for October, 2009
October 31st, 2009
Bundle o’ Bookmarks impromptu winner!
What is Bundle o’ Bookmarks? It’s a collection of awesome bookmarks from some of your favorite authors! Here’s the current Bundle o’ Bookmarks swag pack:
It includes bookmarks from:
– Alyson Noel (Blue Moon/Evermore)
– Becca Fitzpatrick (Hush, Hush)
– Lindsey Leavitt (Princess for Hire) *signed*
– Bree Despain (The Dark Divine)
– Lindsay Eland (Scones and Sensibility) *signed*
– Stephanie Kuehnert (Ballads of Suburbia)
– Stephanie Kuehnert (I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone)
– Jennifer Hubbard (The Secret Year)
– A.S. King (The Dust of 100 Dogs)
– Julie Kagawa (The Iron King) *signed*
– Taylor Morris (Total Knockout)
– And, of course, me (a bunch of The Cinderella Society and Great Scavenger Hunt Contest stuff!) *signed*
As always, sometimes I’ll tell you it’s an official Bundle o’ Bookmarks giveaway day, but other times I’m just going to pick someone who commented in the last week or two to be an impromptu Bundle winner.
Today is an impromptu giveaway day! Congratulations go out to:
Kate
(aka Read This Book)
Congrats, Kate! Please contact me here with your mailing address to receive your prize.
And everyone, keep commenting on the blog for your chance to win in the next impromptu Bundle o’ Bookmarks giveaway. You never know when it’ll be!
October 30th, 2009
It’s baaaack!
I’ve really been missing the fun Booklover and Spotlight features, so I may be sneaking a few in even though I’m still working on The Cinderella Society book two (due to my editor on 11/15). 
For this week’s You 2.0 Author Spotlight, I’m delighted to bring you the amazing and delightful…
Melissa Walker!
Melissa is one of my Teen Fiction Cafe buddies and truly one of the nicest people you will ever meet. (She has also been a huge help to me with her fashion savvy. It’s good to have stylish friends, I tell you.)
Welcome, Melissa!
The Basics
Name:
Melissa Walker
Web Site:
www.melissacwalker.com
Blogs:
– I Heart Daily
– readergirlz
– Teen Fiction Cafe
Short Bio:
Melissa Walker is a writer who has worked as ELLEgirl Features Editor and Seventeen Prom Editor. All in the name of journalism, she has spent 24 hours with male models and attended an elite finishing school for girls in New Zealand, among other hardships.
In late 2008, she launched I Heart Daily with fellow ex-ELLEgirl Anne Ichikawa. It’s a daily newsletter about likable stuff.
Melissa lives in Brooklyn and has a BA in English from Vassar College. She would tell you her SAT scores too, but, you know, the math part was hard.
The Books
Lovestruck Summer
May 2009
HarperTeen
Sunny days, late nights and a vacation full of possibilities…
This is the story of Quinn, an indie rock girl who came out to Austin, Texas for a music internship.
She also plans to spend long, lazy days in the sun at outdoor concerts–and to meet a hot musician or two. Instead, she’s stuck rooming with her sorority brainwashed cousin, who now willingly goes by the name ‘Party Penny.’ Their personalities clash, big time.
But Sebastian, a gorgeous DJ, definitely makes up for it. Sebastian has it all: looks, charm, and great taste in music. So why can’t Quinn keep her mind off Penny’s friend cute, All-American Russ and his Texas twang?
One thing’s certain: Quinn’s in for a summer she’ll never forget!
Questions About You 2.0
The You 2.0 blog is about becoming everything you’re meant to be. It’s about pursuing your dreams, changing your world, showing gratitude, and paying it forward. Here’s a chance for our Spotlight guests to share what You 2.0 means to them.
1. PURSUING YOUR DREAMS: Everyone has the ability to be extraordinary, they just have to embrace what makes them unique and special and pursue their dreams with passion and confidence! Was being a published author a dream of yours? If so, how does it feel to have achieved your dream?
I always dreamed of being a magazine writer, and the first time I saw my byline in a glossy women’s magazine, I teared up. Thrilling! A few years later, though, I decided I didn’t want to be totally limited by pesky facts—I was ready for fiction. Publishing my first book was a huge accomplishment, and each subsequent one has felt like a dream come true.
2. CHANGING YOUR WORLD: Changing the world doesn’t have to mean finding a cure for cancer or creating lasting world peace (though it definitely can!). It just means finding a way that you can make the world a little better off for having lived here, whether it’s making a difference to one person or a million, to the earth, to animals… whatever is important to you. What is one way you would personally like to make the world a better place?
This is going to sound dorky, but I’d really like to make sure that all kids are reading. So much is explored in books—so many worlds and dreams and conflicts and experiences—and I just hope everyone reads! That’s one of the big reasons why I’m involved with readergirlz.com, so that’s my “change” to work on for now.
3. GRATITUDE: Gratitude is a huge part of the You 2.0 life. Taking a moment to count our blessings is the best way to remember what’s truly important (especially when life is hectic and crazy!). What are you grateful for?
This is so hard! Well, each day I try to think of 5 things (thanks to Oprah), so I’ll list today’s. I’m grateful for: The Food Network (for some reason it totally soothes me, even though I can’t cook), iced coffee all year round, shoulder rubs, bad reality TV (I love it! I can’t help it!) and my mom and dad, who were and are the best parents ever.
4. PAYING IT FORWARD: If everyone took a moment to pay it forward, even just once, the world would be changed in ways we can’t even imagine. What is one thing you’ve done (or plan to do) to “pay it forward” in some way?
I recently got married, and the favor at my wedding for guests was a donation to Heifer International—each table was named after an animal purchased in the name of everyone at the table for heifer.org. I mean, candles and monogrammed candies are nice, but I wanted to give back a little, in honor of our guests!
(Note from Kay: I LOVE this!!!)
Questions About You, The Author
5. Why did you decide to participate in The Great Scavenger Hunt Contest? Do you think you would’ve participated in the contest as a teen or tween?
Um, because it’s the coolest, most original idea ever. And yes, I totally would have done this as a teen. A book that comes with a GAME? Awesome.
6. What do you love most (and least) about being an author?
MOST: Fan mail. I love it. Probably too much.
LEAST: Starting. Starting the new book is hard.
7. What is the coolest thing that’s happened to you since becoming a published author?
Again, getting fan emails and comments. They rock my world. Oh, and once I met a girl who was sitting in the Barnes and Noble café reading VIOLET BY DESIGN. It blew my mind, and I totally stalked her for a while before saying hi. Then she came to my reading later that week! So cool.
8. Which YA or middle grades book has had the greatest impact on you and why?
Everything by Judy Blume got me through the embarrassments of growing up. Seriously—those books were my guide to “it’s okay to be weird” stages.
9. If you could go back in time and give your teen/tween self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Being weird is actually cool. Weird means fantastic, unique. Celebrate it.
Will the Real You 2.0 Please Stand Up?
10. I love the game Three Truths and a Lie because there are so many unexpected and interesting things about people that we never get a chance to learn about them. What are three truths and a lie that our blog readers can guess about you?
– I was born in London, England.
– I love Taylor Swift.
– I’ve been to China. **UPDATE: Here’s the lie!**
– I have a vertical bookshelf.
(Readers: Your guess gets you an entry into the You 2.0 monthly contest for an ARC of The Cinderella Society or a prize dive in the awesome You 2.0 Prize Basket. Guess correctly and you get a bonus entry! Plus, you never know when the next impromptu Bundle o’ Bookmarks giveaway will be for one recent commenter. Will it be you? I’ll update the post later to spill the big lie, so get guessing and have fun!)
Thanks to Melissa for a terrific interview!
October 29th, 2009
It’s another Kay Spills the Beans day here on the old blogaroo, wherein Kay answers another reader question. Today’s hot topic is…
QUESTION: What’s your motto in life or as a writer?
(from Suzana at Bookalicious)
Another fun question! I have the phrase Live-Laugh-Love all over our house, especially in my office and my serenity room. In fact, I have a gorgeous wrought iron scrollwork version of it hanging on the wall right above my computer monitor so it’s the first thing I see when I sit down.
I’m pretty Type A which means I’m always doing something…. or planning something… and I sometimes forget to slow down and smell the flowers. (Or eat the chocolate, since I have seasonal allergies.) Seeing those reminders is a great balancing moment for me.
“Breathe, Kay. And laugh. Both are good for you!” they seem to say. 
All kidding aside, I am so grateful for my life and the wonderful things we’ve been blessed with, so Live-Laugh-Love pretty much sums up my feelings about what life is all about.
I also try to live by the quote “Be the change you wish to see in the world” from Mahatma Gandhi. I wanted it to be the cornerstone of Living Your Five because I think it really exemplifies what our mission is and what being a Fiver is all about. So much so that the quote is right there in the Living Your Five header.
As for a motto as a writer, I have several quotes on my office whiteboard that inspire me during various phases of the writing process.
“To live a creative life, we need to lose our fear of being wrong.”
~ Joseph Chilton Pearce
“Begin to weave and God will give you the thread.”
~ German Proverb
“You can fix a bad page, but you can’t fix a blank one.”
~ Nora Roberts
Words to live by (and write by!), one and all.
Thanks for the question, Suzana! If you have any questions that you’d like to see answered on the blog (remember, every comment gets you an entry into the monthly contest plus a chance to win one of the impromptu Bundle o’ Bookmarks swag packs!), comment below and ask me. I’ll try to answer as many as I can on the blog.
Thanks for playing Kay Spills the Beans!
October 27th, 2009
WOW. Can you believe it’s week 15 already? It seems like we just started our adventure, doesn’t it? To keep you going strong with your productivity challenge, here’s our weekly dose of inspiration…
Exclusive TAC Quote of the Week
“To become a writer, simply do this: write and read and live life.
Read to understand good storytelling. Read several types of stories – of different genres, different formats, and different time periods. You don’t have to pick books apart as you read them. Just expose yourself to the voices and rhythms of other authors.
Live life to find your own stories and voices. Meet and observe people. Take in your surroundings. Ask questions such as: ‘How did this come to be?’ ‘What if THIS had happened instead of THIS?’ ‘What was going through that person’s mind?’ You’ll soon find that there are all kinds of tales to be told – fiction and nonfiction.
Write to write. Like anything else you must practice it in order to get good at it. Keep a journal or blog. Write letters, even if they are to no one in particular. Find your comfort zone – a way of writing that feels like it fits you. Maybe you are a poet. Maybe you love to research and delve into the past. Maybe you are gifted at building suspense or crafting a hard-to-solve mystery.
And when you find your voice, you’ll know it. Because it’s always been there waiting for you to release it.”
~ Jennifer Ziegler
How Not to Be Popular
(Random House, 1/08)
Teen Author Challenge
As you go through the first draft process of writing your manuscript, sometimes it can help to shake things up. To take all the pieces and mix it up a little. Several years ago, I attended agent Donald Maass’s Writing the Breakout Novel workshop. One of the most interesting exercises he had us do was an activity to mix up the characters, subplots and settings of the story.
If you have a copy of his Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook (if you don’t have this, you definitely should!), you’ll find it in Exercise #16. In his version, you have three columns on your piece of paper. Characters in the first, subplots in the second, and settings in the third.
During his workshop, he mentioned that his pet peeve was when characters drink coffee in their kitchens because he felt it was a commonplace, meaningless action that did nothing to bring the story to life. This exercise was used to illustrate how we, as writers, could shake up that staid thinking and create scenes that were more memorable.
On the three-column chart, you would simply draw random lines between columns 1, 2 and 3 to create new and unusual connections between your story elements. Then you would try to use those unusual connections to craft a memorable scene.
Neat, right?
What I’ve discovered is that this approach works well for lots of different things! I’ve done it where the main characters were in the first column, secondary characters in the second, and settings or actions (watching a soccer game, for instance) or things (ballet slippers or a broken TV) in the third. I know I sometimes get bogged down using the same settings with the same characters, so changing it up can be really freeing when I’m in a rut.
I’ve also made it a game where I’ve written each idea down on a slip of paper and put it into one of three different bags. Then I’ll take one paper from each bag and come up with a scene that a) moves the story along swiftly, and b) uses this unusual mash-up of characters, places, and things.
Try this in your story and see if it leads to a creative new scene!
Buzz Tip of the Week
Since the entire goal of the TAC productivity challenge is to help you develop strong and consistent writing habits, I thought last Friday’s post by the savvy and lovely Jessica Faust of BookEnds Literary Agency was particularly fitting. Jessica shares her thoughts on how (and why) to set manageable deadlines for yourself as a writing professional. (And yes, some of this is going to sound mighty familiar. Great minds, right?)
http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/2009/10/deadlines.html
Your Weekly Challenge
How did you do on your writing last week? Comment below with your weekly results from last Tuesday through today so we can cheer your progress! And if you use the three-columnn (or three-baggie) idea in some form, let us know how it goes for you!
The Teen Author Challenge Contest
Throughout the year-long Teen Author Challenge (TAC ends June 2010!), I’ll be giving away a book of the winner’s choice from my personal writing shelf. Why am I doing this? Because becoming a skilled writer has two important parts: learning about your craft and practicing your craft. That’s why active participation in each weekly challenge is so important!
So what can you win? Books to choose from include:
1. The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler
2. The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing by Evan Marshall
3. The Career Novelist by Donald Maass
4. Writing Dialogue by Tom Chiarella
5. Creating Characters Kids Will Love by Elaine Marie Alphin
6. Building Believable Characters by Marc McCutcheon
Everyone who participates via the comments on the Teen Author Challenge posts will be entered into this monthly contest.
Go forth and be creative!
October 26th, 2009
Want to know how I’m doing on my Five? You know, the five ways I want to make a difference in the world? Come on over to LivingYourFive.com and check out my progress report! I’m talking about book buying, National Bookstore Day (coming November 7th!) and paying it forward. It’s all good, I’m telling you.
Be sure to keep stopping by to see how my fellow Founding Fivers Alyson Noel, Becca Fitzpatrick and Tera Lynn Childs are doing on their Fives too.
And don’t forget, the first Friday of every month is Honorary Fiver Day at Living Your Five! Honorary Fiver Day is your chance to share your Five and join us in the Living Your Five Quest to make a difference in the world. We want you aboard!
Are you ready to Live Your Five?
October 23rd, 2009
Welcome to a new feature on the blog called Kay Spills the Beans! A few months back, I did a callout for questions you wanted to ask me… about me, my work, the writing business, or whatever you could dream up.
I figured I might get a few questions, but you guys came up with almost 30! So starting today, I’m introducing Kay Spills the Beans where I’ll be answering reader questions.
Ready? Here we go!
QUESTION: What kind of environment do you need in order to write? Quiet? Music? A room with the door closed? Others nearby? A coffee shop?
(from Jen Petro-Roy)
Great question! I’m so lucky to have a home office that I Lovie McLoveLove. My home office in our last house was the formal dining room–we’re not formal dining room kind of people–and there was no door. (Did you notice I put that in bold? Not an accident.) It turns out I really need peace and quiet to write first drafts, so I’d usually end up sitting upstairs on the bed with the door closed just so I could get words on the page.
But that’s just for first drafts. When I’m doing a full read-through–the first thing I do after letting the first draft breathe for a bit–I have to do it on a hardcopy so it’s more like reading a real book. For that, it’s off to my serenity room (I think everyone should have a serenity room!) that is part library and part relaxation room. I settle into my favorite recliner and go through the story that way.
Then it’s back to my office, often with the door shut, to do major edits on the computer.
When it’s time to do nitpicky line editing, it’s still home office for me but I move from the computer desk to my executive desk. I do those on hard copy because I’m famous for leaving out words like the and be and things like that. If I don’t print it out and–a trick I learned from an author friend–read it out loud, I’d never catch those.
And then once that manuscript is off, and I’m brainstorming a new one? Our screened-in porch is my favorite place to go. However, The Cinderella Society book 2 is due to my editor on November 15th, so I think I’ll have to cozy up someplace inside while I brainstorm my next book. It’ll be a bit nippy outside by then.
I love hearing about where other authors write, so it was fun to be asked that question myself. In fact, maybe I should do one of my Author Cave features on my own cave! What do you think?
Thanks for the question, Jen! If you have any questions that you’d like to see answered on the blog (remember, every comment gets you an entry into the monthly contest plus a chance to win one of the impromptu Bundle o’ Bookmarks swag packs!), just comment below and ask me. I’ll try to answer as many as I can on the blog.
Thanks for playing Kay Spills the Beans!
October 21st, 2009
Bundle o’ Bookmarks impromptu winner!
What is Bundle o’ Bookmarks? It’s a collection of awesome bookmarks from some of your favorite authors! Here’s the first Bundle o’ Bookmarks swag pack:
It includes bookmarks from:
– Alyson Noel (Blue Moon/Evermore)
– Becca Fitzpatrick (Hush, Hush)
– Lindsey Leavitt (Princess for Hire) *signed*
– Bree Despain (The Dark Divine)
– Lindsay Eland (Scones and Sensibility) *signed*
– Stephanie Kuehnert (Ballads of Suburbia)
– Stephanie Kuehnert (I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone)
– Jennifer Hubbard (The Secret Year)
– A.S. King (The Dust of 100 Dogs)
– Julie Kagawa (The Iron King) *signed*
– Taylor Morris (Total Knockout)
– And, of course, me (a bunch of The Cinderella Society and Great Scavenger Hunt Contest stuff!) *signed*
As always, sometimes I’ll tell you it’s an official Bundle o’ Bookmarks giveaway day, but other times I’m just going to pick someone who commented in the last week or two to be a spontaneous Bundle winner.
Today is an impromptu giveaway day! Congratulations go out to:
Thao
(aka Serene Hours)
Congrats, Thao! Please contact me here with your mailing address to receive your prize.
And everyone, keep commenting on the blog for your chance to win in the next impromptu Bundle o’ Bookmarks giveaway. You never know when it’ll be!
October 20th, 2009
Happy NCTE National Day on Writing! (And yes, I keep wanting to say “of Writing” too.) What a perfect day for a little writing inspiration:
Exclusive TAC Quote of the Week
“The most useful advice I ever came across about writing was from Julia Cameron in The Right to Write. Cameron discusses the importance of writing fearlessly, without the weight of our own self-judgments. People put so much pressure on themselves to produce polished writing on the first try, and this pressure is often what paralyzes the writing process. The important thing is to keep writing and worry about making it shine later. Final drafts often bear little resemblance to first drafts, and that’s okay. It is better to write badly than not write at all. You can’t fix what you haven’t written.”
~ Sarah Quigley
TMI
(Penguin, 4/09)
Teen Author Challenge, Week 14
As you cruise along with your writing goals, it’s not uncommon to hit an occasional snag in the story. One of the best tools I’ve found for those times when I can’t figure out what to do next is the simple question:
What if…?
What if? is great because it’s kind of a catch-all brainstorming tool. You can use it for character issues…
– What if she was an only-child instead of the oldest of seven?
– What if he thinks his friend is trying to help but his friend is actually trying to sabotage the project?
Or for plotting issues…
– What if instead of going to a fancy restaurant for their first date, he takes her to a hoedown and Miss Prim and Proper eats her first barbecue pork sandwich… getting it all down the front of her new blouse?
Or even for shaking up the entire story…
– What if his dad isn’t really his dad?
Try playing What if? the next time you need a little help on where to go next with your story. And have fun!
Buzz Tip of the Week
Awesome agent Kristin Nelson of Nelson Literary Agency shares her philosophy behind why she posts her deals in Publishers Marketplace’s Deal Lunch. The post is from a while back but it’s a fabulous look at some of the reasons agents do and don’t post sale news.
Your Weekly Challenge
How did you do on your writing last week? Comment below with your weekly results from last Tuesday through today so we can cheer your progress! And give the “What if?” game a try if you think the story could benefit from it!
The Teen Author Challenge Contest
Throughout the year-long Teen Author Challenge (TAC ends June 2010!), I’ll be giving away a book of the winner’s choice from my personal writing shelf. Why am I doing this? Because becoming a skilled writer has two important parts: learning about your craft and practicing your craft. That’s why active participation in each weekly challenge is so important!
So what can you win? Books to choose from include:
1. The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler
2. The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing by Evan Marshall
3. The Career Novelist by Donald Maass
4. Writing Dialogue by Tom Chiarella
5. Creating Characters Kids Will Love by Elaine Marie Alphin
6. Building Believable Characters by Marc McCutcheon
Everyone who participates via the comments on the Teen Author Challenge posts will be entered into this monthly contest.
Go forth and be creative!
October 15th, 2009
More exciting news this week from YA land!
readergirlz Teen Read Week Tribute!
The fabulous readergirlz divas are pooling their creative resources once again to show their support of YALSA’s Teen Read Week with a very special Teen Read Week Tribute!
If you’re not a regular readergirlz follower, you really should be. You all know I’m a big believer in paying it forward and changing our world, right? Well, the readergirlz divas do that in spades. Be sure to check out their tribute and all their exclusive Teen Read Week chats!
Teen Read Week is one of my favorite times of year. I mean, really, a full week dedicated to the diversity and sheer awesomeness that is YA literature? What’s not to love??? Three cheers for YALSA!
October 14th, 2009
Happy Wednesday! I love weeks like this–weeks where I have not one but TWO great things to blog about in WritingLand. It makes me appreciate how lucky I am to be a part of the awesome YA writing community. Today’s big news is…
Hush, Hush is here!
First, HUGE CONGRATS to the wonderful and darling Becca Fitzpatrick on her debut yesterday!!! If you have not bought HUSH, HUSH yet, run like the wind to your local bookstore and nab your copy today. It is seriously one of my favorite reads of 2009. Nora and Patch are hands-down one of the best couples in paranormal YA, imo.
Becca also has the honor of being the first Tenner debut! She was previously scheduled to be a first-of-the-year release in 2010, but everyone was so excited about HUSH, HUSH that they simply couldn’t wait. We’re so proud to have you leading the Tenner charge, Bec!
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