Friday, July 29, 2011

Budding Artist...Bethany Runyan



Aren't these beautiful? 

My very talented niece, Bethany Runyan, did them.  I'm hoping she'll study art when she goes to college.  I should have scanned more of them when she visited us in May.  She's amazing!

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This will be my last post until September.  We're taking a little trip and when we get back I'm going to focus on querying the five manuscripts I revised in June.   (fingers, toes and eyes crossed)

I'll still be lurking around blogland, reading your posts.  :) 

Have a wonderful rest of the month....

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Writing Young Adult Fiction for Dummies...a FREE webinar on 7/27, and a take away

If you've been around blogland for very long, I'm sure you've run into the AWESOME Deborah Halverson.... 

Deborah  edited children's books for ten years, until she switched sides and became an  author. Now she is an award-winning author of books for young readers, including the teen novels HONK IF YOU HATE ME and BIG MOUTH and the newly released WRITING YOUNG ADULT FICTION FOR DUMMIES. (You can check out her books here.)  Deborah has a master's degree in American literature and a fascination with pop culture, she sculpts stories from extreme events and places— tattoo parlors, fast-food joints, and, most extreme of all, high schools. Deborah is also the founder of the writers' advice website DearEditor.com(Which is full of great advice! You can even submit a question.)  She lives with her husband and triplet sons (THREE boys all the same age, YIKES) in San Diego, California.  Sometimes she blogs about living with triplets.

So here are the details on her newest book.... It's a hands-on, friendly guide to writing young adult fiction.
With young adult book sales rising, and bestselling authors exploding onto the scene, aspiring YA writers are more numerous than ever. Are you interested in writing a young adult novel, but aren't sure how it fits the style that appeals to young readers? WRITING YOUNG ADULT FICTION FOR DUMMIES gives you tricks of the trade and proven tips on all the steps of writing a YA novel, from developing an idea to publication.
  • Unique writing exercises to help you find your own authentic teen voice
  • Tips for submitting manuscripts
  • How to break into the flourishing young adult market
With the help of this step-by-step guide, you'll have all the skills to write an inspiring and marketable young adult novel. 
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Now if you'll remember, I said that Deborah is some kind of awesome....When I told her I was going to do a post about her book she sent me a link for you...It's a YA Writing Cheat Sheet.  How awesome is that?  And if you are on the ball tomorrow, Wednesday, July 27th  you can register for her FREE webinar.  See What I mean about her awesomeness?  I'm registering for sure!

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you'll click on the links and check out Deborah and her newest book: WRITING YOUNG ADULT FICTION FOR DUMMIES(Maybe I'll see you at her webinar tomorrow.) 

I hope you are having a great summer! 

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Good Things Can Happen...and Query Quandary

I'm so excited for my dear friend, Tess Hilmo!  Her book With A Name Like Love comes out in September.  But that's not even the best part of it...With A Name Like Love got a starred review from Kirkus.  A starred review means  they think Tess's book has remarkable merit.  I knew it the first time she shared her work with the Wad.  Tess has a beautiful voice...on paper and in real life.  I hope you will check out her awesome review and buy her book when it comes out.  I preordered my copy last week.    If you don't know Tess please hop over to her blog and her website to check her out.  You won't be disappointed! 

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I have a couple query questions for you guys?  I'm about to query several picture book manuscripts...
  • Do you submit to publishers, agents, or both at the same time?
  • Do you do simultaneous submissions?
  • Do you tell everyone you query that it is a simultaneous submission?
  • Are you querying anything right now?  How's it going?
Any advice is welcome... 

Thanks everyone and have a wonderful weekend! 

Friday, July 8, 2011

A Full Report...(From Macy)

 Mom bought me a HUGE outside bowl for the cabin. 
It gets hot at Bull Shoals Lake in Missouri and Arkansas, but I seriously don't think I can drink it!  I'm for sure am not drinking it after she plopped me in it???
 I happened again!  I saw a rock with a head!!!
 I for sure didn't like it when that rock started moving...
 I finally got to go on the boat when Dad got to the lake. 
I was a bit embarrassed because my swimsuit didn't fit anymore. 
 But instead of feeling sorry for myself I taught my people how to play catch.
I stayed on the boat this time. 
I threw the ball to Katherine and she caught it.
Then she threw it back to me and I caught it. 
The lake was really high!  Trees, cliffs and islands were under water!!! 
Everyone got up before sunrise one morning.
 I alerted them that there was something in my yard! 
Three deer were eating my grass!!! 
 There were lots of birds at the cabin. 
Mom kept feeding them this yummy nutty smelling stuff. 
She wouldn't give me any???
I didn't like it when squirrels got on the deck and sat by our rock pile... 
 So I chased them off. 
This silly squirrel thinks I can't see him hiding in my tree.
Mom really liked these little yellow birds. 
I thought they were okay. 
The only birds I don't like are the giant black ones that made LOTS of noise.
 I never like it when Dad gets out of the boat by himself and Mom pulls him on a string.  It seems kind of dangerous to me.
 Check out my new swimsuit!  I got it just in time for going to the Buffalo National River for a float trip....I loved my new suit!  It fit perfectly.
 These were our boats.  I rode in the back of the big one.
Mom, Dad and Katherine saw a deer on the bank. 
I wasn't too impressed. It was much smaller than the ones I saw in my yard. 
 I made sure everyone knew about the raccoon walking down the bank. 
 The water was really clear and warm.  We had to go to deep spots to cool off.
 Ick!  Slimy things creep me out...
This was one hungry squirrel! 
The sun finally set on our month at the cabin.  Mom and Katherine read lots of books.  Mom revised 5 picture book manuscripts and worked on one chapter book manuscript.  We all did lots of eating, sleeping and swimming. 
It was a great time! 

I hope everyone has a great summer!

Are you doing anything special this summer???