Top Ten Tuesday for December 3, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.Check the link to learn more and join the blog hop!

TOP TEN 2014 RELEASES I'M ALL **GRABBY HANDS** ABOUT!

What are you looking forward to reading next year? I'm always on the lookout for things to add to my TBR list, so let me have 'em!

Top Ten Tuesday for November 26, 2013

Looking for my PitchWars Mentor Bio? You can find it here. 

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.Check the link to learn more and join the blog hop!

TOP TEN THINGS I AM THANKFUL FOR

Among all the things I am thankful for this week, I am most thankful for people. Here are a few without whom I doubt I'd be writing this, much less hoping that you'd actually read it. 

Kimberly P. Chase, in addition to bringing me and my amazing agent together, is a pretty awesome person, and an incredible writer (buy her book, THE APOLLO ACADEMY, now, people. It is so much fun.) Also, she has excellent taste in critique partners. One of the highlights of 2013 for me was getting to chillax together during YALLfest!

Speaking of critique partners, I have a bunch of keepers. You can't have them, but you might some of your own on Scribophile, which is my online writing community. I was pilfered from another online group by a member, and I've never looked back. Echo, Sam, Carolyn, Jay, Jenn, Pinkie, Karyn, Anne, Kimberly, and the rest of you guys, I'm not sure what I'd do without you. I am damn sure I wouldn't be where I am with my writing which is a hell of a lot further than I was a year and a half ago when I joined.

Awesome critique partners occasionally lead to awesome manuscripts which, if all goes well, will lead to kickass agents. Thao Le is one of them. At various points along this journey, she has loved my manuscript more than I do, she's the best cheerleader I could have ever hoped for, and she gives sage advice such as, "it might be taking it a bit too far to behead a major character in your YA manuscript." Fair enough.

I'm not sure how Jolene Haley and I ended up stalking each other, but I'm so glad we did. She gives me awesome books to read before anyone else, lets me rant about them ad nauseum on my blog, and together we have such ridiculous brainshare about all things bookish it's a little scary. Also, she is adorable and super funny.

I'm eternally grateful for Brenda Drake and if you've ever entered one of her contests, you should be, too. There is a TON of work that goes on behind the scenes and Brenda does it all for free. So if you get a chance, thank her. And buy her book when it comes out next year because it sounds BAD ASS.










When I grow up, I'd like to be Megan Miranda. Not only does she write good ish, she's rocket-scientist smart, way nicer than me, and super supportive of the other writers in her life. Also, she bought me a glass of wine at a conference once, which is pretty much guaranteed to put you on the good list in my book.

I don't think I would've gotten page one of IMPERFECTLY FINE written if it weren't for my amazing team of critique partners and beta readers. Susanne and Dawn were two of my first and I was shocked they finished reading my first book at all. Then? Their crazy butts asked for more! Thus, I.F. was born. I miss my T-Dot girls something fierce right now!!

My book loving spawn and her hottie of a father who, despite never reading this blog and therefore never witnessing my calling him a hottie for the whole wide web to see, is incredibly supportive of my writing and all manner of things creative. And adorable, don't you think? Oh yeah, and the kid is pretty cute, too.









Finally, and perhaps most importantly in this forum, I'm thankful to everyone who is reading this. To my tweeps and my scribs, and my blog buddies and everyone else who belongs to the incredible writing world I live in online. You guys rock, and I'm more thankful for you than you know. MWAH!

What are YOU thankful for this week?

Top Ten Tuesday for November 19, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.Check the link to learn more and join the blog hop!

TOP TEN BOOKS FOR RISING NINTH GRADE GIRLS

Since I toil all day at a middle school I figured this would be a good choice. And here I'm not talking about pretentious reading eons above grade level kids who are being bred as literary snobs like the child of a certain writer I know who is forcing her sixth grader to read Anna Karenina and claiming she's enjoying it. I mean books that are mostly age appropriate and deal with the sort of themes eighth grade girls might actually be interested in the summer before they enter high school. So here we go....

1. PROMISE ME SOMETHING--Sara Kocek

2. LOOKING FOR ALASKA--John Green

3. BEFORE I FALL--Lauren Oliver

4. HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE--J.K. Rowling 

5. FOREVER--Judy Blume

6. BOY 21--Matthew Quick

7. SPEAK--Laurie Halse Anderson

8. THIRTEEN REASONS WHY--Jay Asher

9. HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE--J.K. Rowling 

10. DREAMLAND--Sarah Dessen

What books would you include on this list?

Top Ten Tuesday October 22, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.Check the link to learn more and join the blog hop!

I'm doing my TTT post today because tomorrow is Trick or Treat with Agents! Info is here. So come back if you've got a completed MG, YA, NA, or A manuscript (no erotica, memoir, or PB please!) But without further ado...

TOP TEN CHARACTER NAMES

I'm a sucker for a good character name. I spend entirely too much time deciding what to name people in my own writing. I cheated a little this week and included some characters from movies or television, because at the end of the day that's all writing, too. 

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore

Ebeneezer Scrooge

Gandalf the Grey

Gargamel

Hannibal Lecter

Mayella Ewell 

Severus Snape

Tom Marvalo Riddle/I Am Lord Voldemort

I think I'm just obsessed with the names of British characters. Okay, what's on YOUR list that I forgot???

Top Ten Tuesday for October 1, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.Check the link to learn more and join the blog hop!

TOP TEN BOOK TURN-OFFS

For me these are book, non-negotiables. Many of them will make me cease and desist reading immediately. Some may lead to ranty blog posts or reviews on GoodReads. Though I usually list books in no particular order I'm listing these literary crimes from least to greatest offense. 

10. Historical Fiction--I make an exception for roaring 20's themed historicals but otherwise, not so much for me. 

9. Unreliable Narrators--if I can't trust a narrator then I can't emotionally invest in his story, which is a deal breaker for me.

8. Large blocks of backstory/telly narrative. For me a story is about relationships between characters, which is best shared through dialogue. I am unlikely to fully invest otherwise and tend to skim pages that lack conversation 

7. Loose ends. Especially at the end of a series I've invested several books' worth of time and money in. If you can't wrap up the loose ends in a series, you've got no business writing a series to begin with. 

6. Narrative Moral Judgments. Particularly when you're writing for children or teens. Keep your morals out of the narrative. I'm not much of a fan of being preached to as an adult, but I sure as hell wasn't as a teenager. And on a related note...

5. Blatantly politicized fiction targeted toward young readers. I think the longer people can go without thinking about and understanding politics the better they will be. Let kids be kids--don't try to suck them into ulterior motivated nonsense. That's what adulthood is for.

4. Use of the n-word and all it's little friends. Hate is hate, whether that hate is authentic or not. 

3. Careless presentation of risk-taking behavior in books targeted toward teens. Let your adult characters in an adult novel skip the condom whenever they want, but if you're writing for kids, I feel like there's an ethical obligation to do what you can to model responsible behavior in characters with whom you expect young, impressionable readers to identify. 

2. Inauthentic Presentation of Mental Health and/or Substance Abuse Disorders and Treatment. Not all therapists are terrible and not all treatment centers are shady and corrupt. And honestly, I'm tired of literature geared toward kids that will make them wary of seeking help when they need it. Don't make me sic NAMI on your ass. I'm not kidding. 

1.  Uneducated or misinformed representations of people with disabilities. And if you use the word handicapped you can expect to get a history lesson and an earful from me.

So, yeah. This is one I'm pretty opinionated about. What are your literary deal-breakers? And what do you think of mine? Let's debate this! 

Top Ten Tuesday for September 10, 2013: Top Ten Books as Non-Sucky Movies

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Top Ten Books I'd Love to See As Movies (in a perfect world where book movies don't suck.)

Okay--what do you think of my list? And what's on yours??

Top Ten Tuesday for August 20, 2013

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Top Ten Tools & Tricks for  Book Bloggers

I've been book blogging since before I really understood the concept, but it's only recently that I've gotten consistent about it. That's due in large part to figuring out some tricks and tools that make it easier to include this puzzle piece into my overall all over the place life. Here are ten things that make my life easier as a book blogger. 

10. My Goodreads phone app--I could not keep track of my TBR list without it. And I loooooove going to Barnes and Noble and adding books by simply scanning the barcode. It's the little things, people. 

9. YA Stands chats--every other Thursday I cofacilitate a chat with my fellow YA Stands bloggers where we talk about all things YA and wonderful. It's an awesome place to find out what people are reading and to meet readers and writers with similar interests. Occassionally shenanigans ensue. You should check it out. The next one is on Thursday, August 29th.  

Find out more about YA Stands HERE. 

8. Blog memes--Thursday's Children, What's Up Wednesday, and Top Ten Tuesday keep me up to date on what's going on in this community. I like to check out what people are reading and which books provoke visceral, intense reactions in their readers. Basically I'm nosy about what you peeps think are cool book wise so I can read them, too. It's a lot easier than, first of all finding TIME to go to Barnes and Noble, and then reading the back of all the books with pretty covers. 

Gawd I love book covers. 

7. Well-read friends--There are certain peeps on my twitter timeline that when they start to talk about a book, I pay attention. For some of them it's because we have very similar tastes in books, for others it's because they are thoroughly entrenched in the publishing industry and have their fingers on the pulse of what's pulsing. 

Get your mind out of the gutter, people. This is a family show. 

6. NetGalley--Seriously, what did people do before NetGalley? I'm not sure. I definitely didn't get my hands on ARCs without a lot of legwork before I stumbled onto that site. 

5. My incredibly supportive husband--I'm really not sure why he puts up with me. This has absolutely nothing to do with book blogging specifically, but, well, he does a lot of ish around the house so I can stay up all night reading and complain all day about how tired I am. So I figured he could use a shout out even though he never EVER reads my blog. 

Like, ever. 

4. Insomnia--I have a 1 year old and a full time job. The only time I have to read is between midnight and 6AM. Luckily (I think?) I'm usually awake until around 2 or so. Last night it was 2:30 because I was aaaaaalmost done with OPENLY STRAIGHT and I *had* to see how it ended. (I won't spoil it for you.)

3. Google Calendar--I'm a little calendar dependent. In terms of book blogging I use my Google Calendar which syncs to my phone and my work calendar to keep track of reviews I've set deadlines for, Book Birthdays, dates I already have stuff reserved on my blog (like author interviews) and also so I can remember to tweet about posts I've pre-blogged. I set reminders for myself that pop up on my phone so I can remember who I am and what I'm supposed to be doing. It works most of the time. 

2. Conferences--when I go to physical conferences I can't come home without a bag full of new books. And any time I participate in the online writing community, my TBR list grows by leaps and bounds. 

1. My inspiring book fiend of a daughter--I read GOODNIGHT MOON four times tonight. And I'm kind of okay with that. 

Okay, what tools do you guys know about that I should be using? I'll take all the help I can get. 

Top Ten Tuesday: July 30, 2013--Top Ten Best Beginnings & Endings

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. <~~~Click Here to learn more and join the blog hop!

Top Ten Best Beginnings & Endings

This is the first Top Ten Tuesday where I haven't completed my list. One because I am ladyballs deep in revision at the moment, but mostly because I'm really particular about beginnings and endings. But I came up with nine, so here we go!

Beginnings 

10. Across the Universe--Beth Revis9. Mockingjay--Suzanne Collins

8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows--J.K. Rowling 

7. The Fault in Our Stars--John Green

6. Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock--Matthew Quick (which I am in the middle of reading thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. *whispers* Be jealous because it is awesome so far.)

Endings

5. A Really Awesome Mess--Trish Cook & Brendan Halpin

4. Catching Fire--Suzanne Collins

3. Shades of Earth--Beth Revis

2. To Kill a Mockingbird--Harper Lee

1. ??? Maybe I'll write one to fill in the blanks someday, eh?

What are your favorite beginnings and/or endings? What do you look for at the start and end of a book?

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