My PitchWars Mentee Bio

I'm excited to give PitchWars a shot this year. A super CP of mine got her agent from it last year so I know all about how it works, it really works.

So a little bit about me, in case, yanno, you want to pick me as your mentee. WHICH YOU DO.

First, my creds. Because I actually have creds. Yep, my first book, an adult romance, is coming out this winter from Samhain Publishing. It's a retelling of PERSUASION by Jane Austen set in LA and features lots of music, lots of regret, lots of bitter, and maybe a kiss or two.

So I know what it means to work hard, and I love seeing my manuscripts go from what I think is good, to even better.

My PitchWars manuscript is YA mystery with a hint of fantasy. It's got a confident yet sometimes naive MC, a reclusive boy who may or may not have done something to his ex-girlfriend, a jerk with a bad attitude, an adorkable rich boy, lots of theatre goings-on, and a person who is stealing hearts- literally.

It was inspired by this song.

Now some random facts:

I love Doctor Who.

Period dramas.

The beach and boy bands. (Or boy bands on the beach *wink wink*)

Dance and Taylor Swift. (This GIF just says it all.)

I can quote every single Friends episode, ever.

I'm a mom of four awesome kids. 

One day, when those four awesome kids grow up, I will travel the world. Yes I will.

And that's all I'm going to say about that. Except...

Pick me!

Friday Loves: CONCERTS!!!

The past couple of weeks I've had the privilege to go to two AMAZING concerts! I took all three of my girls to ONE DIRECTION first, and we had a blast- even my youngest who is only six. I was shocked by how excited they got when the lights went down and 1D came out. Shocked because I probably like One Direction better than all three of them, LOL. It was at an outdoor football stadium, and even though it rained on us, we all had a great night!

Then this past week me and the oldest daughter (she's 11) saw TAYLOR SWIFT. We've been to her past two concerts together before this one and we both heart her. This concert though- AMAZING. Probably the best concert I've ever been to. A definite must-see if you get the chance. I wish I could've taken all my girls... next time, hopefully!

One of the great things about this concert was they gave everyone in the audience a free bracelet that would light up to the beat of the music and change colors to match her lighting. It was pretty cool. All the little dots in the picture above are from the bracelets.

"Style"

A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER Book Blitz

Today I'm taking part in the book blitz for Elodie Nowodazkij's A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER. I've "known" Elodie via her blog for a long time now, and her first release ONE, TWO, THREE has been on my TBR for forever (I'm dying to read this book, especially because it's about ballet- my TBR list is just ridiculously long). I'm excited to spread the word about her latest release. Check it out!

A Broken Dreams Novella

She’s his best friend’s little sister. He’s the biggest player of them all.

They shouldn’t be together. But this summer’s just too tempting.

Sixteen-year-old Emilia Moretti’s goal for the summer is simple: forget her brother’s best friend—Nick Grawsky—ever existed. It should be easy: He’s spending his summer in the Hamptons, adding girls in tiny bikinis to his list of broken hearts. Guarantee he won’t be telling them they’re like his little sisters. This summer, Emilia won’t stay awake at night thinking about him. She’ll need flawless ballet movements to have a shot at next year’s showcase, and she’s finally ready to search for her birth parents. But when Nick decides to stay in the city, Emilia’s resolve disappears in a pirouette. Maybe it’s the spin they needed to be together. As long as she doesn’t get stuck believing in happily ever after…

Nick is tired of pretending to be the happy, let’s-have-fun guy. His father wants him to change his career from professional dancer to…lawyer. He needs to put all of his focus on dancing to prove to Daddy Dearest he’s good enough to make it big. And he may have a case of the bluest balls in history courtesy of Emilia. She’s off-limits: The bro code with Roberto even forbids the dirty thoughts he has about her. Besides, he’s not boyfriend material. He only has time for flings, for girls who don’t expect much, for girls he doesn’t want to kiss goodnight. He knows he should resist her, but he’s not sure he wants to…

At least for this summer.

It’s going to be a summer like no other.

Buy it now :) (Special price of $0.99 ends on Sunday August 2nd)

Amazon around the world * B&N * Kobo * iTunes

Giveaway Time from Elodie

To celebrate the release of A Summer Like No Other, I have set up a giveaway with pretty special prizes

(including a leather bracelet from Chloe + Isabel)

You have mannnnny ways to enter and you have an entire month to do so!

Link to participate: http://smarturl.it/ASLNOgiveaway Open internationally.

Thank you SO MUCH!!!

Other books by the author:

· One, Two, Three – available now (Amazon – B&N – iTunes – Kobo)

· One Dream Only – Free! (Amazon – B&N – iTunes – Kobo)

· Always Second Best – Available for pre-order (Amazon)

About the author

Elodie Nowodazkij was raised in a tiny village in France, where she could always be found a book in hand. At nineteen, she moved to the US, where she learned she’d never lose her French accent. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Modern Language & Linguistics, and later earned master’s degrees in German Cultural Studies and European Studies. Unbeknownst to her professors, she sometimes drafted stories in class. Now she lives in Maryland with her husband, their dog and their cat. She's also a serial smiley user.

Connect with the author

Facebook reader group (chat with the author, early excerpts, ARCs opportunities, giveaways…) – https://www.facebook.com/groups/954159761294820/

Newsletter (Exclusive bonus scenes, regular updates, videos, giveaways…) – http://elodienowodazkij.us3.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=4fe2ebb3f95df52e0954e0044&id=f404024751

Twitter- https://twitter.com/ENowodazkij

Instagram - https://instagram.com/enowodazkij/

Friday Loves: Ant-Man

Last Friday, me and the hubs saw Ant-Man in the theatre. The whole thing looked a little silly to me (really, a tiny man with super strength and ants as allies? this is a superhero?), but I heart Paul Rudd and Marvel so it was a no-brainer to give it a shot.

I loved it! The humor was the best part for sure and Michael Pena nailed it. Paul Rudd too, of course. He was the perfect charming, geeky hero. It's definitely worth a watch- I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Friday Loves: Once Upon A Time and Ticket to Ride

I started Once Upon A Time at the very beginning. The kids joined me last year when they found out Elsa and Anna would be on the show. They watched the entire season, and then begged me to start back at the beginning. Luckily, I have the first two seasons on DVD so lately, we've been watching a lot of OUAT. We're barely into the second season and the kids love it (my two oldest girls especially). They're constantly asking to watch and it's a fun thing for us to do together.

I like the first season the best, when we get introduced to everyone's stories and Emma doesn't believe in magic. However, it's nice to see Hook in the second. *wink wink*

I've tried to do a lot of things with the kids this summer. So far, we've gone to the beach and Calaway Park and the spray park all multiple times. Another thing I love to do is play games. Today, me and the oldest daughter played Ticket to Ride, one of my favorite board games (she beat me both times). It's nice to have something fun to do on a rainy day.

What are you loving this week?

#Pit2Pub

We interrupt our regularly scheduled progamming (Wednesday Writes) to bring you this special post all about the upcoming #Pit2Pub:

 

The Intro: Who has fun spending hours creating that perfect 140-character pitch? Then bouncing that sentence or two off others to see if it's fantastic? And finally having to create a couple more so you're not posting the same one every few hours?


The Why: Kristin and Ann know what you're going through. In fact, they both did quite a few Twitter Pitch Parties so they know your pain. Kristin remembers what it was like to see that little colored star and then checking and re-checking email to confirm that someone did in fact click on the pitch and favorite it. And Ann's recalls her heart pounding and her palms sweaty, all the while hoping and praying that it wasn't made by accident from a friend or some complete stranger who marked it and not re-tweeted it by mistake. They both trolled the feed all day long and didn't work their day jobs (well, mostly this was Kristin).

So it's because of those reasons Ann M. Noser and Kristin D. Van Risseghem wanted to help other authors. So why not pay it forward? They are fortunate enough to have a published book, and working on their second. But let's face it, the best reason for them doing this? IT'S FUN! So let's all have a blast, help each other out, and maybe, just maybe, you'll find that perfect relationship between author and publisher.

The When: Here’s the date for #Pit2Pub: July 15, 2015 starts at 8AM and ends at 8PM (CST or CDT, which is Chicago time).

The What: What is #Pit2Pub? A Twitter Pitch Party for writers to tweet a 140-character pitch for their completed manuscripts. Have several variations of your Twitter pitch available. The pitch must include the hashtag #Pit2Pub, the Age Group, and the Genre (#YA, #MG, #A, etc. see chart below) in the tweet. It's important to include the hashtag(s).

Age Groups:

#PB = Picture Book

#C = Children's

#MG = Middle Grade

#YA = Young Adult

#NA = New Adult

#A = Adult

#WF = Woman’s Fiction

Genres:

#NF = Non-fiction

#SFF = SciFi & Fantasy

#LF = Literary Fiction

#M = Mystery

#T = Thriller

#CL = Children's Lit

#CB = Chapter Book

#R = Romance

#Mem = Memoir

#S = Suspense

#RS = Romantic Suspense

#W = Westerns

#E = Erotica

RULES:
Authors of all genres are welcome to pitch their completed and polished manuscripts. You can pitch more than one manuscript. Tweet your pitch throughout the day, but no more than twice per hour per manuscript. When you see an industry professional on the feed, tweet it once. Remember to include the hashtag #Pit2Pub and genre.

The publishers will tweet their submission preferences and favorite your tweet if they wish to see more. If you get a favorite from an agent or publisher, follow their submission directions on their website or look for them on this blog. Then send them their request as soon as you can. They may have tweeted what they want you to send, so check their twitter feed for that information.

Make sure to put “Pit2Pub Request: TITLE” in the subject line of your email when sending your request.
Don’t tweet agents and publishers directly unless they tweet you first.

Don’t favorite friends’ tweets. You can RT your friends to show your support. Save favoriting for publisher requests to avoid confusion.

Be sure you research each requesting publisher. Don’t submit if you don’t want to work with them.

Be nice and courteous to each other and to the industry professionals. If you do see abuse, please report it to Twitter or notify Ann or Kristin right away.

Check back on their blogs (http://www.kristinvanrisseghem.com/blog) or Ann's Blog (http://annmnoser.com) as we post the list of comfirmed publishers who have signed up to monitor the feed on July 15, 2015!

Thank you! And let the fun begin!!!

Friday Loves: Summer and Say Anything

While I've pretty much failed at anything writing related this week (I've revised one measly chapter), I have done a lot with the kids. We went to Calaway Park (a local amusement park), the spray park, went to a Canada Day Parade, and spent a day at the beach. It's been a busy week but lots of fun. I just hope my kids don't expect every week to be so activity-filled.

Last night I watched SAY ANYTHING for the first time. I don't know if I loved it, but I can see how it's a YA writers dream. Lloyd was weird and interesting and honest and John Cusack nailed the character.

(Although the ghetto blaster scene was a total letdown. He didn't even get a reaction out of it.)

What are you loving this week?

Friday Loves: Call the Midwife and Royal Wedding

Can I first say what I do not love? That would be getting a golf-ball sized zit on my cheek just days before taking author photos. OF COURSE that happens. However, this is a Friday loves post, not a complainy post. And besides, my photographer wants to reschedule anyway so hopefully this growth will be gone by then.

So what do I love this week? CALL THE MIDWIFE.

I've said it before, but I'm in the middle of season 4 right now and it's soooooo good. I wasn't sure about the show without Nurse Lee, but it's still just as incredible. I still manage to shed at least one tear (if not a whole boatload) every episode. LOVE.

I also love reading another Princess Diaries book. I'm currently reading the new book, ROYAL WEDDING, and it's just as funny as I remember the old ones being.

What are you loving this week?

Wednesday Writes: Short Story

I mentioned on Monday that over the weekend I got this crazy urge to enter a short story contest. I've barely written any short stories, and I have less than a month to get one ready, but hey- why not, right? Honestly, I don't know why I want to give it a try, I just do. And I did.

Yep, I finished the short story! I wrote just under 4k on Friday, which was stellar. Then I hit a stand still and didn't know where to go from there. On Monday I stared at a blank screen and wrote about 100 words until finally I gave it up to work on JAR OF HEARTS revisions. Tuesday started the same, but I persisted, and ended up finishing the whole thing! WHOOP! It's only a first draft right now but I'm going to leave it for the rest of the week, work on more JAR OF HEARTS revisions, and then go back and revise it next week. Even if it comes to nothing, I'm glad I did it. It tested me in a completely different way.

What are you working on this week?

And hey, I'm being interviewed over at JR Yates blog today!

I've read a lot of acknowledgement pages. Like most writers, before I even start the book I flip to the back to see who the author's agent is, and if I recognize any of the names. In all the acknowledgement pages I've read, I don't remember anyone ever saying thank you to people who participate in cover reveals. Maybe they do, and I just don't remember, or I wasn't paying close enough attention. Or maybe they don't because acknowledgement pages shouldn't turn into novels themselves. Who knows.

So anyway, whether I'm allowed to or not later, or if I forget, for my Friday Loves today I want to thank everyone who so readily agreed to take part in my cover reveal yesterday. I'm constantly amazed by the writing community and how writers help each other out. Sometimes we put ourselves in competition with other authors because they got an agent first, or a three-book deal, or whatever. But we don't need to do that! We build each other up, we work together. I've seen it. Each person who volunteered to be part of my cover reveal is proof of that, and I'm so thankful.

So here's my Academy Award Speech, except with links. You could never get links at the Oscars.

I'd like to thank Michelle Merrill, RuthAnne Frost, Prerna Pickett, Jaime Morrow, Tyler-Rose Counts, S. L. Hennessy, Vanessa Eccles and the YA-NA Sisterhood, Laura Brown Teckman, Cathrina Constantine, Kristin Van Risseghem, Kathleen Allen, Maggie Findlay, Vanessa Reeves Rodriguez, Emma Wicker, Jennifer Rose Egan, Karen Mahara, and Anne Marie Hilse.

 

You girls are the best!!!

SWAY COVER REVEAL!!!

It's COVER REVEAL DAY!!!

I'm so excited for this cover and this book and for EVERYTHING right now!!! You could cut me off in traffic or spill beer on me today and I'd probably just smile and say, IT'S MY COVER REVEAL DAY! That's the kind of mood I'm in.

I wrote SWAY way back in 2011 (!) and I can't believe it's only months away from seeing the real light of day. If you haven't heard me babble about it before, it's a modern-day PERSUASION (by Jane Austen) retelling that takes place in LA (and a bit in Vegas too, cuz yanno Vegas is a prime drama-filled setting). Here's the blurb:

Ava Elliot never thought she’d become a couch surfer. But with a freshly minted—and worthless—degree from Julliard, and her dad squandering the family fortune, what choice does she have?

Living with her old high school friends, though, has its own drawbacks. Especially when her ex-fiancé Eric Wentworth drops back into her life. Eight years ago, she was too young, too scared of being poor, and too scared of her dad’s disapproval. Dumping him was a big mistake.

In the most ironic of role reversals, Eric is rolling in musical success, and Ava’s starting at the bottom to build her career. Worse, every song Eric sings is an arrow aimed straight for her regrets.

One encounter, one song too many, and Ava can’t go on like this. It’s time to tell Eric the truth, and make a choice. Finally let go of the past, or risk her heart for a second chance with her first love. If he can forgive her…and she can forgive herself.

Aaaaand, without further ado and messing around and all that jazz... here's the cover!

I was super nervous to see my cover because I'm picky-picky sometimes, but I love this cover! I love the font on the title, I love the colors, and I love the couple. I love that they incorporated a piano for my MC Ava and the background lights for Eric. I love it so much I just want to smoosh it.

SWAY is coming this winter from Samhain Publishing. You can add it on Goodreads here. Eeeek!

Wednesday Writes: Check-In

Since I'll be keeping track of my writing goals with Ready. Set. WRITE! my Wednesday Writes posts will be just a short check-in. I thought of quitting them altogether until RSW is over, but this will give me that one bit of extra accountability to make sure I'm staying on track.

As of Monday, I set a goal to finish critiquing a CPs manuscript and work on revisions of JAR OF HEARTS. I finished critiquing on Monday, and on Tuesday I revised three chapters of JofH. So I'm well on my way and feeling good. I also wrote up a 1st draft query for JofH and sent it to a CP to see what she thinks. I'm hoping to have this MS ready for PitchWars starting in August and I think I'll make it since this is third of fourth (or fifth) revision now... clearly I've lost track. But I think/hope/pray that this MS is getting to where it needs to be.

If you want to participate in Ready. Set. WRITE! check out the link above. And stop back tomorrow for my cover reveal for SWAY!!!