Book Fort And More Giveaways

Want to Win Signed Arcs of FOREVER and DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE: CLICK!

Want to Win a 50 page MS + Query Critique by Me: CLICK!

Ok announcements out of the way....here is today's post. All about forts! Book Forts!

So because I went to BEA with two of my critique partners, we were able to haul home a LOT of books. So many in fact that we thought it would be fun to build a fort out of them.

Because seriously....is there anything better than a fort?

Made of books?

I think not!

As promised, we made a fort. And I sat in it!

And....

We also shot some videos...

You guys know how great I am at vlogging right? As in, I'm NOT...well here are 6 vlogs for you to enjoy detailing our adventures in Book Fort-dom.

My Vague Plans For The Fort...

Building The Fort With First Novels Club Donna





Me, Donna and Sara IN the Fort!







Our friend, Geoff, from Gay In Public thought we were kidding...





Book Fort Bloopers: AKA Geoff CANNOT Be Trusted!






Katniss Style Protection of the Fort
(warning: the A word)





So there you have it. We said we were going to built a fort, and we did! And if you head over to The First Novels Club where I blog with my three lovely critique partners, you can enter a contest to win more arcs, including an arc of BLOODLINES!

BEA Picture Recap + Signed Arcs Giveaway

Hey Guys! Here's my recap of BEA week with a giveaway at the bottom. I took far too few pictures, but I did get enough to give you an idea of what my NY week was like. Enjoy!

Monday: Monday was the Teen Author Carnival where I got to hang out with a ton of bloggers and writers and listen to two panels of authors talk about Kick Ass Heroine's and Teen Angst. Basically it was awesome! Also I didn't take a picture but I was super excited to meet Kirsten Hubbard, author of Like Mandarin.

At the Teen Author Carnival

Got to meet Carla from the Crooked Shelf and see Jamie from Broke and Bookish.

With my friends, Philly bloggers/sisters/writers Lillie and Jenna.

With Steph Su

Finally got to meet Blogger Jessica Lawlor at Teen Author Carnival. We're both in Philly but kept missing each other.

Authors on the Kick Ass Heroine's Panel

Goofing with off Lenore who also fed me German Chocolate:-)

After the panels with Gayle Forman.

After the panel Steph Su and I met up with a bunch of awesome bloggers Lindsi, Farrah, Britney, Casey, and Heidi for pizza. And then I was off to Bronxville for the night.

Tuesday: BEA Day 1

This day began with Sara from The First Novels Club waking me up at 5am...5am...like seriously, I didn't know that the am even had a 5 o'clock hour, so we could drive to BEA super early and get signing tickets and register and I could sit in line while she went to the Children's Author Breakfast. But after a Starbucks run I kind of woke up and then the madness began!

A super energetic picture on Day 1 with First Novels Club Sara and Rachael from The Book Muncher

Hanging out with Jeri Smith-Ready made the line waiting a ton of fun. It was even more fun when Dawn Metcalf found us and we decided that our wild dark hair will forever bond the three of us.

My first day of BEA was fabulous! I got books signed by Richelle Mead (SQUEEEE), Jennifer Lynne Barnes, Scott Tracey, Kiki Hamilton and Lisa Desrochers and Taherah Mafi! Hung out with my agent, caught up with a ton of awesome bloggers and writers. And it was awesome!

Also exhausting and afterward we headed back to Bronxville for dinner and passing out!

Wednesday: BEA Day 2

MOAR waking up at 5am and getting to BEA earlier than should've been possible and waiting in line early to get in, but it was SO worth it because I got to see Lauren Oliver (SQUEEESAUCE), and Ally Condie, and Laini Taylor and Sara Shepard....and others I know I'm forgetting. Also I finally got to meet Vania from VLC Productions (SQUEEEE)!

Though I have to say meeting Gerald and Piggie from Mo Willems' books kind of made my day!

At the end of the day, Sara and I hauled our books to our room then met up with First Novels Club Donna and Maggie Stiefvater for some dinner and...

See this show if you're in NYC, it was freaking hilarious!

Thursday: BEA Day 3


Day 3 of BEA has a special place in my heart because it began at...NOT 5am! This time it was just me and Donna braving the crowds, but mostly hanging out. My favorite signing of the day was Kody Keplinger's whose new book Shut Out was super high on my "want" list. Also got to see Melissa Marr again!

Kody! Adorableness!

After lunch with Maggie from Not Your Mother's Book Club! I was SO excited to meet her since we've been talking for over a year and she is made of awesome!

After BEA Day 3, we headed over to the Scholastic Store for the launch of This Is Teen with Maggie Stiefvater, Meg Cabot, and Libba Bray.

Before This Is Teen (Me, Chelsea, Farrah, Lindsi, Casey, Britney)
And it looks like The Story Siren and Lenore are behind us:-)

Totally forgot to take pictures at the event, but here is one of me and Sara with Maggie toward the end of the night:-)

After getting a ton of books signed, we finally, wearily, made our way back home, where I promptly passed out! WHOO!

Are you still with me? Because here comes your part! The part where you win two of my signed arcs!

CONTEST!

Win signed arcs of FOREVER by Maggie Stiefvater and DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE by Laini Taylor!

This contest is International and to enter all you have to do is follow my blog! Yay--easiness! 

Ok, so leave a comment below--don't forget to leave me your email address so I can contact you when you win and voila...you're in!

Want more points...feel free to do whatever you want--tweet this, facebook it, blog it, sidebar it, call your friends up and offer bribes, blood, your firstborn.... Just let me know what you did and I'll give you more points for everything. 

Ok Guys! Hope you enjoyed the recap and pictures and good luck to those entering the contest!

Update: This contest has closed and the winner has been notified. Thanks everyone who entered. 

MOAR Auction: Bigger, Better

Hey Guys! I hope you're all having a fabulous extended weekend. I'm finally getting settled after the madness and craziness and general total awesomeness that was BEA and I have pictures and stories and arcs to give you.

Also...I built a book fort with Sara and Donna from The First Novels Club.

We could sit in it, you guys! INSIDE!

Pictures and vlog on the way.

BUT...this post is for Alabama.

My auction is still running (a few extra days bc of the weekend) and the prize just got bigger and better, and every little bit helps!

Since the bids went up to $50 I'm now offering a query critique and a critique on 50 pages of your MS.

Go here if you want to bid.

You guys are amazing and a HUGE shout out goes to Courtney Barr for organizing the efforts!

Win a Query + 30 page MS Critique by Me

Hey Guys, I've joined the All 4 Alabama Relief effort and have donated to the auction to help. Starting at 11AM today you can bid on me and the winner will get a critique of their query letter plus a critique of the first 30 pages of their manuscript.

To give you a little incentive to bid on me...I did A LOT of research on queries and I am frequently asked to critique queries for other people. My own query got me a FULL request from agents 50% of the time and I had my first offer after only 2 weeks and accepted representation with Laura Rennert within 30 days from sending out my first query.

I also may or may not know a thing or two about critiquing manuscripts:-)

Anyway, I highly encourage you to check out the auctions if you haven't done so yet, and bid on something to help out. Though obviously you should bid on mine;)

Go here at 11! The auction will go for 5 days.

Ok guys! Bloggingg may be sparse this week. I'm leaving in a few hours for NYC. Donna has a full list of our plans up at The First Novels Club. And seriously, our week is JAM PACKED. But I promise to fill you all in on the cool stuff after and look out for some BIG upcoming contests, because I'm coming home with a lot!

Master the Art of the Elevator Pitch

Yesterday Maggie posted THIS VIDEO with editors previewing their most exciting fall titles. Which ok, on it's own its just awesome--you get to hear Cheryl Klein, Arthur Levine and David Levithan + more talk.

But if you listen and watch closely, you'll see that what they are essentially doing is giving you, the viewer an elevator pitch for each of their books.

I know the whole elevator pitch can be a HUGE cause of stress for anyone searching for an agent or attending a pitching session at a conference. Believe me, I know. It's stressful and scary and it sounds like the most. awkward. thing. ever. Even when you're a pro.

But I've listened to a lot of pitches and have been known to force my friends to "do it again" and "again" and "again" until they have their pitch down!

So my biggest tips on this:

1. Let the editor/agent your pitching know:
    A. The identity of your character
    B. The situation that sets their story in motion
    C. The quest they must undertake, or mystery they must solve, or person they must come to love.
2. Keep it under 30 seconds.
3. Be confident. Even if you feel silly, fake it till you make it. Its just 30 seconds, put on your brave face.
4. Smile.

And watch how the editors in this video do it--study their poise and tone.

So hopefully that helps!

Talking to Writers When They're Writing

Ok, so totally odd question... but what if you were walking into a cafe and spotted your favorite author at their laptop writing. What would you do?

Would you go up to them? Would you interrupt just so you could meet them and maybe get them to sign something?

Or would you stay away? Either because you didn't want to disturb them or because you'd be worried about breaking their flow, and causing them to forget their next thought thereby changing the entire ending to their best selling series and thus destroying an entire fandom's faith in all that is good? Ok, so probably it takes more than that to ruin a fandom, but you get my drift.

And then Voldemort said, "Can't we all just get along."
"Let's hug," Harry chirped in agreement. 

I ask because I've been learning lately that I've been recognized or spotted quite a few times by other writer/bloggers in the area at cafes--all who didn't interrupt me at the time, but told me about it later at an event. Beyond the fact that I'm now realizing I need to check my make-up before hunkering down for my public marathon sessions, it just got me wondering. Especially because a lot of people who don't recognize me seem to think it's okay to interrupt and ask what I'm doing.

For the record, if you know me, say hi. If you don't, you're not reading this blog...and you'll probably say hi anyway.

I know if I saw one of my favorite writers writing...one I wasn't friends with....I'd probably be totally intimidated, but dying inside to talk to them and see what they're working on and if they want to bounce an idea around. I always think of Georgina Kincaid in Succubus Blues when she goes to interrupt Seth Mortensen and then goes into awe that she may have influenced a page of his book. I love that!

There's still something kind of magical about the moment a word leaves your mind and finds its way onto paper, isn't there? And seeing it happen for someone else has its own magic too.

So do you watch the magic, or become a part of it?

BEA Excitement

Eeek! You guys it's in ONE week! I am so freaking excited to go, and by go I mean actually step past the ropes of BEA this year--I can barely stand it (Book Expo America for anyone just joining in).

Many of you might remember last year that I went to NY with Donna from The First Novels Club for my first in person meeting with Agent Laura.  But this year Donna, Sara and I are actually going INSIDE. Squeee!

The more I read blogs about BEA and tips, etc. the more excited I get!

Also...I may be making an appearance at the Teen Author Carnival next Monday *fingers crossed*

So WHO is going? Who has been? And please share survival tips!

P.S. Friday night you can catch me at Jeri Smith-Ready's book signing in Delaware.

Philly Lit Night This Saturday: Suburban Edition

You guys! It's that time again! Time for the bi-monthly explosion of the greatest event on earth in Philly in the suburbs you can do this Saturday if you live in or around the Philly area!!!!

Once again Simon C. Larter and I have combined forces to bring you this event of awesome. And this time...we've secured you FREE Parking!

Or..the fact that we've moved this month's event to the suburbs has...

ANYWAY....

Here are the details you need to know!

We'll be meeting at Barnes and Noble in Willow Grove, PA for lattes, and shenanigans. Possibly getting kicked out of the store, but mostly engaging in fun conversation. Then, we'll be heading down the street to the Kitchen Bar for dinner, drinks and more fun conversation.

Possibly some awkward conversation. But mostly AWESOME conversation!

Who: Me and Simon and YOU!

What: Philly Lit! Philly Area writers, bloggers, authors and publishing peeps hang out! The Greatest Night on earth ever when you have nothing else to do on Saturday.


When/Where: This Saturday, May 14, 2011
                        4 PM Barnes and Noble, Willow Grove PA
                        6 PMish Kitchen Bar, Abington PA

How: You come. We entertain. And for any commuters, there will be rides offered between events, and cars to follow for those who have trouble following directions down the road.

Why: Because I like you. Also Simon's cool too. And where else can you discuss all you want to discuss about writing and publishing and your latest manuscript with people who UNDERSTAND you. Also...because you have nothing else to do Saturday.

So who's coming? If we haven't emailed you about the event and you'd like to be emailed, let me or Simon know. Don't worry, Simon only sends out inappropriate emails once in awhile.

Can't wait to see you guys, Saturday!!!!

Friday Five: Things I LOVE Edition

1. Last night I got to see one of my favorite bands The Naked and the Famous in Philly. I went with my friend Jamie from The Perpetual Page Turner Blog. And it was FANTASTIC. Also with magical parking. I turned onto South Street right in front of the concert venue, and literally, across the street was a big fat parking space. The parking gods were in my favor. I tried to take pictures....but they suck. So here's one of their music videos.



2. Last night I finished SHIFT, the second book in Jeri Smith-Ready's SHADE series and O.M.G. I LOVE this book So So So So much, that I was willing to risk anything to get to the end, including sleep deprivation, my health, the grades of my students, the possible extinction of chocolate...or not. But WOW! I'll have to post a gushing soon because as far as YA Paranormal goes this series is TOP NOTCH and awesome! Also, Jeri wrote one of my favorite kissers (yes, I'm beyond calling him the love interest because his kissing skills are like woah).

I LOVE this book!

3. Because of craziness I never got to blog about meeting Megan McCafferty last week at her Bumped signing in Princeton. Let me just say, that she is ADORABLE in person. She looks just like I'd imagine Jessica Darling as a grown up. Her son was too cute for words and what I'd like to imagine as the offspring of a real life Jessica Darling and Marcu Flutie. Also, Megan is one of the best, most animated and hilarious live readers ever. Seriously, she should do her own audio.

For an actual recap of this event check out Jamie's post, or Steph Su's post on the event!

4. In just a few short weeks I'll be in NYC at BEA with 3/4 of the First Novels Club! YAY! This combines so many things I love I think I will self combust. Conferences! NYC! Traveling with the FNC! Seeing so many of my friends! Making new ones! Hearing amazing writers talk! Going to see shows! Seriously...BEA is going to be top notch this year--I think Top Notch is my new catch phrase.

5. It is WARM outside! WARM! WARM! WARM! I'm in flip flops! I'm so happy. I do LOVE all the seasons, but I am soooooo ready for some warmth.


So that's it. I know...I counted to five...yikes. I hope everyone is having a fabulous Friday with things they love!

Possession Arc Winner!

What do you get when you add finals week at one university to the first week of the semester at another?

Answer?

A long overdue Winners Post!

Whew! So sorry about that guys.

So withour further delay, the winner of the International Arc Contest for Elana Johnson's Possession is...

Jel!

Congrats, Jel. I'll be emailing you for your mailing address.

Thanks everyone for entering, tweeting, facebooking, sidebarring, bribing...you know, for being awesome!