2013 Excitement and Mystery...

by Jeannie Lynn Paske

Excitement this week:

• celebrating Michelle McLean's book release of TO TRUST A THIEF 
• seeing her beautiful book trailer for the first time 
• meeting our fabulous January Mystery Agent Thao Le of Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency 
• and Kristal shared her publisher's Show Us Your Wings contest and giveaway for A Shimmer of Angels book swag!

Excitement this MONTH! 

• Prior to all of this, we celebrated 2013 in style with the New Year's Revisions Conference, a totally free, totally online, totally archived conference themed around revision. 
• Then Michelle shared her publisher's news: Entangled has partnered with Davis Entertainment, in which Davis "gets an exclusive first look at all the titles coming out of Entangled". Entangled has also partnered with two Big 6 pubs, Macmillan and St. Martin's in which "Macmillan will distribute English language e-books of Entangled’s new publications" and "St. Martin's will launch a new joint venture imprint known as St. Martin’s/Entangled which will bring into print and publish a select number of Entangled’s digital first titles."

2013 is shaping up to be an incredible year, and we aren't even out of January yet! 

As much fun and excitement as we've had on the blog out in the open, there's been additional awesomeness going on behind the owlery drapes. Mysterious owlish stuff...

Beginning on Monday, January 28th, we're going to have some big announcements (hint: they include more contests, and that's not even the exciting part!). Note: we won't have a February Mystery Agent contest as we are just catching our breath after NYRC 2013.

We have more Operation Awesome book news coming down the pike, but that's not my news to share, so I'll let you wonder...

*insert fog machine here*

hee hee

I also have some personal news which I'm sure I'll be blogging more about in the future. It involves the publishing industry, but doesn't involve any of my books. 

Riddle, riddle, riddle. 

I'd make a terrible Sphinx. 

 

by ~Nathali

I'd love to hear from you what wonderful, mysterious things are you anticipating in 2013? (ooh, especially tell me about book releases, yours or your favorites) 

Have FUN Writing! (with writing prompts)

There are a few things I always associate with FUN:

• Fridays
• Saturdays
• Parks and lakes
• Ice cream
• Yellow
• Balloons
• Bubbles

You'll notice something very important is missing from this non-inclusive list. 

WRITING!

But writing is fun, right?

Well, it usually is. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it always is... except when it isn't.

Times when writing isn't fun include: 

• writer's block
• December 1st, the day after NaNoWriMo
• post-accident/baby/surgery

All other times, though, writing is SOOOO much fun we're all just giggling manically, right? Maybe that's a bit of an overstatement. Last night, I wrote until 1:30am before I forced myself to synopsize the rest of the story in my head and go to bed... for the sake of the kids the next day. 

Why was I writing so long? I was having the time of my life. It is FUN to make up conversations and relationships and conflicts that only I can resolve. It is FUN to create a whole new world with made-up slang and rites of passage and...

Mmmm...

Oh yeah! Magic edible sparkles!

In fact, there's no job more fun than writing. 

So if you are writing today and you aren't having fun, take a step back and try one of these prompts instead:

1. You're a zoo animal the night before a planned zoo/prison break.
2. You're a socialite/social climber with a huge zit on a prominent body part the night of your engagement party to the man or woman of your dreams.
3. You're a five-year-old child in a war-torn town.
4. You're Scooby-Doo.
5. You're a 7-foot tall man who's falling for his English tutor. 
6. You're the last pickle in the jar.
7. You're a dynamite performer of the charisma level of Elvis and Justin Bieber all wrapped into one, and your stage just collapsed with you and all your favorite people on it.
8. You're Castle meets Veronica Mars meets Doctor Who.
9. You're a five-time mixed martial arts champion with a sprained toe going into the last fight of your career. 
10. You're a small town CPA who starts an a cappella group in the basement of your professional tax preparation office.

Also, see the Writing Prompts tumblr page (not mine, but so awesome) for more inspiration.

Cankering Conflict

It's sickie season, and just about everybody I know has been touched by it in some form or another. When you're a parent, your child getting sick is just about the worst thing ever. The helplessness you feel can be heartbreaking, especially if it gets worse before it gets better. And your relief when a lingering illness finally subsides is beyond description. *angels singing*

Today I want to talk about cankering conflict, the slow, inevitable, heart-wrenching kind. In the novel my sister and I are co-writing, the catalyst character is motivated by his father's ALS, by watching him deteriorate slowly. My sister and I can understand him because we had a glimpse (blessedly short at about six months) while our dad was going through chemo for fourth stage lymphoma.

Chronic illness is a cankering conflict because it just eats away at everything it touches - the actual sick person, the family morale, relationships between siblings and parents and lovers. It's the kind of conflict you can't just push through and deal with because it won't move any faster than it wants to.

You. just. have. to. wait. 

And watch.

And dread.

That's cankering conflict. It doesn't always have to be illness. It can be an arranged marriage, the end of a job contract, the military reservist's report date, the space between nomination and award ceremony.

Similar to the power of absence, the power of time, of inevitability, drives people to act in ways they otherwise wouldn't. 

In Dear John by Nicholas Sparks, Savannah makes a marriage choice that betrays her heart and her true love because of a cankering conflict that's ever-present in her life. In fact, the entire love story is a cankering conflict because of his duty to his special forces team and the physical distance between them.

People who are surviving cankering conflicts - whether they are ill, about to be deported, or just watching a loved one suffer from the sidelines - all they want is some immediate relief.

Their pain is nearly constant.

And this is something all of us have to deal with in some way during our lifetimes. I guarantee your reader understands cankering conflict on a personal level.

Does your favorite book have a cankering conflict? How about your current work-in-progress?

Pre-Conference Giveaway WINNERS!

THANK YOU to all who entered and to all who helped to spread the word about NYRC 2013! Whether you have something ready to revise or not, you're sure to find useful wisdom at the New Year's Revisions Conference. 

It is totally online, totally free, and totally revisions. ;)

• Next Thursday, January 3, 2013: Critique Partner Matching Service
• Our Q&A agents/expert panel
• A Peek at Our Line-up
• What You Should Bring to the Conference

Back to our awesome giveaway...

The prizes:

SHADOWS OF THE HIDDEN by Anne Riley (e-copy)
DEADWOOD by Kell Andrews (signed ARC)
AMAROK by Angela Townsend (e-copy)
A LITTLE BIT WICKED by Robyn DeHart (e-copy)
GABRIEL STONE AND THE DIVINITY OF VALTA by Shannon Duffy (e-copy)
SHIMMER OF ANGELS by Lisa Basso (e-copy)
$10 amazon.com gift card


The winners: 

Amanda R.: A LITTLE BIT WICKED by Robyn DeHart (e-copy)

Rena T.: DEADWOOD by Kell Andrews (signed ARC)

Dawn A.: AMAROK by Angela Townsend (e-copy)

Tiffany B.: SHIMMER OF ANGELS by Lisa Basso (e-copy)

Aldrea A.: GABRIEL STONE AND THE DIVINITY OF VALTA by Shannon Duffy (e-copy)

Shelly C.: SHADOWS OF THE HIDDEN by Anne Riley (e-copy)

Joel S.: $10 amazon.com gift card

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations to the winners! Enjoy your spoils, and get your red pens ready for January 4, 5, and 6!

Simon & Schuster, a Big-6 Publisher, Picks Up Self-Published Series

"Simon & Schuster is entering as yet uncharted waters for a big-six publisher: it is acquiring the print rights to an ebook hit and leaving the ebook rights with the author.
“This is a modern twist on the old paperback license, but in this case Simon & Schuster will be publishing the hardcover and paperback editions simultaneously. We’re thrilled to be able to help Wool achieve greater distribution at retail and bring this talented writer to a larger audience,” said Julia Prosser, assistant director of publicity for Simon & Schuster.
The Bookseller is reporting that in the UK Century has acquired both the print and ebook rights for the title.
—Wool Author Hugh Howey and his agent Kristin Nelson will be presenting at Digital Book World 2013."— Story from Digital Book World

On goodreads

"Originally a self-published short story, WOOL was first released in July 2011. Within months, word of mouth turned this small piece, never marketed, into an ebook sensation. Reviews poured in and readers demanded more, inspiring Howey to continue the story. Howey published the next four sections of the book in installments, growing his fan base with each new release. WOOL has gone on to sell over 300,000 ebooks and is now being translated into over eighteen languages. Century Fox recently acquired film rights to the book with Ridley Scott’s production company partnering with Steve Zaillian for this option." 

What do you think of this? It's well known by now that self-published authors with success on their own can expect to garner the attention of an agent, or a publisher. But this is a first for a Big-Six Publisher. Does this encourage more people to self-publish?

What is your reaction?

Honestly, my reaction is to wonder where I can get a copy! Post-apocalyptic mystery? Awesome!

Here's the blurb:

They live beneath the earth in a prison of their own making. There is a view of the outside world, a spoiled and rotten world, their forefathers left behind. But this view fades over time, ruined by the toxic airs that kill any who brave them.
So they leave it to the criminals, those who break the rules, and who are sent to cleaning. Why do they do it, these people condemned to death? Sheriff Holston has always wondered. Now he is about to find out.

SHADOWS of the HIDDEN by Anne Riley is here!

It's out! Well, for pre-order!

Link to pre-order (The link to pre-order is in the sidebar)

If you use this pre-order link, shipping is free.

Goodreads page

Facebook page

Anne Riley author website

Blurb:

Natalie Watson doesn't believe her parents are dead, even though they disappeared five years ago. Discovering the truth about their fate is one of the only things that gets her out of bed in the morning. But after moving from her home in Georgia to her aunt's boarding school in Maine, solving the mystery of her parents' whereabouts is just one of several challenges she must face. When she's not fending off attacks from the popular kids, she puzzles over the rumors about a strange boy in her math class--one with fiery red hair who rarely speaks. 

Despite suspicions that he murdered his sister a year earlier, Natalie finds it impossible to stay away from Liam Abernathy--especially when he confesses to knowing something about her parents. Soon she's following him into the forest, where things happen she doesn't understand...things that shouldn't be possible. 

Natalie soon realizes her connection to Liam is deeper than she ever imagined, and not everyone she counts as a friend can be trusted. When she finds herself at the center of a centuries-old quest for immortality, she must work with Liam to stay alive--even if it means facing a truth about herself and her family that will not only shake her perception of herself, but of the entire world around her.

If you ever heard me gush about THE CLEARING by Anne Riley, then you know I am a big fan. SHADOWS OF THE HIDDEN is its reincarnation, put out by Compass Press.

The new cover goes above and beyond my original hopes for it! Covers aside, the content of this book is deep, moving, and wonderful. 

I've been recommending it to my friends for over a year, and now I have a reason to talk about it some more! 

Even though this is a magical book - okay, so it's got magic in it, not made of - it also touches on some very real-world problems, like the cost of bullying, the reality of bereavement. Adults and young adults alike will enjoy the magic and relate to the pain. As a writer, I know it's tough to strike that balance between magic and realism, but Anne Riley does it seamlessly. 

I hope you enjoy Shadows of the Hidden as much as I have. And if you do, skip on over to Anne Riley's page and tell her how it made you feel.

OA regulars, don't forget to polish your one-line pitches for December's Mystery Agent Contest TOMORROW!! See you then!

Inciting Incidents: You can take the girl out of the suburbs...

We're moving farther into the city tomorrow. It was set before the election in response to what has become the economic reality for many people.

Inciting incident: Rising costs across the board. Gas prices in CA are crazy right now. That makes food costs more expensive, as well, which we can definitely feel in the tightening of our belts. And the renewal letter we got from our apartment manager proposed raising our rent by $200/month. At that moment, it was clinched. We had to move.

The adventure or quest novel always begins this way. Something happens. It can be a gradual build-up, but often it happens all at once--something that changes everything. For your hero, it should color everything gray. It should make the need to change inevitable.

And, as Donald Maass says in Writing the Breakout Novel, it should be gut-wrenching. He calls it "gut emotional appeal," but whatever you call it, it should be like a punch in the chest to your character, something so tangible your reader is reeling from the sympathy pains.

I don't think I've ever written an inciting incident so powerful, but I can tell you that I'm living one right now. And it's something I'll take with me into my writing going forward. Because my family of five is now on a quest, to make the city our new home.

A suburban girl who really prefers the open skies of Arizona and the open breezes of the southern Utah red rocks is going to be living in a tri-level attached to a hundred other tri-levels. I'm a character in my own story, and I know this is going to change me because... how could it not?

I have a lot of worries. Thanks to the economy, theft is on the rise. Youth unemployment has led to a rise in teen gangs just walking the streets looking for trouble. I'm reading every day in the news about random acts of violence that seem to have no real motive other than boredom combined with evil. As a mom, I keep these stories in my worry-chamber, storing them up so I'll be prepared for anything. But you can never prepare for everything.

My oldest is only five, but those of you who write YA could easily write me in as the mother who worries too much and tends toward the dramatic. Or I could be Bella, leaving her home with nothing but a tiny cactus to take Arizona with her to the rainiest place in the country.

Change is powerful. A change of location, the introduction of a stranger, or a group of strangers, the loss of someone beloved -- it's transforming.

What's the catalyst in your adventure? Does it break your character's heart? Break it. Because the path toward wholeness is the whole story.

NaNo-Go!

If you're like me and forgot yesterday to start a regimented 1700-words-per-day habit for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), it's okay.

Start on Day 2. Or even Day 3, if Saturday is your favorite. It's okay to do NaNoWriMo halfway, in circles, or upside down.

Many writers use NaNo to increase their writing productivity without actually following all the rules (new project, begin November 1st, write at least 50k words by the end of the month). Some do NaNoReMo and work on revising a book they've already written.

That's what I'm doing.

Do you NaNo?

Ready, set, go!


p.s. After November, you may want to let your newly finished "literary abandon" sit for a bit through Christmas before tackling revisions in January. That's why Operation Awesome is busy putting together a helpful New Year's Revisions Conference here on our blog. It'll be completely free and completely online. Save the date: January 4-6, 2013.