All Kinds of Wonderful!

Short post for me today.  Hey, did I just hear a cumulative sigh of relief?  Ha ha, no worries.  I’m swamped with all kinds of wonderful right now. 

On Wednesday, I leave for BoucherCon, my first-ever writer’s conference, though, to be honest, it’s way more than that.  It’s for anyone who loves mystery and crime fiction, fans and writers alike.  Even better, I get to see one of my besties, Jennifer Hillier.  Sadly, she moved from here in Seattle back to Toronto last December and I haven’t seen her since, so I’m excited beyond words!  Happy dance time!

But as incredible as that is—and it is incredible—something even bigger is planned.  I finally, FINALLY get to meet, in person, my pub-sister, my most valued critique partner, my email buddy, and my very best friend and confidant, Lisa Regan.  We’ve been CPs for over two years now.  Without fail, we email long-ass letters to each other twice a week, with lots of little ones and texts in between.  So, hell yeah, this is going to be EPIC!!!  Be prepared for lots of pictures when I return.

Also exciting, starting today, I’m a judge for the Small Press Pitch portion of Deana Barnhart’s Gearing Up to Get an Agent Blogfest or GUTGAA, as we lovingly call it.  How cool is that? 

And, of course, since I’ll be gone and it’s the beginning of the month, I have to compose a little sump’m sump’m for Alex J. Cavanaugh’s IWSG on Wednesday.  And with all this wonderfulness, I simply have nothing to complain about, so I plan on writing something a bit lighter than usual.

That said, I’m happy to be buried in edits—my new day job—which, I must say, I love, love LOVE!  In addition to all that, my debut novel, The Mistaken, launches in less than three weeks, along with my whirlwind blog tour, so while I’m drowning in promo, I’m lovin’ every minute of it!  This is me with my head ready to spin right off my body! 

What about you…have you ever found yourself drowning in pure euphoria?     

  

       

What Do You Know, I'm a Judge!

I had planned on making a standard post today, but I will have to put it off while I participate in week 4 of Deana Barnhart's  Gearin' Up To Get An Agent Blogfest.  This week is the First 200 Words Novel Critique and Contest, but instead of being a regular participant, I am a judge!  How cool is that?  Pretty cool, I think.

So while I thought to take the week off from reading then commenting on the first 200 words of 40 different participating novelists, now I am  reading and judging those critical first words.  I don't really feel worthy, but I will give it my best shot.  And how exciting to get a first glimpse at some extraordinary novels!  

Happy Dance Time!

Wahoo!

I'm a finalist in

Deana Barnhart’s
Gearin' Up To Get an Agent

Query Critique Contest

I'm very excited, though I realize after reading all the other revised queries that I have very little hope in winning, but like they say:  It's great just to be nominated!  

I would like this opportunity to thank everyone

who helped whip my query into better shape, most especially 

Robin Weeks

You, Ms. Weeks, are a godsend, not to mention a freakin' anomaly.

Who can whip out queries like that, I ask you?

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Gearin' Up to Get an Agent BlogFest: Week 1

(Wow, two posts in one day!  Not usually my thing,

but I was on vacation and forgot to do this one item below.)

Oops, I’m a day late (and more than a dollar short) but I thought I’d throw my two cents in as an official participant in Deana Barnhart’s  Gearin’ Up To Get An Agent BlogFest.  The rule?  Take the greatest, dumbest, weirdest...just whatever kind of writing question you have, and post it on your blog Wednesday.  (See, I’m  late.)  So here it is:

When a writer receives a rejection from an agent, can we assume that the agent has actually read that query, or is more likely that the agent’s assistant just assumed her boss wouldn’t like it and replied on her behalf?