WriteOnCon!!!!

WriteOnCon has OFFICIALLY kicked off the WriteOnCon 2011 online writer’s convention.

For those who aren’t aware of what WriteOnCon is, it’s a forum geared towards authors of all genres. It has open forums where you can post your query letter, synopsis, first 250-words, and your first five pages for critiquing. The down fall-if you want to consider this a down fall, you have to critique five others in the same forum.

Enough about that, there are NINJA agents – REAL World literary agents that are going forum to forum and critiquing other peoples work. If you follow twitter, then you should follow the @WriteOnCon twitter feed and when it says, “A ninja agent is in the forum,” that means an agent is in that forum critiquing and that you should post your work then onto the forum.


Other Great Opportunities at WriteOnCon

Twitter pitch (pitch in 140 characters or less) and first 100 words for critique/comment. Entries are capped at 75. The forum opens today at 10am CST.

250-Word Pitch Critique event. Entries capped at 50. The forum opens tomorrow, August 17, 2011 at 9am CST.

YA Query Critique—Entries capped at 50. The forums open tomorrow, August 17, 2011 at 4pm CST.


Live Forums
To see if your pitches and queries were chosen for review, follow these live forums for your chance for critiquing.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011 at 10:00am CST-Live Twitter pitch event with literary agents Carlie Webber and Christina Hogrebe.

Thursday, August 18, 2011 at 9:00am CST-Live 250-Word Pitch Critique event with literary agent Alyssa Eisner Henkin

Thursday, August 18, 2011 at 4:00pm CST-Live YA query letter event with literary agent Roseanne Wells


There are tons of opportunities for live forums. So jump over to http://writeoncon.com/

And join the forums for your chance to get critiqued!

Patience is a Virtue?

Sometimes I am afraid that my age is going to suck me up and then I am going to wither up and die. Too dramatic? I’d think not. I am unfortunately, the most impatient person on the face of the planet, yes; I was including five-year-old kids tantalizing their parents, “Are we there yet?” I want success and I want success now. Of course, everyone knows that unless you are willing to self publish or have the patience of a ninety-year-old woman, writing and getting published are the two most untimely fashioned subjects in the world.

For one, I never know who, what, when, and where my characters are going to go or if they even feel like coming out to play. Thank God, I have more than one project going on or I would sit in front of my laptop and explode into smithereens waiting for something great to cross my brain. Secondly, I get distracted. Sons of Anarchy, Glee, Dexter, True blood, damn YOU! Even if it means watching two or three hours of television a week, that is still time that I am taking away from my success.

Also, I’ve become a cyber stalker. Yes, my index finger has a permanent blister from where I am pressing the refresh browser in my Gmail inbox in the hopes that we will receive one request for our manuscript. Not to mention, that Query Tracker---you should have an addiction class called “Query Tracker Anonymous.” You have possessed me and I have become this research freak and a constant forum reader. I’m pretty sure that if I don’t get a contract soon, my marriage is going to fall into the large crack in the earth called the Grand Canyon. Even though Age of Eden is already finished we keep going back and changing the first few chapters, in the hopes that it will catch an agent’s eye.

I am a true believer in the phrase, “Good things come to those who wait.” But seriously man, I’m becoming a combustible crazy chanting old lady who will be known as the next cat lady---and I don’t even have a cat.

Sorry to vent but I have had one exhausting weekend, completed by helping my sister-in-law paint the rooms in her new house and ripping up linoleum floors. This now makes me thankful that I have hardwood flooring. But has made me inconsiderably irritable and ready to bite the head off of the mental world that I have rotating around in my brain.

I hope everyone has a good week and hopefully the next time I blog my blood pressure won’t be sky high and I won’t be so aggravated at the publishing world. *Shakes Fist

The Never Ending Learning Curve

I know, I know. It’s been a long time since my words have graced the screen of our blog and really there is no excuse other than the fact that I’ve been having a mad love affair with procrastination. It’s a horrendous thing. Seriously.

That doesn’t mean that my thoughts haven’t been on writing my new book or continuing to polish up AoE with Stacey. It does mean that I haven’t felt as reflective in recent days as I have in the past. That, I hope, will change. I’ll hold my muse hostage if I have to, but I certainly hope I won’t have to lower myself to such drastic measures.

Stacey and I have been focused on our publishing dreams for going on a year now (okay, longer than that separately, but you get my meaning) and I have to say I feel like we have both grown tremendously in that amount of time. I learn something about writing and about myself as a writer every single day, which is something that I am proud of. I hope it never stops. That’s how writing should be. A learning experience…constantly. Whether it be learning how to listen to the voices inside our heads, allowing the characters to take on a life of their own, or just recognizing the uniqueness of our writing styles, there is always something to take note of and pay attention to when writing.

I think back to some of my favorite authors like J.K. Rowling, Nora Roberts, Richelle Mead, Stephen King, etc., and I realize that you can tell a lot about writers when you read through their works from their first novels to their most recent. The talent is always there, but the polish and technical skills show a vast amount of growth. For the authors mentioned above, it is a testament to the gift of storytelling that they possess and to the amount of work they’ve put into honing their craft. This tells me that even for those writers who have been serving up books for over twenty years are still, even now, continuing to learn about themselves and evolving into whatever comes next.

Of course there are those choice few authors on my list who are on the opposite side of the spectrum. Those who, instead of learning and growing, become stagnant and irrelevant because they are more interested in earning the mighty dollar. They produce mediocre work on a regular bases to fulfill their contract requirements and show no growth in talent or understanding of themselves or the characters and stories they create. This is not who I want to be.

I want to be writing 20 years from now and be proud of what I’ve accomplished. I want to look back without regret and know that I didn’t lose sight of why I became a writer in the first place.

And do you know why I am a writer?

I am a writer because not writing would be like living life without taking a single breath of fresh air. Because I love the worlds my characters live in. I want to live there too and I get to live there every time I sit at my computer and put words to page. I share joy and sorrow, pain and laughter, and love and loss with my characters. They are a part of me just as much as I am a part of them and I can’t imagine having it any other way.

Now I’m not going to say that I am completely faithful to my writing. God knows I allow myself to get distracted often enough, but it is always at the forefront of my mind screaming at me to get my ass in gear and do what I was born to do. But, again, I’m still learning and every day I learn more about the writer I am and the writer I will be someday. For me, writing is life. And it’s a life I fully intend to live to the fullest.

Wednesday's Book Review- Hit List

Wednesday’s Book Review
Hit List (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #20)
By: Laurell K. Hamilton



A serial killer is hunting the Pacific Northwest, murdering victims in a gruesome and spectacular way. The local police suspect “monsters” are involved, and have called in Anita Blake and Edward, US Marshals who really know their monsters, to catch the killer.

But some monsters are very real. The Harlequin have been the bogeymen of the vampire world for more than a thousand years; they are a secret so dark that even to speak their name can earn you a death sentence. Now they are here in America, hunting weretigers…and human police.

The Harlequin serve the Mother of All Darkness, the first vampire. She was supposed to be dead, but only her body was destroyed. Now she needs a new one, and she’s decided that Anita Blake’s is the body she wants. Edward thinks the serial killings are a trap to lure Anita closer to the most dangerous vampire they’ve ever hunted. The vampires call Edward “Death,” and Anita the “Executioner,” but Mommy Darkest is coming to kill one and possess the other, and she doesn’t care how many others have to die along the way.

Personal Review

I am rarely satisfied with a book nowadays, but Laurell K. Hamilton did not disappoint her fans. Of course if you are a Richard, Jean Claude, Micah, or Nathaniel fan then you are out of luck because this book is completely based outside of St. Louis. And as for the promiscuity and feeding the ardeur, there isn’t a ton of that in this book….which to some fans was a disappointment.
In a way I like Anita and Edward getting back to their police investigations with Psycho Olaf and Bernardo but I sure did miss her live in hunnies. Other than that, I give it a 4/5 stars. Definitely lived up to the hype, I’m just waiting for the ardeur to rise one time and for Anita and Edward to get freaky dickey. This might sound completely disgusting but would definitely be intriguing to the readers.

Life, Writing, New Books, etc.

The last three weeks have been super hectic! My twin sister got married this past weekend and I was the maid of honor. Needless to say, my toast to the bride and groom was epic. I had a lot of guests come in from out of town for the occasion and I spent most of my time entertaining them and running around trying to help my sister.

On writing: I’ve been working on a few other projects besides AOE and The First 22…I have started writing a grade school project. It’s a book filled with scary stories and I am happy to say that I am 5/6 of the way finished with it. So, a few more hours of writing and it should be complete. I’m going to try to finish that up before the end of the week so I can start querying next week.

After that, I plan on finishing the First 22 and at some point Jennifer and I are going to do a mass re-edit of Age of Eden. We’ve decided to cut the entire prologue and to use the first chapter as the introductory chapter. And then we are going to cut, cut, cut anything that doesn’t add to the story line. No, I am not looking forward to it but it has to be done.

Wednesday is my 26th birthday. That means I am on the downward slope to 30, blah. I am very very depressed about the situation. I know that 40 is the new 30 and 30 is the new 20 but what I really want to know is do people who are 40 still have as much fun as they did at 26? Because if they did, then maybe the age thing wouldn’t be bothering me so much, I hope so.

This year’s season of True Blood got off to a rocky start for me but it is getting better and better by the week. Charlaine Harris was a genius in the first 5-6 books of her Sookie Stackhouse series but since they bought the television rights to her series and she has became rich, rich, rich; she no longer cares about the plot of the series. It has become OUTRAGEOUS and horribly uninteresting. And I have felt cheated the last 2-3 times her books have been released because I am obligated to go and buy them just to see if the next one lives up to my expectations and I am horribly disappointed every time. It must be nice to become so rich that you quit caring about the craft that made you what you are. Eventually, her readers will get fet up with her books and rebel but what’s even worse is now that Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer are married, the director seems to be twisting their characters so they end up together but everyone who is a fan of the series knows that Sookie is suppose to end up with Eric, not “King” Bill.

On a happier note, I couldn’t be happier that Bloodlines is coming out by Richelle Mead. Her writing style is very ideal and I love, love, love me some Adrian. I can’t wait. I hope everyone has a good week and until we meet again, Adieu.

The Bitter Taste of Rejection

After receiving three rejections and two automatic rejection responses, I’d say were on a roll lol. We started our querying around the 20th of June and here it is a month later and we are still swallowing small bits of rejection. Why can’t literary agents respond in a timely fashion? Because you know, that they hold all of their clients accountable and on a schedule.

I understand that everyone believes that they are the next J.K. Rowling, but realistically, even though we are sending in unsolicited query letters it could be the next big thing.

My reapers book is coming along well, I’ve made a vigorous goal to complete 4-8 pages daily until I finish the 90,000 masterpiece. Surprisingly, it has taken a lot of mythological turns that I hadn’t expected.

Jennifer has become a crutch in my writing motivation. She has read my books and has given me the motivation I need to keep going. That’s why I love her (shhhhh, don’t tell her I said that).

Not to mention, she has started writing her own novel and if I might say, it’s one of the best works I have ever read. Every time she posts a new chapter, I run to it and eagerly read through it…wishing I had more. Damn her for making me wait for another chapter.

As I have continued on this writing journey, I have truly come to respect well published authors…but of course it is probably a little easier for them to write because they don’t work a full time fifty hour a week job and on top of that load, I spent the first six months of the year in college and I am just now coming up for air to write. But no worries, I will be a full time writer one day and people will travel miles to come see me in person. I can’t wait.

Also, now that I am thinking about it, I am going to start posting my writing playlist, so if anyone ever wants to get motivated you can listen to my mix of works. For now it consists of: Christina Perry, Journey, ACDC, CCR, O.A.R., John Mayer, Bryan Adams, the Cars, Kansas, Joan Jett, Ray LaMontagne, Lady Antebellum, Black Eyed Peas, Rihanna, Nsync, Otis Redding, Adele, Ace of Base, M&M, Young Jeezy, and Snoop Dog. And of course you have to add in classical, Beethoven and Mozart. Their fantastic!

On a happier note, Richelle Mead’s new book Bloodlines comes out on August 23rd. I can’t wait to get more Sydney, Jill and Adrian. I can’t wait.

Until next time, adieu and merry writing.

Networking and Querying

Today we received our first query rejection. Which is a little disappointing because he reps one of the well known authors that we read. Dangit. Oh well.

I’ve been fighting with my muse lately. Of course I got hurt at work so I have been distracted with doctors appointments and prescription medications. But luckily Jennifer has pushed me and motivated me. And I think I finally know what I need to do in my Reapers book: The first 22.

We have queried a total of 14 of the top agents on our list. Hopefully we won’t have to wait long for one to grasp us up. But if all fails, we have hundreds of other agents who can publish us…but I don’t think that Jennifer or I would feel comfortable with settling on a mediocre Agent. We want the top notch agent with access to the top notch publishing houses. We want six figure book contracts and a large advance would be nice as well.

In my dreams, right? I hope not.

And one more thing, I would like to add my own little batch to Jennifer’s most recent blog about blog sites. NETWORKING is the key to success. You have to sale yourself and put yourself out there for everyone to see. Twitters, Facebook, Live Journal…all of these are fantastic, legit things that you need to have in order to be successful in the literary world. And now that I think of it, having your own webpage isn’t such a bad idea either.

Next week I am going on vacation to Michigan to see my best friend Rebecca. Until then, I will try to keep you guys updated on our Manuscript requests and rejections. Have a happy independence day!

The Magical World of Blogging

For the past few months, I’ve been obsessed with reading other author’s and agent’s blogs and I’ve discovered something I’m sure previous aspiring authors have discovered before me. There is an absolute treasure trove of instructive and wisdom filled blog posts concerning the writing world just waiting to be devoured by anyone willing to seek them out. If there is a particular issue that a writer wants to know about all they have to do is search for it and it’s pretty much waiting to be found.

Most recently, I’ve been scouring over the blog Literary Rambles, which is Casey McCormick’s brilliant blog that talks about anything and everything about writing and finding an agent. A lot of the agents that Stacey and I have been querying are thanks to that blog. Ms. McCormick does a particularly helpful blog every Thursday called Agent Spotlight, where some of the literary world’s most respected agent’s introductions, interviews, query requirements, and interests, are laid out for authors like us to get to read through and decide for ourselves which agents suit our books or our career goals the best. That’s not to say that separate research doesn’t need to be done for each agent, but the Literary Rambles blog gives writers a serious head start.

Another blog that I’ve found to be helpful is Janet Reid’s Query Shark blog. With this blog, Ms. Reid takes query letters that have been specifically submitted to the blog to be, well pretty much torn apart and analyzed, and she offers suggestions to help query writers write the best query they can. While, Ms. Reid is blunt and honest as heck, she is also brilliant at what she does. She breaks down the query writing process and gives writers an idea of what agents want in a query letter, when to stick to the rules of query writing, and when to break them. This is a definite help, especially as writers, like Stacey and I, get to the point where we’re ready to step out into the more professional waters of the literary world.

Of course Casey McCormick and Janet Reid are only two of the bloggers that I follow and let me tell you, they’re also only a couple of drops (significant drops, but drops none the less) in a massive pond of information just waiting to be discovered. I’m still finding new and helpful blogs everyday with some of the most informative posts I’ve ever read. It just reminds me that learning never stops. It doesn’t matter how successful you become as a writer, learning will never stop until you have no more life left to learn with.

Young Adult Fiction - To Ban or Not To Ban

I know I’m a bit late with this, but I recently read an article in the Wall Street Journal about the affect Young Adult fiction has on today's youth. In the article, a writer named Meghan Cox Gurdon states that Young Adult fiction has changed from the happy-go-lucky Judy Bloom series to the doom and gloom of hauntingly dark book covers and even darker subject matter. While, she's not wrong in this, she goes on to say that, in a manner of speaking, the youth in today's society have no need to be reading fiction that deals with serious subjects like suicide, self mutilation, or the more violent aspects of bullying, just to name a few topics.

Now, this idea can be looked at in two ways. While, yes, the subject matter is difficult to read for even the most emotionally stable adult, in a world where suicide, cutting, and bullying are a reality for countless teenagers, these books are shining a light on dark subjects and are giving our youth important information that can either help them fight their own personal battles with the subjects or enlighten them as to the reality of some real life situations that they might or might not encounter at some point in their lives. On the other side of the argument, however, it could be said that our youth need to be sheltered and shielded by the horrors of reality and have no need to read such topics. Granted, I can definitely see how this could be ideal for parents, but it’s not necessarily the most realistic mindset.

Gurdon even went so far as to discuss the “banning” of certain books because of parental worries for their children’s well being. Of course, I’m not arguing the rights of parents who wish to protect their children from whatever they want. But it’s clear that not only are writers like Gurdon trying to stifle the creative nature of several YA (Young Adult) writers, but they’re also insulting the intelligence of our youth, some of whom will experience worse things in school than they’ll read in one of the “ban worthy” books on Gurdon’s list.

*takes a deep breath and lets it out*

Good Lord. I didn’t mean to get so long winded on the subject, but when I read that article it blew my mind. While I can see and understand both points of view, I don’t think censorship or banning is the answer for anything. I think we need to educate our youth and allow writers the opportunity to express real life issues, regardless of how uncomfortable the subjects might be. Reality is reality. There is no escaping it no matter what your age.

And with that, I’m off my soap box. Sorry for the novel lol.

Oh and if any of you are interested in reading the article, here’s the link:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303657404576357622592697038.html

P.S. This post is actually something I wrote for a discussion board question for the class I’m currently enrolled in called The Novel. It just seemed like a good idea to post it here too since the subject is so close to my heart, especially now that Stacey and I have been diving into YA writing ourselves.

Some New Ideas and Feedback!

Recently, Jennifer and I have started some new writing projects on our own. I think that using our creative juices outside of AOE, is exactly what we need.

But on a more important note, one of my guest readers read our original version of Age of Eden and this is what she had to say.

Ashley Horger May 31 at 9:38pm Report
Ok, so I finished your book tonight :) I downloaded it onto my Kindle, much easier to read that way than on Microsoft Word. ;)

It was really good. I did make quite a few corrections to it, but I will need to go through and do it on the word version and email it back to you.

Most of the corrections were spacing issues or the wrong word used. The plot and characters were fine.

Good book, I can't wait to read the next one! :)

SO KUDOS TO JENNIFER AND I. I actually sent her a message back that said, we decided to change a crap ton of stuff, so she will be getting an updated version of what we have. Other than that....I'm going to be away from KY for a few days. Orlando here I come! You all have a fantastic week.