tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79813150634916870572024-02-07T01:32:23.840-05:00Manuscript MavensFive fiction authors blog about the craft of writing, industry news, books, agents, editors, writing conferences, submissions, publishing, queries, synopses, writing tips, contests, research, promotion, call stories, the muse, general writing life, and interviews with guest authors.
Manuscript Mavens: Erica Ridley, Carrie Ryan, Darcy Burke, Lacey Kaye, Jacqueline BarbourErica Ridleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05511276393455961757noreply@blogger.comBlogger277125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-42255234889144787762009-02-03T10:58:00.007-05:002009-09-17T04:37:24.082-04:00And the Beat Moves OnAfter much vacillation and hemming and hawing, the Mavens have concluded that it's time to formally close down Ye Olde Blog. While none of us have given up writing, we've reached a point where it's time to move on.<br /><br />And so, it is with deep gratitude that we say good-bye to our stalwart MaveFaves and let you know where to find us on the Interwebs in the future. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.ericaridley.com/?mm" style="font-weight:bold; color:black; text-decoration:none;" title="gothic historical romance author Erica Ridley" alt="gothic historical romance author Erica Ridley">Erica Ridley</a><BR><br /><a href="http://www.ericaridley.com/?mm" title="gothic historical romance author Erica Ridley" alt="gothic historical romance author Erica Ridley"><img title="Maven Erica Ridley" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN-RIGHT: 10px" alt="Maven Erica Ridley" hspace="2" src="http://www.manuscriptmavens.com/images/tiny_erica.gif" vspace="2" border="0" /></a>The author of <a href="http://www.ericaridley.com/books/book_too-wicked-to-kiss.php?mm">Too Wicked To Kiss</a>, which will be a March 2010 Kensington Zebra release, can be found at her website at <a href="http://www.ericaridley.com/" title="gothic historical romance author Erica Ridley" alt="gothic historical romance author Erica Ridley">http://www.ericaridley.com/</a> and her blog at <a href="http://www.ericaridley.com/blog/" title="gothic historical romance author Erica Ridley" alt="gothic historical romance author Erica Ridley">http://www.ericaridley.com/blog/</a>.<br><BR><br /><br /><b>Carrie Ryan</b><BR><br /><img title="Maven Carrie Ryan" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN-RIGHT: 10px" alt="Maven Carrie Ryan" hspace="2" src="http://www.manuscriptmavens.com/images/tiny_carrie.gif" vspace="2" border="0" />You can find Carrie, author of the forthcoming and much anticipated <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Forest-Hands-Teeth-Carrie-Ryan/dp/0385736819/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233615298&sr=8-1"><em>The Forest of Hands and Teeth</em></a> (Delacorte, March 10, 2009), at her blog (<a href="http://carrie-me.blogspot.com/">http://carrie-me.blogspot.com/</a>) and her website (<a href="http://www.carrieryan.com/">http://www.carrieryan.com/</a>). Oh, and check out her starred review in today's <a href="http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6633422.html">Publishers Weekly</a>. Go, Carrie!<BR><BR><br /><br /><b>Jackie Barbosa</b><BR><br /><img title="Maven Jackie Barbosa" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN-RIGHT: 10px" alt="Maven Jackie Barbosa" hspace="2" src="http://www.manuscriptmavens.com/images/tiny_jacq.gif" vspace="2" border="0" />Jackie can be found at her website (<a href="http://www.jackiebarbosa.com/">http://www.jackiebarbosa.com/</a>), her blog (<a href="http://jackiebarbosa.blogspot.com/">http://jackiebarbosa.blogspot.com/</a>) and on the <a href="http://www.aphrodisiaauthors.com/blog/">Aphrodisia Authors blog</a> on the 25th of each month (when she a) remembers and b) has time, which so far hasn't been often, but she's working on it).<BR><BR><br /><br /><b>Darcy Burke</b><BR><br /><img title="Maven Darcy Burke" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN-RIGHT: 10px" height="91" alt="Maven Darcy Burke" hspace="2" src="http://www.manuscriptmavens.com/images/tiny_darcy.gif" width="96" vspace="2" border="0" />2008 Golden Heart Finalist Darcy can be found at her website (<a href="http://www.darcyburke.com/">http://www.darcyburke.com/</a>), which she keeps updated with all the latest and greatest news.<br><br><br /><br /><strong>Lacey Kaye</strong><BR><br /><img title="Maven Lacey Kaye" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN-RIGHT: 10px" alt="Maven Lacey Kaye" hspace="2" src="http://www.manuscriptmavens.com/images/tiny_lacey.gif" vspace="2" border="0" />Our resident process engineer, inventor of "geek lit," and author of Romance with Color can be found at her website and blog at <a href="http://laceykaye.com/">http://laceykaye.com/</a>.<br><br><br /><br />We'll be keeping the site up for the foreseeable future, just in case any of you is overcome by a sudden, irrepressible urge to reread our old rantings and ravings...er, that is, pearls of wisdom. Thanks for joining us on this incredible adventure in writing, and for letting us share our lives with you (and yours with us). We've truly appreciated it.<br /><br />Last one out...please turn out the lights :).<div class="blogger-post-footer">###
Erica Ridley | Carrie Ryan | Darcy Burke | Lacey Kaye | Jacqueline Barbour
ManuscriptMavens: http://www.ManuscriptMavens.com
###</div>Jackie Barbosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904049760374126059noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-8238014458782839602009-01-29T10:18:00.001-05:002009-01-29T10:18:21.089-05:00Out with the Old<img style="margin-right: 10px; float: left;" src="http://www.manuscriptmavens.com/images/tiny_erica.gif" alt="Maven Erica Ridley" title="Maven Erica Ridley" border="0" hspace="2" vspace="2"> I've had my old laptop for... wow. Since the days floppy drives were considered indispensable. And although technology continued passing it by, my laptop never let me down. It continues working like a charm, except... Well, except the case is cracking. And pieces are starting to fall off. And the hard drive is so small, I have to delete old emails in order to receive new ones. And--<br /><br />So finally, after year(s) of suspecting I needed a new laptop (and much ridicule from my friends, who insisted I needed a new laptop) I finally ordered a new one. Overnight shipping and everything. Went all out.<br /><br />(Natch, there's a part on backorder, so who knows when it'll arrive...)<br /><br /><b>How about you? Do you write on a desktop or a laptop? Old or new? Or maybe an Alphasmart or handwritten on paper? Ever think about upgrading? Or are you an upgrade junkie?</b><div class="blogger-post-footer">###
Erica Ridley | Carrie Ryan | Darcy Burke | Lacey Kaye | Jacqueline Barbour
ManuscriptMavens: http://www.ManuscriptMavens.com
###</div>Erica Ridleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05511276393455961757noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-16791875968159775732009-01-14T06:00:00.000-05:002009-01-14T06:00:02.243-05:00Unsticking<img alt="Maven Darcy Burke" border="0" height="91" hspace="2" src="http://www.manuscriptmavens.com/images/tiny_darcy.gif" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px;" title="Maven Darcy Burke" vspace="2" width="96" />Happy New Year! The ends of my hair are currently singed as I burn through my WIP. I'm in that great almost-done phase where you can hardly do anything but sit and write. Like reading a good book that I simply can't put down. Except of course the writing takes much, much, much longer than the reading. If only it were the reverse.<br />
<br />
My biggest challenge with this book is writing a truly Alpha Alpha male. I mean, he's entitled, he's arrogant, he likes violence, and he treats the heroine like a sex object for the first half of the book. I love him! But, sometimes it's hard to write him. I've been stuck the past few days on a pivotal scene. He exposes his vulnerable side to the heroine and then in the next scene he's all nice and...bor-ring. And I really need that first scene. So, I thought, "What does a guy do when he says or does something humiliating?" Pretend it never happened and act like a total jerk to the person who might've witnessed said humiliation. Voila, unstuck.<br />
<br />
<b>Been stuck lately? What'd you do about it?</b> <br />
<br />
Update: Last time I blogged (uh, way too long ago), I'd just found my long-lost Danish cousins. I'm now in frequent contact and even talked to Paprika on the phone last week. Despite the lost years and never meeting, the connection between us is so strong. I can't wait to meet them in person and hug them tight!<div class="blogger-post-footer">###
Erica Ridley | Carrie Ryan | Darcy Burke | Lacey Kaye | Jacqueline Barbour
ManuscriptMavens: http://www.ManuscriptMavens.com
###</div>Darcy Burkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14819984559001912841noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-26313799764728204842009-01-09T06:00:00.003-05:002009-01-09T06:00:01.655-05:00Anti-Resolutions, Take 2<div><img title="Maven Jackie Barbosa" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN-RIGHT: 10px" alt="Maven Jackie Barbosa" hspace="2" src="http://www.manuscriptmavens.com/images/tiny_jacq.gif" vspace="2" border="0" />A little over a year ago, I wrote a post about my New Year's Anti-Resolutions. (If you want to see why I make anti-resolutions instead of resolutions, go here.)<br />
Oddly enough, I was just about to take off for a vacation in Yosemite when I posted; this year, I've just gotten back from one! (Wow, did we hit it just right! The three days we were in the park were gorgeous and sunny. The day we left, it had started to drizzle--and there's nothing I hate more than rain on top of snow!)<br />
<br />
Anyhoo, on the heels of Maven Erica's goal post (haha, I made a pun!), I thought it would be fun to revisit my 2008 Anti-Resolutions to see how I did. Here are the things I promised to try <em>not </em>to do.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3><font color="#333399">1. Enter a slew of contests.</font></h3>Did all right here. I only entered four contests in 2008, and of those four, I didn't final in two and won my category in the other two. Winning was nice validation, but I have to say that I got a lot of valuable information from those non-finals (including that a non-finaling manuscript can be the one that sells, lol).<br />
<br />
<h3><font color="#333399">2. Start manuscripts I can't seem to finish.</font></h3>The jury's still out on this one. I started at least four (maybe five) manuscripts this year that I didn't finish...YET. But that doesn't mean I won't/can't finish them. It's just that the ones I've got out there right now are of the "it's not time to try to sell these" variety, which means they're sitting on the shelf pending a better moment.<br />
<br />
We'll have to put this one in the "wait and see" category.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3><font color="#333399">3. Put on ten pounds.</font></h3>Definitely achieved. As far as I can tell, I didn't put on any weight in 2008 and, while I didn't get the 10 I gained in 2007 OFF, I held steady. Good enough for me.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3><font color="#333399">4. Come up with another pseudonym.</font></h3>So far, so good, but if I do finish one of those "not time yet" manuscripts, I might really NEED another one (esp. since one is middle grade/YA).<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3><font color="#333399">5. Open my mouth and insert my foot--at least not repeatedly!</font></h3>Okay, still working on this one. I do think I'm getting better--or maybe my friends are just getting more tolerant. Either way, this is the hard one for me because I so often tend to speak without a filter. I have a thought or an idea and I just blurt it out. It's in my nature. Doesn't mean it's a good thing, though, or one I don't have to try to improve. But hey, I'm only 44. God isn't finished with me yet ;).<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3><font color="#333399">What's New for 2009?</font></h3>This year's Anti-Resolutions, in no particular order, are as follows.<br />
<br />
I will not:<br />
<br />
1. Waste so much time on the Internet. (Notice I didn't say I won't waste <em>any </em>time on the Internet. That would be impossible!)<br />
<br />
2. Allow myself to fall so far behind a deadline that I have to neglect my family to meet it. (Yeah, this was bad in 2008.)<br />
<br />
3. Try to write a book without writing a blurb first. (Yeah, doesn't work for me. Even when I have a synopsis. Go figure!)<br />
<br />
4. Get more cats. (We picked up four in the past year for a total of five. One more and I suspect I will be officially considered a cat lady.)<br />
<br />
5. Spend every writing moment doing everything <em>but</em> write. (Yeah, corollary to #1, but still, important!)</div><br />
<div></div><br />
<div>And, with that, since this is a writing moment, I'd better get cracking!</div><br />
<div></div><br />
<div><strong>YOUR TURN: Got any plans for things you <em>won't </em>be doing this year? Or things you will? Tell all. The Mavens want to know!</strong></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">###
Erica Ridley | Carrie Ryan | Darcy Burke | Lacey Kaye | Jacqueline Barbour
ManuscriptMavens: http://www.ManuscriptMavens.com
###</div>Jackie Barbosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904049760374126059noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-48005038719177528532009-01-07T07:00:00.004-05:002009-01-07T07:00:00.645-05:00Call Story<img style="margin-right: 10px; float: left;" src="http://www.manuscriptmavens.com/images/tiny_erica.gif" alt="Maven Erica Ridley" title="Maven Erica Ridley" border="0" hspace="2" vspace="2">So, I was sitting at a tall table in a tiny internet cafe in Arenal, Costa Rica watching a cow cross the road, when Gmail was so kind as to drop an email from my agent, <a href="http://www.dystel.com" target="_blank">Lauren Abramo</a>, into my Inbox.<br /><br />[begin complete and utter paraphrase with shameless abuse of poetic license]<br /><br /><blockquote>ERiCA!!! <br /><br />I left you messages on all forty-eight of your phones and yet I haven't heard from you. What could possibly be more important than the super-exciting thing I'm killing myself trying to tell you?? Call me before I shank you! <br /><br />Love, Lauren</blockquote><br /><br />[end complete and utter paraphrase with shameless abuse of poetic license]<br /><br /><i>Hmmm</i>, I thought to myself. <I>I *could* continue to drowsily stare at the cow crossing the road. Or... I could call my agent.</i><br /><br />Seeing as how AT&T charges $2.29 per minute for international calls from Costa Rica [$?#*@!] I fired up my good buddy <a href="http://www.skype.com" target="_blank">Skype</a> on my laptop and placed me an international call faster than you can say "VOIP".<br /><br />[begin complete and utter paraphrase with shameless abuse of poetic license]<br /><br />L: Hello?<br /><br />E: Hey, Lauren, it's Erica.<br /><br />L: Hey, Erica! Long time no talk. What've you been up to?<br /><br />E: Oh, you know. Ate some beans and rice. Drank an Imperial. Watched a cow cross the road. You?<br /><br />L: Oh, you know. Crossed tall buildings in a single bound. Shot spiderwebs out of my wrists. Sold your <a href="http://www.ericaridley.com/touched_2pgs.php" target="_blank">book</a>.<br /><br />E: SQUEEE!!!!!<br /><br />L: SQUEEE!!!!!<br /><br />E & L: SQUEEE!!!!!<br /><br />[end complete and utter paraphrase with shameless abuse of poetic license]<br /><br />There you have it--my two-missed-calls-one-email-one-cow-and-an-emergency-voip-chat call story.<br /><br /><B>Squeee!!!!!</B><br /><br /><span style="font-size:10px;">Special thanks to my uber-massive support group: the <a href="http://www.manuscriptmavens.com" target="_blank" style="font-size:10px;">Mavens</a> Darcy, Lacey, Carrie, and Jackie, Kel & Manda, Janice, PCubed: Jean, June, Elissa, Cheryl, and Linda, all my <a href="http://www.tararwa.com" target="_blank" style="font-size:10px;">TARA</a> sisters, <a href="http://www.clwilson.com" target="_blank" style="font-size:10px;">Cheryl</a>, <a href="http://www.julieleto.com" target="_blank" style="font-size:10px;">Julie</a> and <a href="http://www.virginiahenley.com" target="_blank" style="font-size:10px;">Virginia</a> for never being too busy to answer my questions, and of course <a href="http://www.karenrosebooks.com" target="_blank" style="font-size:10px;">Karen</a> and <a href="http://www.dianapeterfreund.com" target="_blank" style="font-size:10px;">Diana</a>, whose (utterly perfect) initial reaction was, "I told you so!"</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">###
Erica Ridley | Carrie Ryan | Darcy Burke | Lacey Kaye | Jacqueline Barbour
ManuscriptMavens: http://www.ManuscriptMavens.com
###</div>Erica Ridleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05511276393455961757noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-3225234378645061422009-01-05T07:10:00.002-05:002009-01-05T07:10:01.040-05:00FIRST SALE!!!<img style="margin-right: 10px; float: left;" src="http://www.manuscriptmavens.com/images/tiny_erica.gif" alt="Maven Erica Ridley" title="Maven Erica Ridley" border="0" hspace="2" vspace="2">Can I get a SQUEEEEEEE?!?!?!<br /><br />I am pleased, thrilled, utterly apoplectic to announce that my superstar agent <a href="http://www.dystel.com" target="_blank">Lauren Abramo</a> just sold my superstar Regency-set gothic <a href="http://www.ericaridley.com/touched_2pgs.php" target="_blank">TOUCHED</a> to Kensington in a two-book deal. Yayayay!!!<br /><br />It will be arriving at a bookstore near you in the next 18 months. More details to come (including "call story"...)<br /><br />w00t!<br /><br /><span style="font-size:10px;">Special thanks to my uber-massive support group: the <a href="http://www.manuscriptmavens.com" target="_blank" style="font-size:10px;">Mavens</a> Darcy, Lacey, Carrie, and Jackie, Kel & Manda, Janice, PCubed: Jean, June, Elissa, Cheryl, and Linda, all my <a href="http://www.tararwa.com" target="_blank" style="font-size:10px;">TARA</a> sisters, <a href="http://www.clwilson.com" target="_blank" style="font-size:10px;">Cheryl</a>, <a href="http://www.julieleto.com" target="_blank" style="font-size:10px;">Julie</a> and <a href="http://www.virginiahenley.com" target="_blank" style="font-size:10px;">Virginia</a> for never being too busy to answer my questions, and of course <a href="http://www.karenrosebooks.com" target="_blank" style="font-size:10px;">Karen</a> and <a href="http://www.dianapeterfreund.com" target="_blank" style="font-size:10px;">Diana</a>, whose (utterly perfect) initial reaction was, "I told you so!"</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">###
Erica Ridley | Carrie Ryan | Darcy Burke | Lacey Kaye | Jacqueline Barbour
ManuscriptMavens: http://www.ManuscriptMavens.com
###</div>Erica Ridleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05511276393455961757noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-90740845100433427562008-12-31T06:45:00.000-05:002008-12-31T06:45:00.574-05:00Resolutions<img style="margin-right: 10px; float: left;" src="http://www.manuscriptmavens.com/images/tiny_erica.gif" alt="Maven Erica Ridley" title="Maven Erica Ridley" border="0" hspace="2" vspace="2"> Most of you know how I feel about <a href="http://manuscriptmavens.blogspot.com/2007/12/prepping-for-new-year.html" target="_blank">goals</a>. Last year around this time, I yammered on about how they must be specific, quantifiable, realistic, and attainable, and how above all, you (er... I) should be accountable for sticking to them.<br /><br />Somewhere around mid-year, I fell off the write-every-day wagon.<br /><br />How did this happen, given that I am the self-professed queen of making specific, quantifiable, realistic, attainable goals and sticking to them like bubble gum on shoes?<br /><br />Because... I missed a bullet point. I should've added this tiny detail here:<br /><br /><UL><LI style="round">Goals must be a priority</LI></UL><br /><br />Even a goal like "get out of bed by noon" won't come to pass if it seems more important to lay in a sea of pillows with the TiVo remote and a plateful of comfort food.<br /><br />So. My #1 goal for 2009 is:<br /><br /><B>Write/Revise/Plot/Daydream about my WIPs every single day, even if a few stolen moments is all I have.</B><br /><br /><i>1b: Because it matters.</i><br /><br />You?<div class="blogger-post-footer">###
Erica Ridley | Carrie Ryan | Darcy Burke | Lacey Kaye | Jacqueline Barbour
ManuscriptMavens: http://www.ManuscriptMavens.com
###</div>Erica Ridleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05511276393455961757noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-45474567041929703122008-12-04T17:30:00.006-05:002008-12-04T17:39:17.514-05:00A Quick Update<img title="Maven Jackie Barbosa" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN-RIGHT: 10px" alt="Maven Jackie Barbosa" hspace="2" src="http://www.manuscriptmavens.com/images/tiny_jacq.gif" vspace="2" border="0" />Since MaveFave Vicki posted yesterday asking how the Mavens are doing, I thought it was the least I could do to pop by for a really quick update and...well, an utterly shameless squee.<br /><br />As always, the day job, the family, and the writing are keeping me plenty occupied. I am (still :P) working on my option book proposal for Kensington. After writing about 8K, I found myself in a corner I didn't know how to get out of and realized I needed to retool the story from the ground up. Sigh. It happens!<br /><br />A little over a week ago, I discovered a black and white, low resolution version of the cover art for my Kensington release, <em>Behind the Red Door</em>. Finally, after many excruciating day of impatient anticipation, the color, high-resolution version is here and I can share it with you.<br /><br />Let me know what you think! But I warn you, it's mine, mine, all mine.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-6UzJSFWAyfjxb-HD5N_VSlfPv7DNHnMUBjADOISuqYmbozmyYVJ_YmYqU6T1zZzHipvs7PECcL4MAgSf8tzmuWgzbousUExcDx4cqKFBKVahfPJ1fSFQrKa3RtLzv81LXOM1Xe-jKck/s1600-h/Barbosa_Behind_the_Red_Door.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276067208963051378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 270px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-6UzJSFWAyfjxb-HD5N_VSlfPv7DNHnMUBjADOISuqYmbozmyYVJ_YmYqU6T1zZzHipvs7PECcL4MAgSf8tzmuWgzbousUExcDx4cqKFBKVahfPJ1fSFQrKa3RtLzv81LXOM1Xe-jKck/s400/Barbosa_Behind_the_Red_Door.JPG" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">###
Erica Ridley | Carrie Ryan | Darcy Burke | Lacey Kaye | Jacqueline Barbour
ManuscriptMavens: http://www.ManuscriptMavens.com
###</div>Jackie Barbosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904049760374126059noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-56700060472791713032008-10-01T18:02:00.001-04:002008-10-02T21:26:06.333-04:00And, It's Off!<img title="Maven Jackie Barbosa" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN-RIGHT: 10px" alt="Maven Jackie Barbosa" hspace="2" src="http://www.manuscriptmavens.com/images/tiny_jacq.gif" vspace="2" border="0" />And by "it," I mean the completed manuscript of Behind the Red Door, my novella anthology which is slated for release by Kensington Books in the summer of 2009! I emailed the file to my editor yesterday (my official "extended" due date) with a follow-up hardcopy hitting the regular mail today.<br /><br />Yay me!<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240388819336733282" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcvETfFMBsttchJwhiJqtGYnQP6sTGKggTMKhPmGwhtyb7uTa9dn6knyDbizMwMOIslQUdwr8yY3mddQhu-L39u6YDyWSZWzxWN0JwIuOYsThCHQrusa59kKIJ1C4pvdRTuyFZrTeUHkg/s400/30kin30days.png" border="0" />As you may remember, I started a 30K in 30 days challenge to help motivate myself to finish. I wound up not only meeting, but exceeding my 30-day goal, although it wound up taking 32 days for me to put the final finishing touches on it. I literally closed the file ten minutes before I emailed it out.<br /><br />So now, I'm free. (Breaks into a refrain of "I'm free to do what I want any old time.") It's a rather odd sensation, actually. I've been bound to that book for so long, I feel a little rudderless.<br /><br />Oh, it's not that I don't have ideas. No, no, never that! It's more that I have a plethora of them, and since none of them are contracted, it's hard to prioritize. That said, for the next couple of weeks, I'm going to kick back and do some fun projects--a short story for a freebie Christmas anthology <a href="http://www.annaleighkeaton.com/">Anna Leigh Keaton</a> is putting together and a short Christmas novella for Cobblestone Press.<br /><br />After that, I reckon I'll get serious again by putting together a proposal for an option book for Kensington. And then we'll see what happens.<br /><br /><strong>YOUR TURN: What have you been up to the past month while I (and the other Mavens) have been hiding in our caves? Tell us all the news. We'd love to hear!</strong><div class="blogger-post-footer">###
Erica Ridley | Carrie Ryan | Darcy Burke | Lacey Kaye | Jacqueline Barbour
ManuscriptMavens: http://www.ManuscriptMavens.com
###</div>Jackie Barbosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904049760374126059noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-58126721943430893612008-09-15T13:16:00.005-04:002008-09-15T13:51:53.624-04:0030k in 30 Days Challenge--Update<img title="Maven Jackie Barbosa" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN-RIGHT: 10px" alt="Maven Jackie Barbosa" hspace="2" src="http://www.manuscriptmavens.com/images/tiny_jacq.gif" vspace="2" border="0" />I planned to check in a little more often than this, but actually doing the writing seemed to eat up most of my time. (Wonder how that could have happened?) I have been managing to update my daily word count on my <a href="http://jackiebarbosa.blogspot.com/">blog</a>, but that's about it for updates so far.<br /><br />So, yesterday marked Day 15 of the challenge. I'm a little shy of 15k at this point, but that's primarily because yesterday was Sunday, and Sundays are always iffy for writing (this funny little thing called "family time" seems to get in the way, lol).<br /><br />The good news, however, is that this method seems to be working. Making sure I sit down and write every single day with a specific goal in mind has made a huge difference in my productivity. When I do get a good, solid block of time, I am writing faster and more efficiently, and finding it not that hard to meet or even exceed the 1,000 word goal.<br /><br />Which is a good thing, because I've now completed two of the three novellas that are due on October 1, and it's going to take me more than 1,000 words per day to finish the one I'm writing now. My math tells me I now have to average 1,400 words to write THE END on that one by September 29, the last day of the challenge, giving me a whopping ONE DAY to polish it up before sending it in. Am I worried? Nah! I'm freaking terrified. LOL.<br /><br /><strong>YOUR TURN: Update us on your writing progress for the last fifteen days. If you're in on the challenge, how's it going? If you're not, what are your current goals and how are things coming along? Remember, we love to hear from you, even if we are pretty quiet ourselves!</strong><div class="blogger-post-footer">###
Erica Ridley | Carrie Ryan | Darcy Burke | Lacey Kaye | Jacqueline Barbour
ManuscriptMavens: http://www.ManuscriptMavens.com
###</div>Jackie Barbosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904049760374126059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-70329384378547393862008-09-10T05:00:00.001-04:002008-09-10T05:00:00.206-04:00That Crazy Internet<img alt="Maven Darcy Burke" border="0" height="91" hspace="2" src="http://www.manuscriptmavens.com/images/tiny_darcy.gif" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px;" title="Maven Darcy Burke" vspace="2" width="96" />Howdy Mavenland! I had to share something I learned this evening from my brother...he found our cousins. Were they lost? Not really, just lost to us. Long story short: Our father had one sister and she moved to Denmark in 1951. I only met her once in the early 80s. We lost touch with her (and consequently our cousins) after our grandmother died in 1987 (my father died the previous year). I'd always wondered what was going on with them, but it never, ever occurred to me to Google them.<br />
<br />
And how stupid was that.<br />
<br />
See, my aunt was an actress, and a rather famous one in Denmark. She has a <a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=da&u=http://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avi_Sagild&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=5&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Davis%2Bsagild%26start%3D10%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN">page in Danish Wikipedia</a>! And my eldest cousin, Kim Sagild, was in a successful latin/jazz/funk band (Buki-Yamaz - they have a myspace page with super groovy music!) and went on to do something in music (he came to visit once also - I remember him as being so, so, so cool - I think I was maybe 9?). My other two cousins, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0824785/">Paprika</a> (if you go to her page here at Internet Movie Database, click on the first trailer for The Substitute and watch what happens to her at the end!) and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0824782/">Nikolaj Steen</a> were also artists, but I'd no idea Paprika won the equivalent of the Danish Oscar - for both best actress and supporting actress...in the same year! Wild.<br />
<br />
My brother gets credit for finding them and is trying to make contact. I hope he's successful and that we'll be able to swap photos and stories. I'm certain we have much to share about our families and I'm really excited about the possibilities.<br />
<br />
Ah, Internet, sometimes your powers are far more good than evil.<br />
<br />
<b>So what's the Internet done for you lately?</b><div class="blogger-post-footer">###
Erica Ridley | Carrie Ryan | Darcy Burke | Lacey Kaye | Jacqueline Barbour
ManuscriptMavens: http://www.ManuscriptMavens.com
###</div>Darcy Burkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14819984559001912841noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-89837188796222694852008-09-02T14:56:00.001-04:002008-09-02T15:23:17.085-04:00Guest Maven Delilah Marvelle - Go Buy Her Debut Book!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKuInVV3zCQk2gVLldqgAJcp3Um7RfE1W8HwOf2N8jsHnRoYaeKdlVoA2JtJYSNnJpZG7lEOlodTdGlCu1hHysFoh3wbW6AhrS3Q5j9Y0-YcI5-mST56bGzKLmLoKMpiayUF0YwUUXgWwM/s1600-h/mistressofpleasure.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Oz7vRv7ZWHW4GjIJTuGKDzjDACVIiuge8CWc2x7s40J7ofrYGIySROQHbB_s7dMtZKJpVzRBvmYfvWjf8t2xTPsNrOFzSUOtSGLZ2oIvJozb99SSnlQsVRjIDpbf_TjU9_XwJEcZphEH/s200-r/mistressofpleasure.jpg" /></a><b>We're thrilled to welcome Delilah back to the Mavendom to celebrate the release of her debut novel, Mistress of Pleasure. You might recall Delilah sharing her <a href="http://manuscriptmavens.blogspot.com/2007/09/start-your-weekend-off-with-good-call.html">call story</a> with us last year. Her years of dedication and persistence have finally paid off, culminating in this fabulous day! Congrats Delilah!</b><br />
<br />
Mistress of Pleasure is finally here. Purchase a lesson...if you dare!<br />
<br />
Today is a very exciting day for me!!! Why? Because my first book, MISTRESS OF PLEASURE, officially hits stores. (Gleefully clapping hands here.) Instead of the usual throwing of pitches and excerpts and whatnot, I decided to keep it simple. <br />
<br />
Behind every book, there is a story. And needless to say, behind my upcoming debut, MISTRESS OF PLEASURE, which centers around a school that educates men on the topic of love and seduction, there are several. Because I don’t want to write a book about THE book, I’ve decided to elaborate as simply as I can about the inspiration behind the creation of MISTRESS OF PLEASURE. That inspiration first coming from my research, when I stumbled upon Ninon de L’Enclos, a French 17th century courtesan. <br />
<br />
Truth be told, I find it rather astounding that this fascinating woman somehow disappeared into the shadows of history. She is but a ghost whenever the topic of courtesans arise. For we usually hear of the same old, same old courtesans like Kitty Fisher, Cora Pearl or Harriette Wilson. Let me be the first to tell you, however, that none of these women could possibly rival Ninon de L’Enclos or her life. But don’t take my word for it. Research her on your own and come to your conclusion. Bottom line, Ninon’s thoughts, philosophies, and her approach toward men and sex went beyond anything I have ever seen in a woman of her day. <br />
<br />
Much like other courtesans, she kept her bedroom door open to aristocratic men, yes. But unlike other courtesans, she kept that bedroom door open for more than just sex. This woman actually held meetings and classes in the confines of her bedchamber where men of all ages would come to visit in order to discuss topics of sex, philosphy and love. These so-called meetings fascinated me and in turn, began to create the growing threads of what is now Mistress of Pleasure. The more I researched, the more excited I became. For there was almost too much to work with. For instance, Ninon had various lovers, as you might imagine. But to one lover in particular, she birthed a son. A son who was raised apart from her to never know who she was due to her being a courtesan. Then one day, when her son was a grown man, he happened to one day meet Ninon. And fell madly in love with her. (And no, I’m not bloody making this up…). Though she had sworn to never reveal her identity to her son, because his advances were growing more and more passionate and he altogether outright refused to leave her be, she finally told him the truth. That she was in fact his mother and that was why there would never be a sexual relationship between them. Her son was so overwhelmed and distraught by the confession, that he left her house and committed suicide by falling onto the blade of his own sword. Another story, somewhat less morbid, was about one man who begged and begged Ninon to admit him into her bed. She refused him time and time again and finally told him, “Return when I am eighty. Then I shall bed you.” The besotted fool took her words quite literally and arrived on her doorstep many, many years late, when she turned eighty. Ninon was so amused, she ended up bedding him, after all. <br />
<br />
As you can tell by the stories I am selecting, it is the older Ninon that ultimately fascinated me. Which created a dilemma for my writing. Because my heroine couldn’t possibly be an elderly lady. It would never sell. But then I got to thinking. What if she were a grandmother of the heroine? Now THAT had possibilities. At about the same time I started writing AN IMPROPER EDUCATION (which is what I called it before the publisher changed it), MY grandmother re-appeared in my life. After 20 years of complete and utter silence. Which is a whole other story I don’t have time to go into… Soon, I discovered that the grandmother I never knew was actually an opera singer who had married into American Aristocracy and was living the life of a queen. My grandmother had an air of royalty to her and was quite beautiful for a woman her age. She had a heavy accent, walked with a sashay and always used amusing little words that I’d never heard before. For instance, she referred to sex as “Poom-poom.” She amused me so much so, that I could not help but morph her and Ninon together to create the fictional character that ultimately became Madame de Maitenon, who is both the creator of the School of Gallantry and the grandmother of my heroine, Maybelle de Maitenon. And so, I ended up with a story about a retired French courtesan who opens up a school that educates men on the topic of love and seduction, and the granddaughter who is unexpectedly forced to take over the operation of the school and educate all the men. Even though she has very little personal experience. Life certainly makes for some interesting fiction. And I have to say, I’m glad for it. At least in the case of this book. For an excerpt, more information or to sign up for my newsletter, please head over to my <a href="http://www.delilahmarvelle.com/">website</a>.<br />
<br />
Cheers,<br />
Delilah Marvelle<br />
<br />
<b>What a fabulous story, Delilah! Anyone else use true stories or characters for their books? Dish!</b><div class="blogger-post-footer">###
Erica Ridley | Carrie Ryan | Darcy Burke | Lacey Kaye | Jacqueline Barbour
ManuscriptMavens: http://www.ManuscriptMavens.com
###</div>Darcy Burkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14819984559001912841noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-31793435302927195782008-08-31T15:22:00.000-04:002008-08-31T18:22:21.852-04:00The 30K in 30 Days Challenge<img title="Maven Jackie Barbosa" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN-RIGHT: 10px" alt="Maven Jackie Barbosa" hspace="2" src="http://www.manuscriptmavens.com/images/tiny_jacq.gif" vspace="2" border="0" />Since I last posted right before leaving for the RWA National Convention, I've been swamped by the day job. My company holds a conference for its clients every year in late August or early September (depending on when we can get the hotel), and I'm a major contributor to the effort. This year, I gave four presentations, none of which were remotely close to being developed at the beginning of this month. I had four weeks to get my act together, and believe me, I needed every one of those weeks.<br /><br />So NOW, I have another deadline looming over me. I've promised all three of the <i>Red Door</i> novellas by October 1st. The first novella is (thankfully) already complete, but the second and third are sitting at 5,000 words (of a projected 25K) and roughly 20.5K (or a projected 30K). Soooo, to finish and ship the printed manuscript off to New York in time, I've got to write an average of 1,000 words per day for the next thirty days.<br /><br />That's more than doable, of course. But since I've been "out of the saddle" for a full month now, it seems more than a bit daunting. And so, in an effort to motivate myself, I'm setting down the <strong>30K in 30 Days Challenge</strong>. My friend and critique partner, <a href="http://www.emmapetersen,com/">Emma Petersen</a>, even created this graphic you can post on your blog or website if you decide to jump on the bandwagon:<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240388819336733282" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcvETfFMBsttchJwhiJqtGYnQP6sTGKggTMKhPmGwhtyb7uTa9dn6knyDbizMwMOIslQUdwr8yY3mddQhu-L39u6YDyWSZWzxWN0JwIuOYsThCHQrusa59kKIJ1C4pvdRTuyFZrTeUHkg/s400/30kin30days.png" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The challenge officially begins today, Sunday, August 31 and ends Monday, September 29, but you can jump in any time with your own start and end dates. If you'd like to engage in periodic check-ins, support, encouragement, commiseration, advice, and the occasional ass-whuppin' when you need it, simply leave a comment on this post. I'll be posting again next week to let you know where things stand, and you can let me know how you're doing, too. In addition, I'll be keeping a calendar on <a href="http://jackiebarbosa.blogspot.com/">my personal blog</a> to show my progress. There's nothing like a little shame and humiliation to keep me on track!<br /><br /><strong>YOUR TURN: Want to join the fun? Leave a comment and I'll blogroll you!</strong><div class="blogger-post-footer">###
Erica Ridley | Carrie Ryan | Darcy Burke | Lacey Kaye | Jacqueline Barbour
ManuscriptMavens: http://www.ManuscriptMavens.com
###</div>Jackie Barbosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904049760374126059noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-60725152463419568512008-08-13T17:41:00.002-04:002008-08-13T17:58:43.907-04:00We're Still Here!<img alt="Maven Darcy Burke" border="0" height="91" hspace="2" src="http://www.manuscriptmavens.com/images/tiny_darcy.gif" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px;" title="Maven Darcy Burke" vspace="2" width="96" />Hey Mave Faves! We're still here, we're all just swamped. Busy writing fabulous stories for you! (I'm working on book two of my Wicked trilogy - Their Wicked Bargain - it's so fun!) We'll post when the mood strikes, or if anyone has questions, we'll answer those too.<br />
<br />
I'm so thrilled to share that our dear friend <a href="http://www.courtneymilan.com/ramblings/">Courtney Milan</a> just announced her first sale - a two-book deal to HQN. Feel free to squee congrats here or over on her blog (see link). We're so excited for her!<div class="blogger-post-footer">###
Erica Ridley | Carrie Ryan | Darcy Burke | Lacey Kaye | Jacqueline Barbour
ManuscriptMavens: http://www.ManuscriptMavens.com
###</div>Darcy Burkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14819984559001912841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-58590774956142795472008-08-06T05:00:00.005-04:002008-08-09T01:28:10.217-04:00Guest Maven Angie Fox Dishes Demon Slaying, Research, and Biker Dogs<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyc_9s_h4DCNy2bYKdB-wOO55UX3kPO0_6-M0jWKieqBxbT6PT6J077aWpnxysZgoC4ynbKObz79DhkGkYaE54nR3tyn8gw7R3G_XMeiUwPuEbrM_bknFNuCa8_DEzItQRGdK-iqZmKuNQ/s1600-h/theaccidentaldemonslayer150x257.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="border: 0pt none ; background-color: transparent; clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; float: right; margin-left: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghKbMGONAIHy4wGE8QxF4c30PD3ypruA_0yY-EBsAIxz2-PpS-yrSHPISWMzPfZjDOUJagN-rHEWlsLClcuoiGh3QZGMhKQ2zdR1lU-maK8sfmnXhOgwYwF7LSbMZebs8UJScb-kbnkXFp/s200-r/theaccidentaldemonslayer150x257.jpg" style="border: 0pt none ;" /></a><img alt="Guest Maven Angie Fox" border="0" hspace="2" src="http://www.manuscriptmavens.com/images/guest-maven-girl.gif" style="margin-right: 10px; float: left;" title="Guest Maven Angie Fox" vspace="2" />We're so thrilled to welcome <b>New York Times Bestselling* </b>Mave Fave <a href="http://angiefox.wordpress.com/">Angie Fox</a>! Her debut novel, <a href="http://angiefox.wordpress.com/books/">The Accidental Demon Slayer</a>, was released last Tuesday - buy it now! Angie answered some burning questions for us. She'll be around today if you have any more you'd like to pose. Plus, she's giving a signed copy of The Accidental Demon Slayer to one lucky poster!<br />
<br />
<b style="">How do you develop your plots and characters?</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaFHohEAOh3FR0OAcTWDnsQmx4eSjtFZJsVgCeYV4GJ6G8xKqJuLNh5j2FM5hkCxQ9soxKdftupZblD-GmBuVFdGKlPkwRqo5y8VWQPAYP2T7m5Tbx3BdK9rZEGpejwfF5i-o5htHmldih/s1600-h/Harley+dog+40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="border: 0pt none ; background-color: transparent; clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf0aEJlQ_eEBUHxKmRguVLDREXrYUq8wB5ORTeNUQDHIMMfh4dprobZSoOAr7xlOP60QZIpkj4EEf5tisuYAq_yLnT7cj1ZcxxXi095EcFRbfWJgvWxV1i2MxYNe6hH0nJmjAon216FbBN/s200-r/Harley+dog+40.jpg" style="border: 0pt none ;" /></a>With The Accidental Demon Slayer, I started off with a kernel of an idea that amused me. What if a straight laced preschool teacher suddenly learns she’s a demon slayer? And what if she has to learn about her powers on the run from a bad boy demon? Ohhh and wouldn’t it be fun if she’s running with her long-lost Grandma’s gang of geriatric biker witches?<br />
<br />
I started writing and let the story evolve based on the characters and that central issue of what happens when a reluctant heroine is thrust into a series of extraordinary situations. And I knew the story was working when I couldn’t wait to get back to the keyboard every day.<br />
<br />
<b style="">What comes first: the plot or the characters?</b><br />
For me, it’s both. For example, when I sat down to write The Accidental Demon Slayer, I had no notes about a sidekick for my heroine. But in the second chapter, when she’d learned she was a demon slayer and all hell was after her, she took comfort in her dog. As I was writing, I thought, ‘This is a sweet moment. Now how do I throw her off?’ Simple. I made the dog say something to her. Nothing big. After all, he’s only after the fettuccine from last week. And he knows exactly where my heroine can find it (back of the fridge, to the left of the lettuce crisper, behind the mustard).<br />
<br />
It amused me, so I did it. Thanks to her unholy powers, my heroine can now understand her smart-mouthed Jack Russell Terrier. I had fun with it. In fact, I suspect Pirate the dog is my editor’s favorite character. I wouldn’t have been at all surprised if Pirate helped talk my editor into buying The Accidental Demon Slayer.<br />
<br />
So did plot influence character? Maybe there it did. But I can tell you that as the book evolves, Pirate the dog does his share of influencing the plot too. Bottom line? I think the most important thing when you sit down to the keyboard is to be willing to follow your story in new directions, because if you’re enjoying the surprise, chances are your readers will too.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnfveQMXZVI_GeuOwm3ku-GeV9pnkxrWV38s4t0x8_Ea4X1Nmnyc5_NUL6f136UgOzkh930zK8GPMolcQ5sLqUbulRawtyOiPE2-9EqePBjQsPhIK4ouhZQPASufZYB-nRp_1eIiMijM4R/s1600-h/Harley+dog+41.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="border: 0pt none ; background-color: transparent; clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; float: right; margin-left: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5PtKYvWJkLqhlP5riwaNnLydmK57R0UG0ZOqbBrxoyBAnybhq9aVgq8oPWin14NteBad423L0fvAv9lUyFY3F_wOLvzbhJpFFs3SCy_HYlnq-fFcsT1hpNVPfo-XPkUUDArChgtamEdT-/s200-r/Harley+dog+41.jpg" style="border: 0pt none ;" /></a><b style=""><br />
<br />
Did you have to do a lot of research for the book?</b><br />
Loads, actually. First off, the biker witches ride Harleys, and I’d never been on a motorcycle before. Second, I had to figure out how to get Pirate the dog onto a bike.<br />
<br />
I went online and learned about the Biker Dogs Motorcycle Club, made up exclusively of Harley riders and their dogs. I ended up meeting some of them, along with a few other bikers along the way. These bikers were so great to me. They hoisted me onto the back of their Harleys (with dogs in tow). They took me to biker rallies (note to self: don’t wear pink). And they laughed at me when I tried to put my helmet on backwards (I still say I was distracted by the Pomeranian wearing a tiny pair of motorcycle glasses).<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg211jdsV0ujfTPuN4OdcWwI7qHZGJfyYq9wwLBaMV7vmSA9Xc2DSckNUZz6q3cZg0KheTEQov_EbEojmiRlnqurVjvcH3zklRi2GPd3GFSqMtXC9uFUY4jqJo5c-WSNOETOF5A6Uioelb1/s1600-h/Harley+dog+52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="border: 0pt none ; background-color: transparent; clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikuNy4AnVM8_qkK4VANHuwPAGZqMwb-2-kbp_jP4o6WhIuEXl4mEGtQ2PJgGNK4LnJgkhWj44Qsn-RFOsd0J236geRAkbxtn3csHqtZQpzKG5Y4LEFdWSsV5_UbkKB7AWsZJsr0Z6uEoh0/s320-r/Harley+dog+52.jpg" style="border: 0pt none ;" /></a><br />
After a few outings with my new biker friends, I was able to make my geriatric biker witch characters a lot more realistic. And I took home some great pictures, too.<br />
<br />
<b style="">What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?</b><br />
I’m always trying to outdo myself, especially at the end of a book. It drives my critique partner nuts. Typical feedback will come like this, “What are you doing? Don’t get me wrong. I like it when you come up with quirky new hideouts for the Red Skull biker witches. But we’re heading into the climax of the book. Why do we need a new one?”<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTpIEnIlB02vLwStW3iaw5-5BAg1kOsO48yJ58T5o2jpv1h5btCkrtzQVCJO0OdUUhHwoO1K2ajceF7ZLhDNKzOYqJg_TQrJLbEgzTXAPu9qa_JRoqng-7k6_biG2uiMM9U2Q9642j1vlR/s1600-h/Harley+dogs+51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="border: 0pt none ; background-color: transparent; clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; float: right; margin-left: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinphE_ZwHJ8ylsrUWi0aSBNuuD1riVnLhlnTkkieAH402KIjZoSAp9Ik-txWYD6ySYX45taNhUdW62lnahn1JEyQT71GQhLkBX7BzpbW6m6dmQMEt6RmMgCgjRXOuKsBO5ECJerifSXR89/s200-r/Harley+dogs+51.jpg" style="border: 0pt none ;" /></a><br />
<br />
I usually don’t have any good answer to questions like that except, “I did it because it amused me.” But, really, if I’m entertaining myself as a writer, won’t my readers have more fun too? At least that’s my excuse. In the case of the new hideout, it worked out. The Red Skulls end up on this abandoned riverboat that they’d enchanted years earlier (while drunk on dandelion wine). Now they not only need a safe place, but they need to catch the Choking spells, Lose Your Keys spells, not to mention the Frozen Underwear spells ready to attack from around corners and behind the old jukebox.<br />
<br />
<b style="">Do you have anything else to add?</b><br />
Sure do – check out the <a href="http://quiz.angiefox.com/"><u>What’s Your Biker Witch Name?</u></a> quiz. You can post your cool new biker name here, or even on my blog, where you can enter to have your real name in my next book.<br />
<br />
<i>Ooh, cool contest, Angie!</i><br />
<br />
Angie Fox is the author of The Accidental Demon Slayer. Critics call it, "fresh, unique and larger than life," Angie simply calls it fun. That's because she gets a kick out of surprising herself, and her readers, with plenty of plot twists, magical moments and sizzling romance.<br />
<br />
<b>*Updated August 8 upon learning The Accidental Demon Slayer is number 34 on the NYT Bestsellers List. Congratulations Angie!! </b><div class="blogger-post-footer">###
Erica Ridley | Carrie Ryan | Darcy Burke | Lacey Kaye | Jacqueline Barbour
ManuscriptMavens: http://www.ManuscriptMavens.com
###</div>Darcy Burkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14819984559001912841noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-6776518757002419372008-08-05T05:00:00.001-04:002008-08-05T05:00:00.542-04:00San Francisco Photo Album<img alt="Maven Darcy Burke" border="0" height="91" hspace="2" src="http://www.manuscriptmavens.com/images/tiny_darcy.gif" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px;" title="Maven Darcy Burke" vspace="2" width="96" /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKcPVY_RcTl_JeTzr4UBGsol2rjo58oJRDM_koIj9kOogBcE-2aN0nCQVjUGNHtvKbQXEDuo_w37IL3M5JEcHtbvPc7nzyNDWpMB9937I5Z9Jh5_7BciNQoRU6k_pHiNF4uZdjcyYaQTcu/s1600-h/pixie+chicks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="border: 0pt none ; background-color: transparent; clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; float: right; margin-left: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilltUqfFoX1p2VhnuUz0LOMvl7xBm2DCgrTvFGIMO0bc-Utkl4NDODqp-e8m2l8NbKSRaK7Nrd3wC82eHpVfADCZJOHx87xL5tLq3yn997jvTeKuG6Uped35KfcIPIT10vd2EAL09kLDy1/s200-r/pixie+chicks.jpg" style="border: 0pt none ;" /></a>Hello Mave Faves! I had a great time in San Francisco! No, I didn't win the Golden Heart, but honestly I was just thrilled to be a finalist. It was so great meeting all of the other Pixie Chicks (that's what we 2008 Golden Heart finalists call ourselves). We even had t-shirts! <br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLGCfdZctbevxky2YgacYzjL8-6ZKJ0CyAE7V1m8utd9QnUSaC7V-P5C1VTXmw5iveEvli-BMDuqLdko1RqmjrqBp3ZolkVdr6LBRqVaEjiGAOafpAomW7gLtPPBwMFwgYvqHKxMVv6174/s1600-h/darcy+and+julianne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="border: 0pt none ; background-color: transparent; clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrcXbSuwFEnBhR0r6sGbS_d6OMFXBRihbUud66emdilsdDqMBzgxjuPJPizJ4N78Tu8JKhtCt5ruFUfmn3wnsyhjraqkIXyBb6hexE756-hqyPONuBsf2BYqDJXEYqpkdV-SyNKiE138Wl/s200-r/darcy+and+julianne.jpg" style="border: 0pt none ;" /></a>It was especially wonderful to see so many great friends: Julianne, Santa, Manda, Elodie, Tessa, Amy, Sara, Courtney, and so many more! I also loved meeting for the first time Leigh, Louisa, Anna, Elisabeth, Angie, and all the Pixie Chicks! I have to give a special shout out to my roommate, Pamela Fryer, who <i>won </i>the Golden Heart for Best Series Contemporary Action Adventure! Yay Pam! (Here are pics of me with J Perry Stone, <a href="http://www.courtneymilan.com/ramblings/">Courtney Milan</a>, <a href="http://www.annacampbell.info/">Anna Campbell</a>, and <a href="http://www.pamelafryer.com/">Pam Fryer</a>.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5DdbhRfI3mNgW2NxMfHEuddMhI8XyZPZ5SWQqZZ3u6COkCrVP9MJ0zDbrb4fxw7sp3fiKrLtcNfsQroNJ7tKUQF0YU6ZntK-nmKU60DcdveO6PkivjDLt09oQRXrcFPCQHlb7qBL6FOpO/s1600-h/darcy+and+pam+certs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="border: 0pt none ; background-color: transparent; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr2bvmV7ISnGNraJ9yPzQv-OfNvDwhsFsDnAv3pZF-lZ_XRD-3HSd2zI-WuOVudmN0k6FlY7rfsTHaFsSNf-vd0e7NiT25LjXnnz05tvCatsWPFj-URgLWvpV5fhgDX07I-zLCLI-cfGTh/s200-r/darcy+and+pam+certs.jpg" style="border: 0pt none ;" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKvvRpDtrPEs5kuTegrn4uWus-I1KtR10EVGf3ZpPltoCCLb9zzL8U95OKErcmveM_ddOI-7w_cvLyOQ30hKr-kvJqM-4Y3MM8FpYuBUQM61X3g4w3lTYXS6-adgFw0clQrfSQ2hedJgOR/s1600-h/darcy+and+courtney.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="border: 0pt none ; background-color: transparent; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEE3C1pijqg8cwIm1ybxdR6s1iAl6TRgRdpmqszOv8BmpMKtzc4aNjTACfcdDHhH_t-JicSTJ0NyowcvXsVXlIyevDBu7TMUsbchueADyJmYdh9r2tuwxiuvM6NbZGrPRshRtcxLU7CoJr/s200-r/darcy+and+courtney.jpg" style="border: 0pt none ;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtih7vIR0Xd_6ZVnN1CeG4tN0pHcvAu16sr7C31u8ulogTtMkdfPbLdZvgTfIPjMAIN2HdWFnkdMetueh1Eo_mYjRVdU9J68P0eBDqGTIwz-MRnqemrye7vq4t8775wFuZV1iZLQKohOq4/s1600-h/darcy+and+anna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="border: 0pt none ; background-color: transparent; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYVaYwuimtXURTqV0cDe9752Ts6y_YvsnqEZgUJjFbqAzIqEqdN_uUkc-FtPztDVCwvqUDE5jMk0aO0nvbBh6o-le790DK0dEoSGm7D_YI-5KR7AIlkDflWmPjm_9QM7GEVwq1Z_HD-Li6/s200-r/darcy+and+anna.jpg" style="border: 0pt none ;" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">And here's a pic of some of the FanLit alums from two years ago:</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMU-KpM5jOJsyhiDkmBiYuVLXreTeeBvLSOMRa7L-CiFMIcHBv8RXDHNj9_IU40Fn-wh_8tK7VowHKJ-fSp6MY2bhSQOFzLoOQgabOUhkvpTqztRYWSwp-_t3map9Ojaz_2jmMQCUwWman/s1600-h/fanlit+2008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="border: 0pt none ; background-color: transparent; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZc5ZhRsbsGgqVFcdbbdADOYekVlQad_ZNXo_w3ArgM_e5uAW0gI2RuKZ1HpBYtTu2kdQTRoNRvndBqksDtdraG_aUXdPxXL5EdYZNH4_tl1cGVb58bhH2JNucJ85e_k2dptT5hCfpX4BT/s200-r/fanlit+2008.jpg" style="border: 0pt none ;" /></a><br /><br />And last but not least, here are the Mavens! Unfortunately Carrie couldn't be with us and I've no idea how to crop her in.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="text-align: center; clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM8-lXHsszVJjXqEn4r0FtuKto-heOJ9qjO44zzAG6DsScf6JgmoRz9gZxoGQ43nfYlS2UmUbJZI9FbRaswcXvUSKd-aSWqxTyqdBN8dBEUtUA_P6KMCteiGIoErVHmYd2gvsEuiulvXhr/s1600-h/mavens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="border: 0pt none ; background-color: transparent; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtDbvB8B_PG0_Rom2rZtbb9RmhyMnmUFlLqidPGB1M_Gq-NKvVSkgHhzrLOXyM51ESMearaqIgwXRJicZNfuUXjdYikhvJNTmhW62hyOWXmg7KXrYsKKppsssCXQYL2c062EToeY5mKI_l/s320-r/mavens.jpg" style="border: 0pt none ;" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">It was an exhausting four days, but I learned a lot and networked my little tush off. (Actually, it's still there. Pesky thing.)</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Be sure to stop in tomorrow when <a href="http://angiefox.wordpress.com/">Angie Fox</a> is our guest Maven. You want to find out your <a href="http://quiz.angiefox.com/">Biker Witch name</a>, don't you? Post a comment and you could win a signed copy of Angie's brand new debut, The Accidental Demon Slayer. I'm reading it now and it's hi-larious.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><b><br /><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><b>How was your conference? If you weren't there, how productive were you without us to bother you?</b></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">###
Erica Ridley | Carrie Ryan | Darcy Burke | Lacey Kaye | Jacqueline Barbour
ManuscriptMavens: http://www.ManuscriptMavens.com
###</div>Darcy Burkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14819984559001912841noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-33086822822417372632008-08-01T05:00:00.001-04:002009-04-27T10:25:19.728-04:00My Heart (and More's) in San Francisco<img title="Maven Jackie Barbosa" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN-RIGHT: 10px" alt="Maven Jackie Barbosa" hspace="2" src="http://www.manuscriptmavens.com/images/tiny_jacq.gif" vspace="2" border="0" />By the time this post appears (thank you, Draft Blogger, for the ability to manipulate time and space!), I'll be in San Francisco at this year's RWA National Conference. Based on my experience at last year's Dallas event, I'm sure I'm already exhausted, overwhelmed, and giddy with pleasure.<br /><br />Last year, I have to admit that I spent most of my time a) hanging out friends, b) hovering around the pitch room, and c) in the booksigning area snapping up free, signed books. What I didn't do was attend a whole lot of workshops, perhaps in part because I couldn't decide which would be useful to me and which wouldn't. A few that I went to were very worthwhile, but many wound up not addressing my needs in one way or another and I ducked out before they were over.<br /><br />This year, I'm still expecting to spend a lot of time on a) and c), though not quite as much on b), since I don't need to pitch either agents or editors (and believe me, I'm as shocked as anyone by that). I would like to chat with some editors informally about some of my other projects to see if anyone seems really interested in seeing any of them when I'm ready to submit. Hence, I volunteered to help in the pitch room on Friday afternoon.<br /><br />I'm also hoping to meet my Kensington editor, John Scognamiglio, since I hear he'll be in attendance, and I know I'll be having dinner on Saturday night with my wonderful agent, Kevan Lyon, and some of her other clients (can you say networking, baby?). Since I'm bunking at a family friend's house, I've set aside one evening to get away from it all and have a quiet dinner with her.<br /><br />Beyond that, though, I haven't made up my mind what to do with myself. I've marked a few workshops/sessions that sound interesting/useful to try to attend. I will probably check out the PAN retreat on Thursday afternoon.<br /><br />I have to be honest, though, and say that if I had my druthers, I'd find a quiet corner somewhere in the hotel to hole up and write. Because three whole days away from the demands of husband, kids, house, and the day job is just too seductive an opportunity to ignore. Especially with a deadline hanging over my head.<br /><br /><strong>YOUR TURN: What would YOU do it you were me? Suck up as many conference goodies and workshops as possible, or find that quiet corner? </strong><div class="blogger-post-footer">###
Erica Ridley | Carrie Ryan | Darcy Burke | Lacey Kaye | Jacqueline Barbour
ManuscriptMavens: http://www.ManuscriptMavens.com
###</div>Jackie Barbosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904049760374126059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-59199302867869338962008-07-30T05:00:00.000-04:002008-07-30T05:00:00.606-04:00A Conferencing We Will Go!<img alt="Maven Darcy Burke" border="0" hspace="2" src="http://www.manuscriptmavens.com/images/tiny_darcy.gif" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px;" title="Maven Darcy Burke" vspace="2" />I apologize for the brevity of this post, but I still have eleventy billion things on my to-do list before I leave for San Francisco bright and early this morning (as you read this, it's "this morning"). <br />
<br />
I am thrilled that one of our very own Mave Faves, <a href="http://angiefox.wordpress.com/">Angie Fox</a>, will be guest blogging next week to celebrate the release of her debut novel, The Accidental Demon Slayer, which went on sale yesterday. If you haven't yet purchased your copy, run to the bookstore! I plan on picking mine up tonight at the Literacy Signing and getting it autographed to ME! Congratulations Angie!!!<br />
<br />
And that, I'm afraid, is the end of my post today. Next week I will post a newsy summary of all the fabulousness that was the 2008 RWA Conference. I am so excited to see old (and new) friends and partake in the roller coaster ride of being a Golden Heart finalist. I am especially looking forward to the champagne reception Friday afternoon for GH finalists and RITA nominees (and their editors!). I promise I'll take pictures!<br />
<br />
Ciao, Mave Faves!<div class="blogger-post-footer">###
Erica Ridley | Carrie Ryan | Darcy Burke | Lacey Kaye | Jacqueline Barbour
ManuscriptMavens: http://www.ManuscriptMavens.com
###</div>Darcy Burkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14819984559001912841noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-84814687088591508942008-07-29T04:43:00.001-04:002008-07-29T04:43:00.633-04:00More on the work/live balance...<img alt="Maven Carrie Ryan" border="0" hspace="2" src="http://www.manuscriptmavens.com/images/tiny_carrie.gif" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px;" title="Maven Carrie Ryan" vspace="2" />We've been talking about it around here recently, the work/life balance conundrum. And recently, my <a href="http://jp-davis.livejournal.com/8794.html">fiance JP also blogged about it</a>. Plus, I've been struggling with the whole balance issue myself recently, so I thought I'd blog about it.<br />
<br />
I think <a href="http://jp-davis.livejournal.com/8794.html">JP brings up a lot of good points</a>, one of them being:<br />
<blockquote>My other thought is that you need to take the time you need to get things done right. And that means that sometimes writing needs to win out, and that means sometimes the Day Job or other things need to win out. The trick is to keep one from pushing other off the face of the map, particularly writing. Too many people let the stress of life be an excuse not to write, myself included. Conversely, though, you shouldn't let the drive to write add more stress to an already stressful period.</blockquote> As JP points out in his post, there are a lot of people who will say that if you truly love writing, if you truly are a writer, then you'll find the time to write. No matter what. You'll sacrifice everything else before you'll sacrifice writing. But I think that is unreasonable when you've also got other things going on in life: day job, raising kids, moving, a budding relationship, etc. It's just a fact of life that sometimes, other things will have to come first.<br />
<br />
Conversely, I hear from a ton of writers who never put writing first. Family, job, cleaning the house, volunteer work, exercise, cooking, etc. always comes first. This is also unreasonable if you want to be a professional writer.<br />
<br />
We all know that a writer writes -- it's the bottom line of the profession. How that happens? That's the difficulty. And yeah, it's going to take sacrifice. If you want to sell a book, I don't think you can just throw writing on at the end of your priorities and have that be enough. Just the opposite, I think that it has to come first (and has to come first a lot). That's why I'll be eating a frozen dinner tonight. And tomorrow night. And every night this week -- because it takes a lot of time to cook and that's time I could be writing. That's why our house is often messy -- because we write rather than clean. That's why our garden isn't winning us any awards in our neighborhood.<br />
<br />
We had to prioritize. One of the first things to go -- most TV shows. Did I *really* need to know who the last Cylon was right when the rest of the world found out (or has it even been revealed yet)? Nope, that's what Netflix is for. Do I *really* have to see the million different shows about planning a wedding? Nope, that's what eloping is for (just kidding mom!). Even when I go online and find myself following comment trails on blogs and message boards I ask myself: do I really need to spend time doing this?<br />
<br />
And sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes other things must take priority. Yes, JP and I take the time to walk the dog and spend time together. We take the time for our day jobs because we happen to like our house. But we looked at what could go, and we cut it. I do think often that's the investment writing to go pro requires.<br />
<br />
But you know, the thing is, sometimes life just gets in the way. You meet someone new. You get buried at work. Sometimes, even though it's a big priority, writing just has to get bumped down for your own sanity. For me, the key is then to ENJOY that time not writing. I think of it like dieting, if you're going to eat that tres leches cake, enjoy it! Don't sneak it in, pretend you're not eating it -- no! sit there and savor it! Same thing with time off -- admit that you're taking time off. Live with the decision, and don't beat yourself up. But also acknowledge that taking that time might mean extending personal deadlines -- again, you have to make that decision knowingly and honestly and then live with it!<br />
<br />
In the end, remember that you're going to mess up. We're human, it happens. Sometimes the alarm will go off at 5:30 and you'll jump out of bed ready to write. Sometimes you'll keep hitting snooze until your fiance rips the clock cord out of the wall. I think it's a constant struggle and it constantly needs tweaking. Bottom line, I think you just have to be honest with yourself. It's way too easy to fritter away time rather than being conscious about the choices you're making.<br />
<br />
All that being said... I have some pages to write :) <b>What are y'all's thoughts on the work/life balance?</b><div class="blogger-post-footer">###
Erica Ridley | Carrie Ryan | Darcy Burke | Lacey Kaye | Jacqueline Barbour
ManuscriptMavens: http://www.ManuscriptMavens.com
###</div>Carrie Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13751498516235657725noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-38880142484818887832008-07-25T05:00:00.003-04:002008-07-25T05:00:01.433-04:00Writer's Log Jam<img title="Maven Jackie Barbosa" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN-RIGHT: 10px" alt="Maven Jackie Barbosa" hspace="2" src="http://www.manuscriptmavens.com/images/tiny_jacq.gif" vspace="2" border="0" />Like Darcy, I was going to blog about my pre-conference preparations, jitters, and excitements this week, but another topic has been pushed to the forefront of my mind by recent events. You see, I'm in the throes of writing my two contracted but as yet unfinished novellas, and I'm realizing that I have a problem. It's kind of like writer's block, but not exactly. It's more like writer's log jam.<br /><br />You see, I'm not suffering from a paucity of ideas. Quite the reverse. I have too many!<br /><br />The novella I'm currently writing (the third chronologically in the anthology, but the second I "conceived") is giving me fits because I'm afraid it won't fit within its 25K-35K boundaries. I have at least a dozen more scenes rattling around in my head that could and/or should go into this story, but I'm already pushing 20K and I'm still miles from the Black Moment. The result is that I'm finding it difficult to decide which scenes I should write and which I shouldn't. Worse, I'm an incredibly linear writer, so I can't just write the scenes out of order and put them together later. I have to know for certain what happened before the scene I'm currently writing, or I can't write it.<br /><br />To make matters worse, other stories are plaguing me. Driving through the Black Hills on our way back from our vacation in Minnesota the week before last got me itching to write a Western historical (which I never thought I'd do, but the place is just do darned evocative!). Add that idea to all the others taking up space in my brain (there must be at least a dozen, if not more, begging to be written), and I'm finding it quite difficult to concentrate on the projects I'm actually obligated to complete! The words for the stories I <em>must</em> write are getting jumbled up with the words for the stories I <em>want </em>to write.<br /><br />So, is there a solution to this dilemma? Short of just plugging away and doing what I have to do, I doubt it. But somehow, putting my finger on the root of the problem has me feeling a bit less anxious if nothing else. "Writer's block"--the possibility that my ideas will dry up and I won't be able to write anything at all--terrifies me. Being caught in an idea traffic jam doesn't make me nearly as nervous!<br /><br /><strong>YOUR TURN: Do you suffer from writer's log jam? How do you overcome your selfish desire to set aside the project you're currently working on to start a new one? Or do you just give into temptation?</strong><br /><strong></strong><br />P.S. I'm also blogging today at the <a href="http://theaphrodisiaauthors.blogspot.com/">Aphrodisia Authors blog</a> and guest-blogging with my critique partner, <a href="http://www.emmapetersen.com/">Emma Petersen</a>, over at <a href="http://shilohwalker.wordpress.com/">Shiloh Walker's blog</a>. Drop by and see me if you get a chance!<div class="blogger-post-footer">###
Erica Ridley | Carrie Ryan | Darcy Burke | Lacey Kaye | Jacqueline Barbour
ManuscriptMavens: http://www.ManuscriptMavens.com
###</div>Jackie Barbosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904049760374126059noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-4347462193517243382008-07-24T00:04:00.008-04:002008-07-24T00:48:44.142-04:00Can't.Pick.Title.For.Post. (too wiped out.)<img title="Maven Lacey Kaye" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN-RIGHT: 10px" alt="Maven Lacey Kaye" hspace="2" src="http://www.manuscriptmavens.com/images/tiny_lacey.gif" vspace="2" border="0" />The past two weeeks have been absolutely, unbelievably, wonderfully, insanely, unforgettably <em>stupendaculous</em>. Let me summarize:<br /><br /><strong>WED: </strong>Do a little research on trysting. Find it highly entertaining.<br /><p><strong>THUR:</strong> Kayak from Renton to Mercer Island (and back).</p><p><strong>FRI:</strong> Poker night with the guys at <a href="http://www.helium.com/items/935108-college-pranks">Bryan Crancy</a>'s.</p><p><strong>SAT: </strong>Attend a party at the invitation of a friend's brother. Go with said friend to said party (and take own friends), ready to party, only to find out it's a Celebration of Life party i.e. <em><u>funeral</u>.</em> @#%!.</p><p><strong>SUN: </strong>Watch 1080p <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_Begins">Batman Begins</a> on friend's new PS3 (BluRay) in the comfort of own living room. Sweet.</p><p><strong>MON: </strong>Crash friend's fitness club's 2 hour boot camp session, followed by <a href="http://laceykaye.com/2008/07/15/lacey-the-road-and-saras-motorcycle-a-love-story/">wrecking same friend's motorcycle</a>, ended by a cozy heart-to-heart with friend and friend's husband at dinner. </p><p><strong>TUES: </strong>Hurt.like.hell.</p><p><strong>WED: </strong>Hurt like hell. Browse craigslist for motorcycles.</p><p><strong>THURS:</strong> Hurt like hell. Sign up for motorcycle licensing course in September.</p><p><strong>FRI: </strong>Feel marginally better. Dinner with the girls. One crazy story after another.</p><p><strong>SAT: </strong>Work 12.5 hours, dash home to walk dog, have first-ever experience at a Turkish restaurant, followed by quality time at Del Rey, capped off with shocking drunk-text from completely inappropriate person. Delicious.</p><p><strong>SUN: </strong>Work, then host barbeque for friend's birthday and attempt to give food poisoning to 12 people.</p><p><strong>MON: </strong>Get food poisoning. Be rushed to medical when 2nd level manager decides to mobilize the troops at the end of a meeting. ("Have a good day out there, everyone. And oh, yeah. You guys better take care of Lacey 'cause it looks like she's dying.") Cue frantic shuffling, coddling and general insanity.</p><p>Spend rest of day wishing actually <em>were</em> dying.</p><p><strong>TUES: </strong>Drag poor, cramped, burning stomach into work. Because am covering for manager. Oh. Almost forgot about that.</p><p><strong>WED: </strong>The angels are shining down because somehow calendar magically becomes devoid of commitments. Discover no weight has been gained in past 2 weeks of slackerhood. Pay bills. Organize tickets and logistics for upcoming San Francisco and Vegas trips. Make it home while it's still daylight. Go running. Clock in under takt time. Get blog post written.</p><p>Think about sleeping sometime.</p><strong>Enjoy being alive. </strong><br /><br />:-) See you in SF!<div class="blogger-post-footer">###
Erica Ridley | Carrie Ryan | Darcy Burke | Lacey Kaye | Jacqueline Barbour
ManuscriptMavens: http://www.ManuscriptMavens.com
###</div>lacey kayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04748864831060027009noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-21780951834913908702008-07-23T05:00:00.002-04:002008-07-23T05:00:01.675-04:00The Only Thing that Matters at Conference<img alt="Maven Darcy Burke" border="0" hspace="2" src="http://www.manuscriptmavens.com/images/tiny_darcy.gif" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px;" title="Maven Darcy Burke" vspace="2" />And no, I'm not talking about Spanx (which is still really, really important). Anyone else shocked the RWA conference is <i>next </i>week? I can't very well say this crept up on me, but wow, did time fly. I'm feeling slightly more prepared than last year, but that's probably only because I don't have to ready the one thing that gave me fits last year: pitching. Not that I'm not, er, ready with a two-line spiel about <a href="http://www.darcyburke.com/bookshelf/glorious-excerpt/"><i>Glorious</i></a>, my GH-finalist manuscript. From what I'm told, the GH-finalist ribbon on my nametag will practically ensure that anyone and everyone will ask what my book is about. So, I'd better be ready! Especially if one of those somebodies is an editor with <i>Glorious </i>on their desk!<br />
<br />
As for the rest:<br />
<br />
Outfits? Check<br />
Preprinted handouts for workshops I plan to attend? Check<br />
Highlighted schedule? Check<br />
Business cards? Check<br />
Cool new name tag holder with various pins? Check<br />
Extra space for copious books? Check<br />
Insane amounts of excitement about hooking up with all my writing pals? Double check!<br />
<br />
Neuroses? In spades, baby because this list nowhere near covers everything I need to remember - both what I'm bringing to San Francisco and what I need to organize for the Burkettes at home. See, I need to be <i>extra </i>organized because Mr. Burke is joining me in San Francisco for the Golden Heart/RITA ceremony Saturday night. He flies in Saturday afternoon and then we're heading home Sunday.<br />
<br />
Doubtless you've read a gazillion blogs over the past couple of weeks about conference: what to wear, what not to wear, how to pitch, how to network, best uses of your time, blah, blah. The only bits of advice I offer is to try to get enough sleep and have a great time. (Yes, I realize the first might preclude the other, especially if you're a night owl and can't say no to an invitation to hang out with agents, editors, RITA-winning authors, that cool writer you met at lunch who loved <a href="http://thedarkknight.warnerbros.com/"><i>The Dark Knight</i></a> as much as you did, <i>ahem</i>.) We've talked before about how great local chapters are for the writing comaraderie. Well the RWA National Conference (I guess it's really international as I know plenty of folks from Britain, Canada, and Australia are joining us) is a fantastic way to OD on that kinship and love of all things writerly. So, go forth and have fun. I hope to have some with you!<br />
<br />
<b>Any advice about conference? What's your favorite part? Anything in particular you're looking forward to this year?</b><div class="blogger-post-footer">###
Erica Ridley | Carrie Ryan | Darcy Burke | Lacey Kaye | Jacqueline Barbour
ManuscriptMavens: http://www.ManuscriptMavens.com
###</div>Darcy Burkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14819984559001912841noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-36951379657458699912008-07-22T04:57:00.000-04:002008-07-22T04:57:01.023-04:00What you wish you had known...<img alt="Maven Carrie Ryan" border="0" hspace="2" src="http://www.manuscriptmavens.com/images/tiny_carrie.gif" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px;" title="Maven Carrie Ryan" vspace="2" />Tonight I'm giving my first ever talk to a group of writers. To be fair, I'm a last minute substitute and I'm talking to a very small group. We're all both writers and member of the local bar (i.e. lawyers) and I wasn't given a topic. We're all in very different stages with different goals -- some have been published in short fiction, some poetry, some are writing non-fiction and historical. And so I've had a hard time trying to figure out what to focus on in my talk. <br />
<br />
Many of them aren't ready to worry about how to find agents and the ins/outs of submissions. And my path to publication with a YA novel will be different from someone writing poetry or nonfiction. It's been a really wonderful exercise trying to figure out what to talk about because it's made me realize just how much I've learned about this business over the years. But it's also made me wonder -- how much do you need to know? I spend a fair amount of time reading blogs, industry sites, books. I check out message boards and talk to other writers. That's the kind of person I am (and I know it often drives my friends crazy): when I'm faced with something I don't know, I research the heck out of it.<br />
<br />
But there are other people I meet who didn't bother with any of that. They wrote their books without paying attention to markets and trends. They found agents by looking a few up online and submitting. They don't pay much attention to industry gossip and forums and blogs about which agents prefer what.<br />
<br />
I feel like there's so much information out there that's so readily available that it makes me wonder how people ever made it in publishing before the internet and chat rooms and blogs! But they did. At the same time, I've heard anecdotally that the internet has raised the bar for agents and editors: they have less tolerance for those who don't know how to write a query or format a manuscript because such information is so readily available.<br />
<br />
So it's made me wonder (a) what I can share with this group that they can't find/haven't found out on their own pretty easily and (b) whether anything I have to say will be useful or helpful. Because there are no rules in this business and mine is just one story out of thousands -- it should be taken in the context of all those other stories. But then I remember that we're all writers (and lawyers which makes us analytical) so we enjoy sharing stories. Hopefully that will be enough! Also, hopefully they'll have a lot of questions :) And just in case they don't... I'm turning to y'all for help!<br />
<br />
<b>So if you were just starting out in writing, what questions would you have? What would you want to hear a soon-to-have-a-book-on-the-shelf author to talk about?</b><div class="blogger-post-footer">###
Erica Ridley | Carrie Ryan | Darcy Burke | Lacey Kaye | Jacqueline Barbour
ManuscriptMavens: http://www.ManuscriptMavens.com
###</div>Carrie Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13751498516235657725noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-41270236875268818462008-07-18T05:00:00.005-04:002008-07-18T10:51:00.623-04:00First Anniversary Jamboree!Welcome to the final day of the Mavens' First Anniversary Jamboree! Thanks so much for being with us this week and celebrating our first year. We want to especially thank the guest authors who bared their souls this week:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifv17HPvPVpc3WQ3z69eb0N5PwgPzWcA2SoMxa36dj3dCerXQn9kQCze9-KJHI4iSwDH3KF982aHYKCDG4TvP75NWgHVk1EIUxwCF1x5yM9frNgzFjZWzOO38cX0AiN_JHyLa03PjdKZo/s1600-h/Atlantis+Unleashed+COVER.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifv17HPvPVpc3WQ3z69eb0N5PwgPzWcA2SoMxa36dj3dCerXQn9kQCze9-KJHI4iSwDH3KF982aHYKCDG4TvP75NWgHVk1EIUxwCF1x5yM9frNgzFjZWzOO38cX0AiN_JHyLa03PjdKZo/s200/Atlantis+Unleashed+COVER.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224366623133199954" border="0" /></a>Alesia Holliday aka Alyssa Day<br />Angie Fox<br />Anna Campbell<br />Amie Stuart<br />Debra Dixon<br />Debby Mayne<br />Delilah Marvelle<br />Elissa Wilds<br />Jennifer Haymore<br />Julie Leto<br />Karen Lingefelt<br />Roxanne St. Claire<br />Tanya Michaels<br />Teri Brown<br />Terri Garey<br />Tessa Dare<br />Virginia Henley<br /><br />Now, before we announce this week's winners, we have one final question to share.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><b>If you could pick one of your books to make into a movie, which one would you choose and who would star in it?<br /></b></span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alesiaholliday.com/">Alesia Holliday</a> aka Alyssa Day<br /><div style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl5-cNKBM0s57C-HKBpvXHagY2FgoszJ9Frtt1HaTd_BH_5xg9PduUoJewK7N8h8iWhMTf_wKAmpmdhesIFpSZRsic9qShC11jzsqxgkn6FeKZoqho1DlhodekwCGgVc411TRU3V8-sq-z/s1600-h/courtesansmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="border: 0pt none ; background-color: transparent; clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; float: right; margin-left: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-XFmnoOo9C_klREb8zATNtSODlgDLZzej0LByxStTmfwtfMvvg75UdMxtCa9zyTTYzWdEzwJMLGymdjDIdlZSUyBeOj9wVhIOohD77uZ31sYSpGhyphenhyphen_bhOrAJ5LmARlzF0hQ9bzxOeL6uK/s320-r/courtesansmall.jpg" style="border: 0pt none ;" width="160" height="246" /></a>7 Ways to Lose Your Lover starring Katherine Heigl.</div><br /><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><a href="http://www.annacampbell.info/">Anna Campbell</a></div><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Claiming the Courtesan (although it would definitely have an adult rating!) with Richard Armitage as the Duke of Kylemore and Olivia Hussey in her 20s as Verity. I'm assuming I can time travel on my casting! </span><br /></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><br /></span><br /><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><a href="http://www.karenlingefelt.com/">Karen Lingefelt</a></div><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">True Pretenses starring Eric Bana and Kate Winslet.</span><br /></span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.debradixon.com/">Debra Dixon</a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEielJnEmYjnEdDjLxqCEshll-Fg9g6foJIhXI4WKbBz5FfR1MzRG8yphv-kE4s3rQA8ss9nLrqwH3j5jUXF27-BdFeQBsZSOt24plVNuMeYgCuSxIc1sgI1VomH7WN8EvBwLCnp0gLep8SP/s1600-h/witch+high+thumb+nail+220+wide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="border: 0pt none ; background-color: transparent; clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG81COYkihexRfhdkR3Y3dzOLIegkBn6rQipR50PuDnfhMXYojhBxtxOCLx2TscFZ25OhCZmFQMijkBfZlBdYFpjBfTRMBfjKOyiQ09A7cdkTnnFHYBSTi_VfKW7eswpR29BLV8Q-f-PS5/s320-r/witch+high+thumb+nail+220+wide.jpg" style="border: 0pt none ;" /></a>Check out her YA story in the WITCH HIGH anthology coming in October. Debra's <a href="http://www.bellebooks.com/">Belle Books</a> has great summer titles available and is excited about the launch of <a href="http://www.bellbridgebooks.com/">Belle Bridge Books</a>.<br /><div style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">BAD TO THE BONE. Without a doubt. Starring Eliza Dushku and Daniel Craig (but that's just because I rarely cast in my head and time is too short to seriously consider the male lead. I mean really. One would need massive amounts of time to review their photos and then to audition. )</div><br /><a href="http://www.tanyamichaels.com/">Tanya Michaels</a>, author of A DAD FOR HER TWINS, a "State of Parenthood" book from Harlequin American Romance, in stores Sept 08! (Tanya's also a speaker at RWA this year!)<br /><div style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">One of the most exciting things that's happened to me in my career is that a production company showed some interest in my book MOTHERHOOD WITHOUT PAROLE...sadly, nothing ever came of it. I think MAID OF DISHONOR, my debut romantic comedy, would have made a great movie, but movies about the maid of honor trying to stop the wedding have been DONE (most recently, and cutely, by blue-eyed Patrick Dempsey). Hmmm. I'm honestly not sure. I can see DATING THE MRS. SMITHS or NECESSARY ARRANGEMENTS being pretty solid women's movies, but the latter would definitely make people cry. I'd rather make audiences laugh, but they'd lose the humor in the characters' thoughts--unless I took a page from Meredith Grey or Veronica Mars and relied on voice-overs. Must think this over more before I issue a casting call... Oh, wait, I got it! I have a comedy coming out next spring, MISTLETOE CINDERELLA, which will be the third in my Mistletoe series, kicking off Nov 08. It's a funny mistaken identity story with (IMO) charming and misguided characters. I like Jewel Staite for Chloe, because Jewel (probably best known for Firefly/Serenity) can be believably awkward/nerdy but is also charismatic and lovely. For the hero, Dylan... maybe Jensen Ackles.</div><g><br /></g><br /><g></g><br /><a href="http://www.julieleto.com/"></a><a href="http://www.amiestuart.com/">Amie Stuart</a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS7Sesf_sNf7eAdsVbF6-etCBKeErg4MLS5AowGAn6mPTc6lJxYB6duweobKkJn-YVeTK8ftbBMio8MrizhMzCFfyTcb75P_VjpruLwaVQcCpHJBDFcLwIDBqF370Qm68WOHmRdPvkqxk5/s1600-h/nailed-tn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="border: 0pt none ; background-color: transparent; clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6i6BLCunEWl_2ny7-ef3jleU-nRiuYdld5f97WMNuGSC4tQxS75tPhGCJzFitQDGEiJiNPlNQm3Y-39s0YW7nfnYHWfWlwDj8TnBst85GJetXScgeoDahE2KjtJduRN5cEo0WbdHEYeHT/s320-r/nailed-tn.jpg" style="border: 0pt none ;" /></a><g><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">Probably NAILED because I could SO see Eliza Dushku bashing in Wynn’s knee with a bat and then not apologizing for it. She’s hot, sexy and tough. For Wynn……hmmmm that’s a tough call. Maybe Nathan Fillion even though he doesn’t really LOOK anything like Wynn I could see him pulling the part off (and he’s hot in that cute aw shucks sorta way).</span><br /></span><br /></span></g><br /><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><a href="http://www.roxannestclaire.com/"><g>Roxanne St. Claire</g></a></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><g>THEN YOU HIDE with Paul Walker and Scarlett Johanssen. </g></div><g><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"> </span></g><br /><br /><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><a href="http://www.tessadare.com/"><g>Tessa Dare</g></a></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">Jeremy, the hero of Goddess of the Hunt, was quite consciously modeled after Clive Owen. And maybe a brunette Amy Adams as Lucy - she doesn't look much like her, but she could pull off the sass and physical comedy perfectly.</div><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"><br /></span><br /><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><a href="http://themagickallife.blogspot.com/">Elissa Wilds</a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk1eol0olzB5dH9DZMHsmSrHXrR8n328Wc1ZQexclYWv8TLhLaojC_csLn749RgrXXkGpB3bnrDuRl7ztpLjpMrPrRua66dK5n9j-Vhjl3WeSsq9b_0NgqK-Lmgz4o-yMSSa14TZCNCwZM/s1600-h/matchmadeinhell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="border: 0pt none ; background-color: transparent; clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; float: right; margin-left: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvkzezdKXWrCJTc98XMYI_rvRKqftsXCdub3MlOCKQ60q_80nQKNSEyvxv_PCDiJoDxxm45dpuLmK7ozv9V_gGQJv6JDz6b21lcmswpcu2gBd3tI_bksF6dlc9NXqn-BVFZdJnhywSPrnS/s200-r/matchmadeinhell.jpg" style="border: 0pt none ;" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">Between Light and Dark. I think it would make a bang up action/romance. For the hero: Clive Owen. For the heroine: that one’s more difficult. When writing it I sort of pictured a younger, plumper Sandra Bullock. Could it be me? I would love to star with Clive.</span><br /></span><br /><br /><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><a href="http://www.tgarey.com/"><g>Terri Garey</g></a></div><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">Oh, definitely DEAD GIRLS ARE EASY. The heroine would be played by Zoeey Deschanel, and the hero by David Boreanz.</span><br /></span><br /><g><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><br /></span></g><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMDjnTnKvNOovHoupMTeqJv14GmdwmaG0hktvm6tX3H2k4JLCJ5NGX8GkDGyEFkEhnjrSFQ_W2ClGOIBjupgHyDMKsSEL2uq-uSGS2_a_8Ub6HTF0WI6iaLY0ULyiFAcNrItqByfNdYWa-/s1600-h/decadentduke.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="border: 0pt none ; background-color: transparent; clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpbUvdL8evIWmgsuPeWghvZ3g2_aoA3rj4BwTZXU_aFYc3JTeqi8T6aIhzl5I1go2RMMFAlPvWHAIwE6UCMNFFkm_-A8oKfD83C63FHYb7PiniWqd-pwVlfIMJm25CnYIgmaHLU_sDYSxw/s200-r/decadentduke.JPG" style="border: 0pt none ;" /></a><a href="http://www.virginiahenley.com/"><g>Virginia Henley</g></a><g><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"> </span></g><br /><g><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">A WOMAN OF PASSION starring Catherine Zeta Jones.</span> </span></g><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Our winners this week are:</span></span><br /><br />Manda<br />Phyllis Towzey<br />Cynthia Sherrick Mitchell<br />Santa<br />Mary<br />Kimmyl<br />Elyssa Papa<br />Cheri2628<br />Vicki<br /><br />We have five books (3 by Alesia Holliday aka Alyssa Day, 1 by Debby Mayne, and your choice of Notorious or Infamous by Virginia Henley) and four query letter critiques. Email the Mavens to claim your prize. It's first come, first pick!<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><b>Monday</b></span><br />Who would you invite to dinner:<br />1) Karen Lingefelt - B, Laura Ingalls Wilder<br />2) Debby Mayne - E, Elvis<br />3) Julie Leto - D, J.K. Rowling<br />4) Virginia Henley - C, King Charles II of England<br />5) Delilah Marvelle - A, Edith Wharton<br /><br />Five MaveFaves were 2/5 with their guesses, but that's the best anyone could do!<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><b>Tuesday</b></span><br />Who traveled to the Orkney Islands north of Scotland? Since we were talking about distances, if you know Anna Campbell lives in Australia, you might've deduced this is quite a way to travel! All of our MaveFaves correctly guessed Anna!<br /><br />Which three authors have been to the Philippines?<br />Alesia Holliday, Tessa Dare, and Amie Stuart. Kimmyl got the only 100% right answer this week on these two Tuesday questions!<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><b>Wednesday</b></span><br />For karaoke, our favorite authors sing...<br />1) Terri Garey - C, Crazy for You by Madonna<br />2) Elissa Wilds - E, Wake Me Up Inside by Evanescence<br />3) Teri Brown - G, Ah Leah by Donny Iris<br />4) Virginia Henley - A, New York, New York<br />5) Anna Campbell - B, Tainted Love!<br />6) Jennifer Haymore - D, My Sharona<br />7) Amie Stuart - F, Edge of Seventeen by Stevie Nicks<br /><br />These were tought! Our authors are brave souls! Let's see who we can get to sing in San Francisco...<br /><g><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><br /></span></g><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><b>Thursday</b></span><br />Extreme activities...<br />Delilah Marvelle climbed the Mayan ruins in Belize<br />Karen Lingefelt is the hero raising an autistic son<br />Jennifer Haymore sailed across the Pacific and swam with sharks<br />Alesia Holliday repelled down the side of a mountain<br />Roxanne St. Clair white water rafted in Idaho<br />Amie Stuart took a dare and went parasailing<br />Debra Dixon allowed herself to be pulled on a door...by a glass-bottom boat<br />Virginia Henley braved the Skiddaw and Helvellyn Mountains in England<div class="blogger-post-footer">###
Erica Ridley | Carrie Ryan | Darcy Burke | Lacey Kaye | Jacqueline Barbour
ManuscriptMavens: http://www.ManuscriptMavens.com
###</div>Darcy Burkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14819984559001912841noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-89097166477787469702008-07-17T05:00:00.001-04:002008-07-18T10:53:32.266-04:00First Anniversary Jamboree!Welcome to Day Four of the Mavens' First Anniversary Jamboree! Thanks so much for hanging out with us the past year. We've enjoyed sharing successes, frustrations, and milestones. Here's to another year!<br /><br />We've asked our favorite authors to answer some burning questions and every day this week we're giving you the inside scoop. Be sure to read the bonus question and answer Monday through Thursday for the chance to win fabulous prizes. And please, share your own answers...if you dare!<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><b>How old were you when you got your first crush? Do you have a current crush? (For the purposes of our survey, we disallowed significant others and spouses.)<br /></b></span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alesiaholliday.com/">Alesia Holliday</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">13. I was a math geek and was alternately crushing on the other math geek in the class and the swim champion (I like brains *and* brawn, evidently. LOL). Toss up between Gerard Butler and Hugh Jackman, but only in bad boy roles.<br /></span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.debradixon.com/">Debra Dixon</a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEielJnEmYjnEdDjLxqCEshll-Fg9g6foJIhXI4WKbBz5FfR1MzRG8yphv-kE4s3rQA8ss9nLrqwH3j5jUXF27-BdFeQBsZSOt24plVNuMeYgCuSxIc1sgI1VomH7WN8EvBwLCnp0gLep8SP/s1600-h/witch+high+thumb+nail+220+wide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="border: 0pt none ; background-color: transparent; clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG81COYkihexRfhdkR3Y3dzOLIegkBn6rQipR50PuDnfhMXYojhBxtxOCLx2TscFZ25OhCZmFQMijkBfZlBdYFpjBfTRMBfjKOyiQ09A7cdkTnnFHYBSTi_VfKW7eswpR29BLV8Q-f-PS5/s320-r/witch+high+thumb+nail+220+wide.jpg" style="border: 0pt none ;" /></a>Check out her YA story in the WITCH HIGH anthology coming in October. Debra's <a href="http://www.bellebooks.com/">Belle Books</a> has great summer titles available and is excited about the launch of <a href="http://www.bellbridgebooks.com/">Belle Bridge Books</a>.<br /><div style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">I was probably 14 and had an agonizing crush on my best-friend's big brother. And I'm currently crushing on any number of men. It's a hobby. My husband is aware of it. Robert Downey, Jr. in IRON MAN was totally crushworthy.</div><br /><a href="http://www.tanyamichaels.com/">Tanya Michaels</a>, author of A DAD FOR HER TWINS, a "State of Parenthood" book from Harlequin American Romance, in stores Sept 08! (Tanya's also a speaker at RWA this year!)<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Kindergarten. His name was William. We played superhero on the playground. He was my first kiss--giving me chicken pox just in time for vacation! I don't have a steady current crush, although I'm infatuated with several different television characters depending on how great their plotlines and dialogue (and their eyes...and their smiles) are in any given episode. I'd feel bad for my husband, being saddled with such a fickle wife, but since he has some pretty big crushes of his own, I'm guilt-free.</span><br /></span><br /><g><br /></g><br /><g></g><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx2Rk8s-pIHYqr2gVwh6VHa1VgCbZOTJLKWfhFBvuAfEKhrLjtV1YMVgUwUFWG8l9xHdWivTFc5kwbB7AcKb6czpyESrMfXo69kzSlOn85HF9g_tSxbCtVb4KRtPNJ95g8xyPrT6FP_btU/s1600-h/phantom_pleasures_L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="border: 0pt none ; background-color: transparent; clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; float: right; margin-left: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlsGfUSUzt6erbR4m70eHtGtg5Cu5TFwwjzc-7JvFqxfdrhXEmtH72XZp7FDQU04sb6wKaXXvLsCW1yHujI8vL5SZ-OG4lvDy25eF7wneRXPNZqoRWSlU19CaGN0S4jAhXz-sbUCKzkbE7/s320-r/phantom_pleasures_L.jpg" style="border: 0pt none ;" /></a><a href="http://www.julieleto.com/">Julie Leto</a><g><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"> </span></span></g><br /><g><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Probably VERY young and on that little boy who was on HR Puffinstuff. My current crush? Colin Firth. Alan Rickman. If I was seventeen again, it would be Daniel Radcliffe. I'm such a Harry Potter geek.<br /></span><br /></span></g><br /><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><a href="http://www.roxannestclaire.com/"><g>Roxanne St. Claire</g></a></div><g><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">I crushed out of control on Jimmy Gallagher in second grade - green eyes, crooked smile, sandy blonde hair. Today, I'm writing a hero named Dan Gallagher - green eyes, crooked smile, sandy blonde hair. Some dreams die hard. I crush on my heros, and the occasional celeb, and this hottie that lives down the street who's home for college. Fortunately, my husband is both tolerant and gorgeous, so my crushing is a source of amusement (and writing inspiration) only.</span><br /></span></g><br /><g><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><br /></span></g><br /><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><a href="http://www.tessadare.com/"><g>Tessa Dare</g></a></div><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Oh, probably like 5. It was either Ricky Schroeder or that kid who played Albert on Little House on the Prairie. And of course I still have celebrity crushes now. I'm a currently a slave for Clive Owen, Colin Firth, James McAvoy...really, I could go on all day.</span><br /><br /><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk1eol0olzB5dH9DZMHsmSrHXrR8n328Wc1ZQexclYWv8TLhLaojC_csLn749RgrXXkGpB3bnrDuRl7ztpLjpMrPrRua66dK5n9j-Vhjl3WeSsq9b_0NgqK-Lmgz4o-yMSSa14TZCNCwZM/s1600-h/matchmadeinhell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="border: 0pt none ; background-color: transparent; clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvkzezdKXWrCJTc98XMYI_rvRKqftsXCdub3MlOCKQ60q_80nQKNSEyvxv_PCDiJoDxxm45dpuLmK7ozv9V_gGQJv6JDz6b21lcmswpcu2gBd3tI_bksF6dlc9NXqn-BVFZdJnhywSPrnS/s200-r/matchmadeinhell.jpg" style="border: 0pt none ;" /></a><a href="http://www.tgarey.com/"><g>Terri Garey</g></a></div><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Honestly? Third grade. His name was Mark Murray and he had horses. It was a double whammy! LOL. The first serious crush (first kiss), was in the eighth grade, when I was thirteen. My current crush is singer Chris Cornell.</span></span><br /><br /><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMDjnTnKvNOovHoupMTeqJv14GmdwmaG0hktvm6tX3H2k4JLCJ5NGX8GkDGyEFkEhnjrSFQ_W2ClGOIBjupgHyDMKsSEL2uq-uSGS2_a_8Ub6HTF0WI6iaLY0ULyiFAcNrItqByfNdYWa-/s1600-h/decadentduke.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="border: 0pt none ; background-color: transparent; clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; float: right; margin-left: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpbUvdL8evIWmgsuPeWghvZ3g2_aoA3rj4BwTZXU_aFYc3JTeqi8T6aIhzl5I1go2RMMFAlPvWHAIwE6UCMNFFkm_-A8oKfD83C63FHYb7PiniWqd-pwVlfIMJm25CnYIgmaHLU_sDYSxw/s200-r/decadentduke.JPG" style="border: 0pt none ;" /></a><a href="http://themagickallife.blogspot.com/">Elissa Wilds</a></div><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Ten. Do I have a current crush? Yes. But I ain’t telling.<br /></span><br /><g><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><br /></span></g><br /><a href="http://www.virginiahenley.com/"><g>Virginia Henley</g></a><g><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"> </span></g><br /><g><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">I got my first crush at 13 - it was Robert Wagner. My current crush is Johnathan Rhys Meyers.</span><br /> </span></g><br /><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size:130%;"><g>Today's Prize Question is:</g></span></div><div style="color: rgb(51, 0, 0);"><g><br /></g></div><div style="color: rgb(51, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size:130%;"><b><g>What's the most extreme activity you've ever done?...</g></b></span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><g><br /></g></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><g>In your comment, correctly match each author with their extreme activity and you'll be entered in a drawing for a cool prize! (In the event no one gets all matches correct, the person with the most will win. In the event of a tie, we'll draw.)</g></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><g><br /></g></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><g>-Rappelling off the side of a mountain</g></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><g>-Sailed across the South Pacific Ocean in a 42-foot catamaran. Swam with sharks, got deathly ill from fish poisoning, and skirted hurricanes along the way.</g></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><g>-Raising my autistic son </g></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><g>-White water rafting in Idaho - terrifying, exhilerating, unforgettable. </g></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><g>-Climbing the Mayan ruins in Belize. I hate heights and so climbing it was the most extreme thing I have ever done. When I reached the top and looked out onto the endless landscape of the jungle and ruins, I cried. Because of the height and the beauty. Getting down was a whole other adventure. I don't do extreme sports because I am clumsy as all hell and I know I would kill myself trying to do it. And I rather like life, thank you.</g></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><g>-When I was young and stupid, I'd pretty much ski or ride anything you could pull behind a boat. And we tried to ski some very interesting things behind some very interesting boats. And if you're wondering, you can get enough speed out of a 14 foot, flat-bottomed fishing boat with a decent motor to surf a door. It wasn't that exciting but we felt someone had to at least see if it could be done. </g></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><g>-Parasailing (just once, against my will)—don’t ask.<br />-Climbed Skiddaw and Helvellyn Mountains in Cumberland, England<br /><br /></g></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><g>Delilah Marvelle</g></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><g>Jennifer Haymore </g></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><g>Roxanne St. Clair </g></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><g>Karen Lingefelt </g></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><g>Virginia Henley<br /></g></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><g>Debra Dixon</g></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><g>Alesia Holliday </g></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><g>Amie Stuart<br /></g></div><g><br /></g><g><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><br /></span></g><div class="blogger-post-footer">###
Erica Ridley | Carrie Ryan | Darcy Burke | Lacey Kaye | Jacqueline Barbour
ManuscriptMavens: http://www.ManuscriptMavens.com
###</div>Darcy Burkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14819984559001912841noreply@blogger.com4