Monday Means Winning

So, anybody do anything interesting last night? *whistles* *hums* *hopes someone gets her joke*

Okay, fine, I'll tell you what we did.

We both wrote a bit on our mss. christy celebrated a family birthday. erica took care of two sick kids (yes, two - and not with the same illness, oh no, that would be too easy). christy reported to erica's 82nd email that she was, in fact, not dead. (thrills a minute over here, folks)

And there were two winners last night. First, um, did anyone else hear there was a football game on?



OMGOMGOMGOMG

yeah, we totally take credit for the win

Oh, and yeah, there was a 150 followers contest, too, wasn't there?

Why yes, yes, I think there was.

Not to be outdone by the NFL, erica and christy announce our winner of either the Hunger Games series or the first three books of the Gone series by Michael Grant. The winner will get an email from us. And will be announced in a minute. But first, a few observations:

• When we announced this, we were at (around, sorry, don't remember exactly) 142 followers
• Today, we're at 163
• That's 21 new followers (we're good at maths and stuffs)
• We had 19 contest entries (not including Abby and Lindsey, who are awesome and bowed out because they already had the books) (or christy, who I disqualified. :)
• You know what that means? We had new followers who didn't enter
• We don't actually know what that means. We hope it's just because they like us and aren't Darth Vader or he-who-shall-not-be-named or that other weird guy erica posted last week
• Yes, I wanted to alternate between green and gold for this list, but gold is hard to read against our background, so we stuck with black

So, our question for today is - how do you choose to follow other blogs?

Oh, and we have a link to offer, if you haven't heard about it yet. It's Rachael Harrie's 2nd Platform-Building Crusade. Check it out.

Oh, wait, so you want to know who the winner is?? Okay, fine, give it up for.....

MISHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GO PACK GO!! (part deux)

You guys doing anything this weekend? *whistles* You know us, same old, same old. Writing, editing, blogging, mothering, wiving (is that a word?), cooking, cleaning. . .right up until 5:00 Sunday night (central time).

AT WHICH TIME WE'LL BE WATCHING THESE GUYS KICK SOME PITTSBURGH BUTT:

yeah, we said it

A-Rod for the TD

watch out for the big guy - BJ Raji

maybe a Lambeau Leap for the fans??

Won't you join the millions of Packer fans out there (okay, fine, maybe some Steeler fans, too, but who's counting?) for a Superbowl party? There's food....and beer....maybe even wine. Oh, and yes, cheese. Sliced or cubed, fresh or fried - you know you want some!!

Need another reason to cheer the Pack on to victory? How about three? One - read this post by YA author Elizabeth Eulberg to find out how easy it is to win her books and some swag (she's from Wisconsin, after all). Two - join our 150 followers contest (erica will pick a winner as soon as the Superbowl winner is announced) here. Three - if we win, the kids in Green Bay get some free time off of school to welcome the team home. Read about it in this bulletin.

Here are some ideas for your very own Packer Superbowl party. Enjoy!

Easy appetizer recipes

Tons of ideas for the main dish

Yes, of course, cheese recipes

The beer from WI that will be sold at the stadium is Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat (brewed near where erica lives)

Okay, one more picture. We can't resist:



Matthews takes down Big Ben

Don't forget to tune in Monday to find out who won the Superbowl 150 followers contest!!!

Paying it Forward

(christy is writing/editing nonstop lately. you're stuck with erica. sorry. but also, yay! christy's working! and erica loves links!)

Thanks to Shelli at Market My Words, today I'm remembering to thank someone who was completely instrumental in my life as a reader/writer. Yes, Shelli is recommending this in conjunction to her contest, but also because she really believes in it and we all should, too.

Someone inspired you. Probably many someones. It could have been a month ago, a year ago, a decade ago. For me, it was almost a lifetime ago.

My parents were young when they got married; after all, Mom graduated high school a mere 2 weeks earlier. Two years later, they had me. That's when having a big family really comes in handy! You see, my mom has 10 siblings and my dad has 5. And us cousins spent tons of time together through the years. Even hours away (some of us), we traded off weeks at each other's houses and everywhere we turned, people were supporting us. It was a wonderful way to grow up. It still is.

One aunt of mine (and my sister's, of course) had no children. She's my mom's twin sister and has been unwaveringly supportive of everything I've ever done (and continues to provide that for my kids). The funny thing is, when I was 3, she convinced my mom that all 3-year-olds should read and that I was behind because I barely knew how to write my name.

Yeah, as a preschool teacher now, I laugh at that.

But as a 3-year-old, I became determined. I learned those darn 26 letters with their darn accompanying 850 sounds (okay, not so many, but it seems like that when you're three) and, before we knew it, I was reading.

I don't recommend forcing your 3-year-old to work on letter worksheets for hours on end. Luckily, that's not how she did it. This woman, with no children, no college education, and no background in teaching, instilled in me a love for books that has never left. And for that, I will be forever thankful. Today I thank Aunt Linda. (except for that one time in high school when I had the flu and stayed at her house and she forced me to watch the movie Gone with the Wind. I still hold a grudge for that). Trust me, for every "no" I listed before, there's 10 "yes" answers. Yes, she's beautiful. Yes, she's smart. Yes, she's fun. Yes...(the list goes on. I wish she could read it, but, she doesn't have a computer. yes, I will print [most] of this out and send it to her).

So, how about you? Who can you thank? Was it someone who put a story idea in your head? A friend or critique partner who told you that you could do it? A mentor? Or, like me, someone you've known since the moment you were born?

What Agents Want

We all need to write the stoies in our heads. We know that. But - what then? Query, query, query, right?. And research, research, research, right??!!

Well, here we are on Writing Wednesday, sending you good vibes and some agent wants (just in case your story happens to be a little flexible and can fit one of these). Follow your heart, and then query your perfect match. We wish you the best of luck!! (note: we highly recommend Query Tracker, Agent Query, and P & E.) Oh, and we write YA/MG, so we're mentioning only that. If you write something else, click on the links and see what's write right for you! (in fact, always click on the links before querying!)

oh, and my (erica) completed ms is a contemporary romance, my half-done WIP is an MG ghost story and I've got a couple upper/edgy YA in the works (but trying to finish one before I end up with a drawer [er, harddrive] full of 15,000 words beginnings!)

Kathleen Ortiz at Lowenstein Associates : YA: male POV romance, cyberpunk, complex thriller with a strong MC, historical fiction with a commercial hook (think outside the box), apocalyptic (as in during, not before or after). MG: contemporary or fantasy adventure, a boy book (beyond "friends"), a technology slant, steampunk.

Mary Kole at Andrea Brown: This list as been there for awhile, but since she hasn't updated, assumably it's still active: YA that's edgy and dark (with voice); YA/MG ghosts, murders, and mystery (highlight some creepy ghosts); anything set in a theatre; really good issue books; YA dystopian; YA in verse; MG with an incredible voice.

(interjecting advice from WriteOnCon about Pippen Properties - advice I wish I would've known a few weeks ago): The tone of your query can get you far. Your voice as a writer is visible even as you introduce yourself. Watch every noun, verb, and in between words too, they all count. no no to jumping right into your synopsis, let us know who you are and what you're about. also  if you really feel like we're perfect, offering us a one-month exclusive gets major brownie points, and we often read give the query priority. one more yes to high fantasy, yes to fantasy, yes to everything...

Back to our regularly scheduled programming...

Alyssa Eisner Heinkin at Trident Media: YA epic romance, snarky contemporary, a YA counterpart to Steig Larsson (erica says, really?? I had no idea this could exist!!)

Jill Corcoran at Herman Agency: YA/MG out-of-the-box paranormal with a huge payoff at the end, MG with true middle school emotion (think hormonal, yet babes-in-the-woods), commercial (always).

Greenhouse Literary: thrillers, historical, "something wonderful."

 Taylor Martindale at Sandra Dijkstra: gritty contemporary, unique paranormal/urban fantasy, and any story with a captivating voice.
There are, obviously tons more. I don't tweet or I'd maybe pick a few more up there (yes, we have a twitter account, that's ALL christy.) If you know more, please post in the comments. We're all here to help!!

So, what about you? What are you writing??

Three Quick Things Before I Get Back to Writing and Editing

This is going to be short and sweet.  Many of you probably don't think I can do it.  But I entered a contest without being ready for it, and so now I have some MEGA work to do.  I'm writing and editing like never before.  Should I have done this sooner?  Yes.  Could I have?  Maybe.

First,  thanks to everyone who posted pics of their mugs and to those who hopped around to see them all.  The posts were fantabulous!  I had the hardest time choosing a fave, but a Cheshire cat who disappears when the hot coffee fills the mug, leaving only his smile showing, well, I couldn't help myself. 

Second, I have a question. How do you feel about self-talk in a novel?  Mine has quite a bit.  It didn't seem to bother erica too much when she read my pages.  Although she did have some good advice, reminding me not to use it if my MC wouldn't really think it.  There were only a couple of places she suggested I change the sentences to narrative instead.  I think I added so much in to aid me in creating my character's voice.  Is that just a newbie mistake?  Do too many italics annoy you?  What's the line here?  When does it become too much?

Third,  here are some links for you.

Daily Dose:  Saturday Smackdown- Vampires VS Werewolves

Beyond the Margins:  Writing Group Etiquette

The Millions:  The Story Problem-10 Thoughts on Acadamia's Novel Crisis

BYE!