New Literary Agency: The Origin of Superheroes

So you may or may not know this but I love superheroes. I would never call myself a geek or a nerd (in this subject) but I love the comics and I watch all the movies and I am more of a DC girl than a Marvel girl but really I just love superheroes. And I love origin stories - how they became heroes - because no matter where they come from they are the heroes; they are the ones we look up to and admire and while they always don't get the recognition they deserve they never cease to do their job and save the world.

The same can be said for people in the literary world. There are some writers and publisher and editors and agents out their who have a great talent and are just very good at what they do but they don't always get the recognition they deserve.

Meet Jordy Albert (right) and Brittany Booker (left) of the Booker Albert Agency. They recently started their own agency; in fact they are officially opening their doors for submissions on December 1st 2012 (that's Saturday - tomorrow) and when I came across them recently I just had to get their origin story.

Blog Tour of The Truths About Dating and Mating by Jaycee DeLorenzo

Happy Wednesday Everyone! Today we are touring to the land of Radio Shows and New Adult Romance with the newly released novel "The Truths About Dating and Mating" by Jaycee De Lorenzo.

Monday Fables #9: Breathless

Breathless - Corrine Bailey Rae

Seems like everyone else has a love just for them,
I don't mind, we have such a good time,
My best friend, but sometimes, well,
I wish we could be more than friends,
Tell me do you know?
Tell me do you know?
Oh..

I get so breathless, when you call my name,
I've often wondered, do you feel the same?
There's a chemistry, energy, a synchronicity
When we're all alone,
So don't tell me
You can't see
What I'm thinking of.

I can understand that you don't want to cross the line,
And you know i can't promise you things,
Will turn out fine,
But i have to be honest, I want you to be mine
Tell me do you know?
Tell me do you know?
Oh...

I get so breathless, when you call my name,
I've often wondered, do you feel the same?
There's a chemistry, energy, a synchronicity
When we're all alone,
So don't tell me
You can't see
Oh!

'Cause I've tried to do this right in your own time
I've been telling with my eyes, my heart's on fire,
Why don't you realise?
Tell me do you know?
Tell me do you know?
I get so breathless...

The Merits of Writing Challenges

Wow! It's already week four of NaNoWriMo. Can you believe it? Now in case you hadn't figured it out I gave up on doing NaNoWriMo on like Day Three but I know my own short comings so we'll bypass that.

Even though I've given up on this noble endeavor I still get people asking me what NaNoWriMo is  which usually gets the same reaction:

they look at me like I'm crazy and I get the "who the hell would want to do that?" questions. Some are getting a little more understanding as I venture off into University-land but it's still the same.

Of course recently a friend asked me what NaNoWriMo was and I explained the basics and she smiled and nodded and looked genuinely interested which is a dangerous thing when you're talking to me because if you look like you're paying attention and actually care about what I'm saying I will just start talking - kind of like I am now. So after I explained NaNoWriMo I started talking about the other writing programs that are available that cater to the different kinds of writers out there. And because I love you all so much I thought I'd share a basic rundown of some of them.

 

Of course these aren't all of the writing programs out there. In fact these are only a select few - in chronological order - that might appeal to different writers. Ready?

Blog Tour of Darkness Falls by Krystal Wade

Hello lovely readers, it's Wednesday and it's time to talk about books. This week we have Wilde's Meadow which is the 3rd book in the Darkness Falls Series by Krystal Wade.

Happy endings are hard to find, and even though Katriona is in the middle of a war with someone who’s already stolen more than she can replace, she aches for a positive future with her Draíochtans.

Armed with hope, confidence in her abilities, and a strange new gift from her mother, Kate ventures into the Darkness to defeat a fallen god.

Losses add up, and new obstacles rise to stand in the way. Is the one determined to bring Encardia light strong enough to keep fighting, or will all the sacrifices to stop those who seek domination be for nothing?

As a special treat for you readers we have the illustrious Krysta Wade here to answer my burning - if not a little random - questions:

Monday Fables #8: Karma

Karma - Alicia Keys

Weren't you the one who said that you don't want me anymore
And how you need your space and give the keys back to your door
And how I cried and tried and tried to make you stay with me
And still you said your love was gone and that I had to leave
Now you're Talking bout a family
Now you're saying I complete your dreams
Oh
Now you're sayin I'm your everything
You're confusing me
What you saying to me, don't play wit me, don't play wit me
Cause....

[Chorus:]
What goes around comes around
What goes up must come down
Now who's cryin', desirin' to come back to me
What goes around comes around
What goes up must come down
Now who's cryin, desirin', to come back

I remember when I was sittin home alone
Waitin for you til 3 o'clock in the 'morn
And when you came home you'd always have some sorry excuse
Half explaining to me like I'm just some kind of a fool
I sacrificed the things I wanted just to do things for you
But when it's time to do for me
You never come thru
Now you wanna be up under me
Now you have so much to say to me
Now you wanna make time for me
Whatcha doin to me, you're confusin me
Don't play with me don't play with me cause

[Repeat Chorus 2x]

I remember when I was sittin home alone
Waitin for you till 3 o'clock in the 'morn
Night after night knowing something goin on
Wasn't long before I be gone
Lord knows it wasn't easy believe me
Never thought you'd be the one that would deceive me
And never do what you're supposed to do
No need to approach me fool, cuz I'm over you

[Repeat Chorus]

Gotta stop trying to come back to me

[Repeat Chorus]

It's called Karma baby and it goes around

Cover Reveal of Aversion by Kenechi Udogu

Hooray! I get to reveal the cover of the YA Paranormal Romance Novella (some of my favourite word combinations in the universe) "Aversion" by Kenechi Udogu. Ready? Here we go!

Aversion (Book One of The Mentalist Series)

 

For Gemma Green’s first time, things should have been straightforward. Find your subject, hold their gaze and push a thought into their head to save them from future disaster – Aversion complete. A pretty simple process given that the subject was to have no recollection of the experience. But Russ Tannerdoesn’t seem to want to forget. In fact the more she tries to avoid him, the more he pushes to get to know her. Gemma knows she has a problem but is she facing the side effects of a failed Aversion or has the school’s tennis champ really fallen for her?

Reviews and the Draining of Writer's Veins (and a Giveaway)

So last week Laura Howard posted about the power of reviews not just on readers but on the authors as well (check it out here) and it got me thinking about reviews not just with works of fiction but also with fan fiction.

Now wait I know what some of you are thinking, fan fiction is not the most respected art but I think there's a lot of merit to celebrating someone else's work by creating your own - by drawing inspiration from an outside source. Not only that but reviews are very powerful when it comes to the written word and it doesn't matter how those words are presented, they deserve respect.

 

Monday Fables #7: Father

Father by Marina V

Father do you feel alone

In your empty home sometimes

Father do you know that I

Think about you all the time

Are you feeling sad?

Do you need me there?

Would it matter if I’d stayed?

And if you don’t mind

Would you drop me a line

Saying that you are still alright

Father were you always cold

Or grew sad and old with time

Father do you know that I

Have forgiven you in my mind

But can you look beyond

What you’ve always known

Can you look me in the eye?

Oh when you look my way

Do you feel ashamed

That you never took the time

Father do you ever cry

When you think about your life

Father if I needed you

Would you try to make things right

Is it still too late?

Have you lost all faith?

Did you have it from the start?

Cause you could have known

Someone of your own

But you had to make it hard.

A Peek Into The World of the Publisher (as told by an unpublished writer)

So it's Friday but I'm admitting now, I am so very far behind on NaNoWriMo that it's actually kind of ridiculous so instead, I want to talk briefly and very informally about publishing. Of course this isn't coming straight from me because as you guys know, I am more than an unpublished author I am an unwritten author (how's that for deep thinking on a Friday) so I dug up my old notes from a workshop I attended a while ago and thought I'd share with you my little adventure.

Alright so way back in April 2012 I was walking around at Comic Expo in Calgary and I saw a sign in one of the ballrooms that said "What Do Publishers Do?" so immediately I thought I should at least sit in on this panel to see what they have to say. I found myself sitting in the second row of this tiny little ballroom that was barely filled with people with notebooks and iPhones chatting with two women at the front of the room looking friendly as ever.

Interview With Cyndi Tefft

Today I'm here with the fabulous writer Cyndi Tefft who writes the Between Series. Book 1: Between came out in 2011, Book Two: Hell Transporter came out in March of 2012 and the third book (title unknown) will be released early next year.

For those of you who don't know, on top of running this blog I also run the Aiden's Angels blog which is a blog dedicated to the series 'Between' by Cyndi Tefft who has spent the last three weeks on the Aiden's Angels blog talking with me about all sorts of things. So I've compiled the entire three part interview for you to peruse at your leisure.

Cyndi Tefft lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest where the weather is overcast and rainy, much like the Highlands of Scotland. She was right at home when she got the chance to visit Eilean Donan Castle in May 2010. A self-proclaimed Scot freak, she loved every bit about the trip to Scotland: the people, the kilts, the accents, the fish & chips, the haggis...well okay not the haggis.
You can follow Cyndi on twitter: https://twitter.com/cynditefft

Monday Fables #6: Bi Ann (Be There)

Bi Ann - Kila

Lyrics:	English Translation:
Bí ann, bí liom	Be there, be with me
Bí gasta, bí cróga	Be quick, be brave
Bí cliste, bí cinnte	Be clever, be sure
Bí casta, bí glic	Be tricky, be sharp
Bí grámhar, gealgáireach	Be loving, light-hearted
Bí socair laistigh	Be steady inside
Bí doimhin ach bí éadrom	And be deep but be light
Gan teannas ar bith	With no tension inside
I do chorp, i do chroí	In your body, in your heart
I do cheann, ins a tslí	In your head, __
Ina chuireann tú tú fhéin i láthair	In the way which you present yourself
I pé chomhluadar ina bhfuil tú	In whatever company you happen to be
Bí ann liom	Be there for me
Bí láidir il-dána	Be strong and be able
Nuair a chasann an domhan	When the world takes a turn
Bí ann dom	Be there with me
Agus buailfimid le chéile	And we will meet together
Nuair a thagann an t-am	When the right time comes

NaNoWriMo: more than just a word for crazy people

It's day two of NaNoWriMo so there isn' much to talk about in terms of personal achievement. I'm not behind yet which I suppose is a good sign so instead I'm going to chat with you guys about NaNoWriMo itself.


So for those of you who don't know what NaNoWriMo is it's this ---->

National Novel Writing Month. A time when you sit down in front of your computer - or notebook - and write out a 50,000 word novel (sometimes more) in the span of 30 days. I forget that a lot of my friends in real life aren't writers (or readers, which makes me sad) so when I tell them I can't come out to play because I'm writing a novel, they look at me like I'm absolutely insane. And maybe I am but it has nothing to do with NaNoWriMo.

It shouldn't be that hard right? I mean really, all you have to do is write 1667 words per day and if you stick to that pattern you'll have just over 50K words by the end of the month. 1667 words? Pfft, that's nothing. A lot of people can pump that out in about an hour and be down with it. So if it's so easy then why is it this big project that drains and pushes people to the brink of insanity?