Sharing the Wealth Giveaway #1

   At the RT Booklovers Convention last month, I received a lot of great advice, absorbed a lot of information and received a lot of books and goodies.

     I had such a great time, networking and making new friends, but don’t think for a minute that I forgot about all of you.

     I brought back a few goodies for you too.

   Welcome to my Sharing the Wealth Giveaway. 

     Throughout the month of May, I will be hosting a few giveaways, giving away books and swag to some lucky winners.

     Sharing the Wealth Giveaway #1 

     First on the list is one I’ve been anticipating for a while. And after spending some one on one time with this author, picking apart my manuscript and guiding me to solve a few of my plot holes, I’ve gained much respect and admiration for her and her work.

     Stacey Kade’s THE GHOST AND THE GOTH series is a fun read with great voice. And to celebrate today’s release of the third novel in the series, BODY & SOUL, I want to give one away. Even better, I want to give a signed copy away. One I had her sign especially for you.

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents-Contest ends May 11th Midnight EST.
Follow instructions for each entry below. Entries are verified.

     Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor… (Sorry, I’ve been addicted to Hunger Games quotes lately.)

RT Convention Recap

     I’m back!

     I'd promised to post about my adventures during the week but in all honesty and to my surprise, I did not have the time. Really, it was that intense.

 

     On my first night, I headed down to the bar to meet up with a few online connections I’d made and got the pleasure of meeting Linnea Sinclair and Stacey Kade, our pre-con teachers for the beginner class. This experience alone made me realized how valuable being at the bar could be. Lots of great Networking opportunities.

     The pre-con class was a great experience. Lots was repetition of what I’d learned through online research and such but the ability to ask questions and get better understanding face to face really helped me a lot. I also got the opportunity to sit with Stacey Kade for a one on one session to talk about my own story and what I could do to improve it. All in all, I really recommend this class.

     Another great thing about taking the pre-con class is that you are at the hotel 2 days prior to the official start of the convention. This means the hotel is quiet. You can scout the place, locate all the rooms where the workshops and socials will be, giving you an advantage when navigating the crowds when the other conventioneers arrive.

     The convention portion was intense. So many authors to meet, connections to make, business cards to hand out, workshops to go to, socials to attend and networking and schmoozing at the bar. Needless to say, I hardly got any sleep all week, but with all I’ve learned and the friends I’ve made it was all so worth it.

Saturday Book Fair and Signing

     One of the highlights for me, my major Fan Girl moment, was finding my biggest inspirations and Twitter friends randomly chit chatting in the lower lobby. I was so excited to finally meet them in person.

Amalie Howard, Me and Kristi Cook

     A unexpected perk to this event was the amount of free books and swag I got just for attending and participating. It’s insane. I’m actually going out to buy a new bookshelf this weekend.

Look at all this stuff!! Lookout for Giveaways :)

     On my last day in Chicago, hubby brought me to the C2E2 Comic Book Expo where I got to meet the swoon worthy Chad Michael Murray, one of the stars of the hit TV show One Tree Hill and movie A Cinderella Story, signing copies of his debut graphic novel.

Chad and me... *swoon*

     Now that I’m home, exhausted, overwhelmed, yet grateful of my experience, I have marked my calendar to attend again next year in Kansas City.

     What can I say…I’m a sucker for sleep deprivation.

My RT Journey Begins

   
     By tomorrow, I will be on my way to my first writer’s convention.

     We (my hubby and I) plan to drive down to Toronto where we will stop to visit with friends and then proceed to London Ontario where we will be staying the night. The plan is to cross the US border in Sarnia the following morning, which should leave us with only seven or so hours before we reach our destination on Sunday.

     I am attending the Pre-con Beginner class on Monday and Tuesday before the Convention starts on Wednesday and look forward to learning all I can from the authors and editors scheduled to speak to us. I am also anxious to attend the various workshops given throughout the week.

     But what I’m most excited about, is meeting, in person, the authors and friends I’ve made through social medias that have influenced me along the way and have encouraged me to continue pursuing my dream.

     I will try to continue to update you all during my hectic week of learning and networking and hope you will follow along on my journey. If you are planning on being there, let me know. I'd love to meet you.

I’m so Excited, so Here’s a Giveaway

     
        In less than a month’s time, the Hubby and I will be making the 14-hour drive to Chicago, so that I can attend the RT Booklovers Convention. (He will be attending the C2E2 Comic Book Convention going on the same weekend.)

        This is my first convention, and I am extremely excited to go. My goal is to learn all I can and have a great time doing it. I will get to meet and be instructed by many different and amazing authors and editors, and I’m looking forward to coming home ready to apply what I’ve learned to my current WIP.

        I will be sure to blog my experience during this fun-filled week.

        All this talk about meeting authors brought me back to my trip to San Francisco last October when I met 4 fabulous authors. I completely forgot that I had bought a giveaway treat for you, my followers and have yet to host the giveaway that I’d promised. So There goes.

        I have here, a copy of Becca Fitzpatrick’s SILENCE to giveaway to one lucky winner. What’s so special about this particular novel you ask? Well…not only is it her third book in the HUSH HUSH series and an AMAZING read, but as you can see from the above picture, I got this one signed just for you.

      Open to all who wish to win this great hardcover book. (International)   

        Contest closes on March 30 2012 at Midnight

My Writing Journey ... So far

     I've been on a roll these past few days with my witting and loving every minute of it.

     That’s a lie.

     Yes, being on a word count roll is something to be proud of, but it’s not been easy, and it doesn’t mean I haven’t veered off course or been stuck a few times, having to figure out where I might have gone in the wrong direction. I’ve been agonizing over my ending and shed a few tears about not knowing what to do with my characters next. I’ve had plenty of moments where I just sat at my laptop wanting to write, but nothing poured out.

     I recently shelved my second manuscript without finishing it. I loved my characters, but somewhere down the line, I lost my plot line and the story fell apart. I mourned the death of my story and made the grave decision to put it away and start something new.

     This new WIP has me excited again and wanting to write.

     I guess the message and the lesson learned, is that writing the story isn’t always as simple as we want it to be. I mean, I always thought editing, revising, writing query letters and synopses were the hard part and that writing the first draft was the easy part, but I’m learning that this isn’t always the case. Not for me anyway.

     I’d always pictured writers sitting at their desks, hashing away at the keys, producing page after page of story off the top of their heads and enjoying every minute of it. Now I know that’s not true for at least 75% of writers including me. I can actually say I’d rather revise and edit than sit down and write the story from scratch, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy it even though it’s hard. Writing the story is just as hard or just as much work as the rest of the process.

     With all that said, I now realize what an accomplishment it is to complete a Novel, and how proud I should be that after all that hard work, I'm eager to do it again and again whether I get published or not.