tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62711578375420304552024-02-20T07:36:02.802-06:00Stephanie ScottYoung Adult authorStephscohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06328839483008086049noreply@blogger.comBlogger553125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271157837542030455.post-8209196882006002632016-07-14T22:56:00.002-05:002016-07-14T22:56:44.156-05:00THIS BLOG HAS MOVED!<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hello!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you're reading this, may I direct you to my blog's new home on my author website:</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.stephaniescott.net/blog/"><span style="font-size: large;">www.stephaniescott.net/blog/</span></a></div>
Stephscohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06328839483008086049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271157837542030455.post-27265902156210500992016-07-06T06:00:00.000-05:002016-07-06T06:00:13.737-05:00Insecure Writers Support Group: July<br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Welcome to the Insecure Writer's Support Group. F</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ind your writer tribe and kick insecurity to the curb! For regular interaction, join the </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/IWSG13/" style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;" target="_blank">IWSG Facebook Group here</a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">. Writers of all skill level and background ask questions and offer support.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Follow the <a href="http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank">monthly IWSG blog hop here</a>. Pick a number and visit a few blogs. Comment and make a friend!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now the IWSG crew has a monthly prompt. Whoohoo! Even easier to join up now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What's the best thing someone has ever said about your writing?</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">One of my friends who is a writer, who I was friends with before I started writing myself, kept bugging me to read something of mine. I don't know about you all, but sometimes it's harder to have real-life friends read your work vs. writer friends. Imagine they hate what you write, and every July 4th BBQ you have to face them, wondering if they're thinking how terrible your writing is as they serve up a hot dog.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, I went ahead with it. My friend, a guy, </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">reads and writes wonderful short stories and sci-fi. He read through my whole young adult manuscript, a heartfelt contemporary story about sisters and complicated family dynamics and first love. He said the first few pages were a little tough for him because he wasn't used to reading books from a teen girl's perspective. But then, by about page ten, he said he forgot all about those things and just focused on the story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">That may sound simple, but I consider it a huge compliment! I was able to bring him into a story he would not have otherwise read, and made him forget that it wasn't his usual fare. My manuscript still needed work, but the essential storytelling bones were there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I read a lot of contest entries through Romance Writers and Pitch Wars and other volunteer mentoring. The best feeling is when a story takes hold of you and you forget all your hang-ups and preconceived ideas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Have you ever been blown away by a book you didn't expect to like?</span></h4>
Stephscohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06328839483008086049noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271157837542030455.post-2255715203708646602016-07-04T09:00:00.002-05:002016-07-04T09:00:24.220-05:00July Updates!<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b>Happy Independence Day (Americans!) Happy Monday, everyone else :) </b></div>
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I've been binge-watching <b>House of Cards</b> on Netflix, which is pretty timely in an election year. I can't say it's giving me much faith in our political process. At least it's fiction.</div>
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Beyond that, I've been making a dent in my To Be Read list, and still on a self-imposed library ban to read through the books I own (with exception of downloading audio books from the library). Yes, these are #bookpeopleproblems :)</div>
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Now, on to updates!</div>
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New website ... soon!</h3>
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Great change takes time, but soon I'll have my new website up. I'll announce it across social media!</div>
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ALTERATIONS Release Date</h3>
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My debut young adult novel <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25361965-alterations" target="_blank">Alterations</a></b> is releasing September 6! Super stoked. A cover reveal and advanced copies coming soon. Spark is a digital book imprint of Bloomsbury, so my timeline is more narrow for these updates prior to release. Meanwhile, I'm over on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/stephscottya/?hl=en" target="_blank"><b>Instagram</b></a> regularly chatting about books if you want to follow me!</div>
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2016 Debut Author Bash</h3>
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The <b>2016 Debut Authors Bash </b>is a very cool blog hop hosted by <b><a href="http://yareads.com/">YaReads.com</a></b>. You can see <a href="http://www.yareads.com/2016-debut-authors-bash-schedule/blog-tour-2/15532" target="_blank">all the blogs linked here</a>. Go ahead and check out my post on<b> <a href="https://gabriellamreads.blogspot.mk/2016/06/debut-author-bash-2016-stephanie-scott.html" target="_blank">Gabrielle M. Reads</a>'</b> blog including a Book Depository gift card giveaway! The giveaway goes through July 5.</div>
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YA Buccaneers Summer Reading!</h3>
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The group blog I joined this year is celebrating its three year anniversary. You know what that means: giveaways galore, and a bunch of fun posts all about books! Check out <a href="http://www.yabuccaneers.com/blog/2016/6/28/happy-anniversary-buccaneers" target="_blank">the intro post here</a>.</div>
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Pitch Wars is Coming!</h3>
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Writers seeking publication: the time is approaching! I'm signing on as a mentor for my third year. </div>
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Here are the basics on <a href="http://www.brenda-drake.com/pitch-wars/" target="_blank">Pitch Wars</a>, where published and agented writers and editors choose a writer to help polish a full manuscript prior to a pre-selected agent round. The submission window opens August 3 on <a href="http://www.brenda-drake.com/" target="_blank">Brenda Drake's</a> website, but the party starts sooner on twitter under the <b>#pitchwars</b> tag, plus hit the Home tab on Brenda's blog for all kinds of preview articles on the pitch contest.</div>
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Do you make summer reading plans? How are you doing so far?</h4>
Stephscohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06328839483008086049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271157837542030455.post-58010011662095062232016-06-01T10:14:00.000-05:002016-06-01T10:14:02.162-05:00Insecure Writers Support Group: Goal, Set, Check!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Welcome to the Insecure Writer's Support Group. F</span><span style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;">ind your writer tribe and kick insecurity to the curb! For regular interaction, join the </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/IWSG13/" style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;" target="_blank">IWSG Facebook Group here</a><span style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;">. Writers of all skill level and background ask questions and offer support.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Follow the <a href="http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank">monthly IWSG blog hop here</a>. Pick a number and visit a few blogs. Comment and make a friend!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Goal, Set, Check!</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;">The blogging group I'm part of, the <b>YABuccaneers</b>, are in month 2 of our <b><a href="http://www.yabuccaneers.com/blog/goal-setting-for-writers" target="_blank">Spring Writing Bootcamp.</a></b> Each week we check in on our Facebook group or on twitter to set goals, motivate each other, and report back. It got me thinking on goal setting and what works and what doesn't.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;">I love the concept of <b>SMART goals</b>. If you guessed that each of those letters stand for something, you're right!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;"><b>Generic goal: finish the book by June 30! </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;">This goal sets you up for failure. There is one objective, and if you don't meet it, you fail. Why do that to yourself?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;"><b>SMART Goal: draft 3 new chapters by Friday</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;"><b>Specific:</b> instead of "finishing" it's a set amount of chapters.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;"><b>Measurable:</b> there is a number of chapters indicated.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;"><b>Achievable: </b>the goal has a smaller chunk of a larger piece of work to do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;"><b>Realistic:</b> this will depend on your ability--if you write 1k words daily, giving yourself a week to write 3 chapters is feasible. If you are a sporadic writer with slow output, maybe 1 or 2 chapters is more realistic.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;"><b>Timely: </b>a set day is named.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;">The best advice I can offer beyond setting SMART goals is to share your goals with at least one other person to keep you accountable. The IWSG group could be your accountability, or another writer friend.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;">What type of goal setting works for you? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!</span></h4>
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Stephscohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06328839483008086049noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271157837542030455.post-46996901342518841422016-05-17T07:30:00.000-05:002016-05-17T07:30:30.187-05:00Link Ups!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQcWudqyQTqepM6mns9Poaa1S2eCV_W6lY4P9Jz7SdSWXHaoPzylmSWtrxbdD7wt7_vIiMgjZC2_k6-8ejh_jJlWY_SUnvvlTwdRjah7wDT6pfQP3qkXccQa1r5zsiWn50myYnyVNpmA0/s1600/Trending+Topics+image+pitch+wars+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQcWudqyQTqepM6mns9Poaa1S2eCV_W6lY4P9Jz7SdSWXHaoPzylmSWtrxbdD7wt7_vIiMgjZC2_k6-8ejh_jJlWY_SUnvvlTwdRjah7wDT6pfQP3qkXccQa1r5zsiWn50myYnyVNpmA0/s320/Trending+Topics+image+pitch+wars+blog.jpg" width="213" /></a><br />
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This week I'm on the <b>Writing with the Mentors blog </b>talking about <a href="http://writingwithmentors.blogspot.com.au/2016/05/trending-topic-social-media-in-young.html?platform=hootsuite" target="_blank">Trending Topics: Social Media in YA Fiction</a>. I'd love it if you would check it out!<br />
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The <b>YA Buccaneers</b> have a great post this week on <a href="http://www.yabuccaneers.com/blog/2016/5/14/why-flexibility-matters-yoga-for-your-brain" target="_blank">Yoga for your Brain</a>. Yes, YOUR BRAIN. BRAIN YOGA! This applies to anyone, not just writers!<br />
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Check out this success story on <b><a href="http://www.brenda-drake.com/2016/05/pitch-wars-success-story-kelly-garcia-mentor-diana-gallagher-agent-terrie-wolf/" target="_blank">Brenda Drake's blog</a></b> featuring one of my writer friends and In Real Life critique group partner Kelly Garcia on how she contracted with Literary Agent Terrie Wolf! Kelly entered the <b><a href="http://www.brenda-drake.com/pitch-wars/" target="_blank">Pitch Wars </a></b>contest in 2015 and the shaping up of her manuscript led to this agent match only a few months later!<br />
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<b><a href="https://thesweetsixteens.wordpress.com/2016/05/16/16th-day-update-8/" target="_blank">The Sweet Sixteens monthly update</a></b> includes my appearance at <b><a href="http://chicagospringfling.com/" target="_blank">Chicago North Spring Fling</a></b> this coming Friday and Saturday:<br />
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Chicago Area YA Panel</h3>
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Stephanie Scott, author of the upcoming YA novel ALTERATIONS, will be appearing at a YA Panel and book signing for <a href="http://chicagospringfling.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #ff8f85; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.3s linear; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Chicago North Romance Writers Spring Fling</a> in Schaumburg, IL, May 20 – 21, 2016.</div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal;">Besides all this, I'll have updates VERY VERY SOON on my release date, my new author website, and a bunch of book stuff. It' all happening!</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal;">Please share any note-worthy links with me in the comments! </span></h4>
Stephscohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06328839483008086049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271157837542030455.post-5941014475585167072016-05-04T07:00:00.000-05:002016-05-04T07:00:20.558-05:00Insecure Writers Support Group: It's (not a) Shame About Rey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgysI9x2BdSXKvAAzoBf9TFGvfcXb-WYPH4pqiMjSE3FKyywzN-I7qmKzr82y7mnoCjg2TF5EgAFxy-MhutM26-Oz87f4rw5HxPKkiysGQz6G6e-oWrvg7tJbX4OFzXoc3-HPqsH3l0OTc/s1600/IWSG+badge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgysI9x2BdSXKvAAzoBf9TFGvfcXb-WYPH4pqiMjSE3FKyywzN-I7qmKzr82y7mnoCjg2TF5EgAFxy-MhutM26-Oz87f4rw5HxPKkiysGQz6G6e-oWrvg7tJbX4OFzXoc3-HPqsH3l0OTc/s1600/IWSG+badge.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Welcome to the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Be insecure no longer! Commune with fellow writers and find your tribe. For more regular interaction, join the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/IWSG13/" target="_blank">IWSG Facebook Group here</a>. Writers of all skill level and background ask questions and offer support.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Follow the <a href="http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank">monthly IWSG blog hop here</a>. Pick a number and visit a few blogs. Comment and make a friend!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Happy Star Wars Day! That is, May the Fourth ... be with you!</b></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">Photo: Stephanie Scott</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Force Awakens and Rey: A New and Old Brand of Hero</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Can we talk for a minute about how cool Rey is? In case you somehow missed the epic-ness that is <i>Star Wars: The Force Awakens</i>, Rey is one of our new heroes, a girl abandoned on her home planet who comes in contact with a very special droid and embarks on a dangerous mission.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sound familiar?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Rey's story mirrors many aspects of Luke Skywalker's from the original <i>Star Wars: A New Hope</i>. That core story of someone unexpected launched into an epic journey is partly what made the original<i> Star Wars</i> so memorable. Luke was someone to root for, especially after he returns to his aunt and uncle's farm to find his family murdered. Similar with Rey: in her </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">first scene we see her working hard scavenging scrap metal only to exchange it for a meager amount of dehydrated foodstuffs which she eats alone in her hideout. She doesn't tell us she's lonely, but we can see it in the image of the vast desert landscape and her sad little meal, and we glimpse her own betrayals in small flashback moments.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Rey is not the same as Luke, but her core story is similar. She's the unexpected Everygirl who becomes part of a much larger adventure.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When crafting our own stories, we can keep these basics in mind. How can we take a core hero story and make it our own? What common threads can we use from classic stories to then mash up with unique details, settings, and experiences?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What's your favorite hero story? Or, if you want to gush about The Force Awakens, I'm all for chatting about Star Wars!</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>Stephscohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06328839483008086049noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271157837542030455.post-75436975863458533632016-05-01T11:00:00.000-05:002016-05-01T11:00:14.145-05:00Spring Writing Bootcamp!<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">How did it get to be May already? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Moving along, it's time to get to work!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Writers: It's time for another session of YA Buccaneers' Writing Bootcamp! </span></h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.yabuccaneers.com/blog/2016/4/19/join-spring-writing-bootcamp" target="_blank">YA Buccaneers site</a></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 28.8px;">We're hosting a FREE, two-month writing challenge, and you are invited! Spring Writing Bootcamp starts </span><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 28.8px;">May 1st, 2016 and runs until June 30th, 2016</strong><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 28.8px;">. As with all of our bootcamps, this is a free-form (and free!) writing challenge open to all writers. You set your own goal - to finish a first draft, complete revisions, blog once a week, etc. - and we'll help you make it happen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">How? We'll provide the writing motivation in the form of Word Sprints and blog posts, encouragement via private groups, and book giveaways to keep things exciting. All you have to do is focus on writing, revising, drafting, or blogging - whatever you want to accomplish during the next two months.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We have SO much in store for those who join Spring Writing Bootcamp this year! Just a glimpse of what you'll get when you sign up:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Goal setting worksheets</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A printable weekly writing progress tracker</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Access to private bootcamp groups on both Twitter & Facebook</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">GIVEAWAYS</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">& more! </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 28.8px;">Additionally, you can find me on Instagram in May doing this photo prompt challenge under the tag #MayIGAuthors. My Instagram is <a href="https://www.instagram.com/stephscottya/" target="_blank">@StephScottYA</a></span></span></div>
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Stephscohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06328839483008086049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271157837542030455.post-17483329849540357892016-04-25T08:00:00.000-05:002016-04-25T08:00:06.380-05:00RT Booklovers Con!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Hey all! I'm back from RT Booklovers Con in Las Vegas!</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Here are a few snapshots from the trip. My badge read Published Author which was a first for me! It was a worlds colliding type conference where I met writers and book fans from all corners of my online writer life: Pitch Wars mentors, writers who found agents from the contest, fellow Sweet Sixteens debut authors, YARWA members, bloggers, and pubbed authors through three different Facebook groups. I met ALL THE PEOPLE!</span></div>
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And more authors signing!</div>
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And though I'm not a gambler, I did play slots twice and won money both times! The hubz was with me for this trip visiting family, so I had some time away from the conference to do other stuff around town, like eat seriously good food (including a ramen bar which sadly I do not have back home), visited a comics shop, and saw the mountains. The hubz got to hike Red Rocks but I was busy getting my conference on!</div>
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Do you have any favorite conferences? Or favorite cities to visit? Which do you like and why?</div>
Stephscohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06328839483008086049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271157837542030455.post-36569331493299199232016-04-06T06:00:00.000-05:002016-04-06T06:00:11.288-05:00IWSG April: Are You Suffering Social Media Overload?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Welcome to the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Be insecure no longer! Commune with fellow writers and find your tribe. For more regular interaction, join the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/IWSG13/" target="_blank">IWSG Facebook Group here</a>. Writers of all skill level and background ask questions and offer support.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Follow the <a href="http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank">monthly IWSG blog hop here</a>. Pick a number and visit a few blogs. Comment and make a friend!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Are You Suffering Social Media Overload?</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you're a writer, chances are you've heard you need a social media presence. Since the idea of social media is SOCIAL, having a presence means more than phoning it in with auto-tweets, buy my book links, or other impersonal posts that can't be differentiated between a highly competent robot.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We are writers after all--communicating should be the easy part, right?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The best way to avoid social media burnout is to not become overwhelmed in the first place. </span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You don't have to do every social media platform.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What, you say? But so-and-so Top Marketing Insider told me I MUST be on Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Linked In, Goodreads, Tumblr and twitter and post every single day on all of them or my book will FAIL!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Nope. If you try to engage in everything all the time then</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">1.) it leaves you no time to write books which is the biggest factor to selling books (writing them and then writing more of them)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">2.) you will lose steam and become frustrated because your efforts are watered down across too many platforms.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">However, it is a good idea to register your username on all the big social media sites to secure the name in case you decide to use it. You will find the platforms you like best and use those the most. It does not mean you need to be on ten platforms daily spending all of your time churning out content.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But you do have to invest somewhere</span></h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPCYnjUBYKkEyhP-1VnoqXhyQRwwJXeBtXIVqUZyh2uHdvdLjYHdbAvO_SJN_GlPCXwZKe9Z1dv7CUDgKm09gIynfod8GiEdTouig_iPjXgljxH8nvZTQLo7GzjIqAAAdnbtDZAPCGyvA/s1600/2016-03-24+04.05.27+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPCYnjUBYKkEyhP-1VnoqXhyQRwwJXeBtXIVqUZyh2uHdvdLjYHdbAvO_SJN_GlPCXwZKe9Z1dv7CUDgKm09gIynfod8GiEdTouig_iPjXgljxH8nvZTQLo7GzjIqAAAdnbtDZAPCGyvA/s320/2016-03-24+04.05.27+1.jpg" width="269" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">Photo: Stephanie Scott</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Where do your readers/potential readers hang out online? Where do YOU go to find updates on the books you like? Romance writers and readers tend to use Facebook heavily. You'll see tons of reader groups, Facebook parties and plenty of interaction because the age demographic fits who writes and reads romance. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Teen readers? Not so much. Know your niche and then go where your people are! Spend your time where it counts.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Regardless of platform, you want to point back to your home base: your website or blog. If someone looks you up on twitter and barely sees a pulse, but your website is linked in your profile--that's a win. The person looking for you will find your website and ideally what they need.</span><br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I don't know where to start. I'm already overwhelmed!</span></h4>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">*Cue up your best Al Pacino <i>Scarface </i>impression*: <b>Welcome to my Google Friend </b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(see what I did there?)</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;">GOOGLE IS YOUR FRIEND. If you have a question about something, chances are someone else already had the same question and someone other than that already blogged about it. Search things like:</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;">"What's the best social media for indie writers?"</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;">"How do I created a kick-butt Pinterest account?"</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;">"What's the best way to get started on twitter?"</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;">There are dozens and hundreds and zillions of resources out there. Save yourself frustration and read up on social media trends to better focus your efforts.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;">Thanks for reading! And just for you awesomely awesome Insecure Writer Support Groupers, if you're curious on how to more effectively use Instagram as an author, join the Facebook group I started called Instagram for Authors. The group is exactly as named: we are working together on how to best use Instagram as an author.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrR75sMaM25nlpQXMoq4whhIndKIfGmTg_b5TQ543QtHJkRZigOl6yxQrycHfRBNhXya9u0lWldH64CyGwZ8s-9hPbMkhpa4XEgD24V10nrNVwpAYF7VqI_ErS4H55dJF0Cot9XgDz2I8/s1600/INSTAGRAMFOR+AUTHORS+fb+banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrR75sMaM25nlpQXMoq4whhIndKIfGmTg_b5TQ543QtHJkRZigOl6yxQrycHfRBNhXya9u0lWldH64CyGwZ8s-9hPbMkhpa4XEgD24V10nrNVwpAYF7VqI_ErS4H55dJF0Cot9XgDz2I8/s400/INSTAGRAMFOR+AUTHORS+fb+banner.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1527940024178664/" target="_blank">Instagram for Authors Facebook Group Join Link</a></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;">*In approving members, I look for some identifying feature in your profile that indicates you are a writer--seeking publication or published.</span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;">Don't forget to leave a comment! Which social media platform do you like best? Which do you wish you had a better handle over? </span></h3>
Stephscohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06328839483008086049noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271157837542030455.post-22854469682749495662016-03-24T16:12:00.000-05:002016-03-24T16:12:05.892-05:00Upcoming Events!While my new website is under construction, here's an update on some book events where I'll be this Spring!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcwJ-wqA-AU21cnzAwqJ-GdmNmG-3fjuc0lf6JHKI91awAUd5E_pVevys6GLWksgI7hbduSH0M1FAoJxdon2Wc9_D-c5gCIL3DdRtxGTmU7RlQIrDuWKZKa-Yltddermzwk_EDIbpscvM/s1600/2016-03-24+04.03.32+2+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcwJ-wqA-AU21cnzAwqJ-GdmNmG-3fjuc0lf6JHKI91awAUd5E_pVevys6GLWksgI7hbduSH0M1FAoJxdon2Wc9_D-c5gCIL3DdRtxGTmU7RlQIrDuWKZKa-Yltddermzwk_EDIbpscvM/s320/2016-03-24+04.03.32+2+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://rtconvention.com/" target="_blank">Romantic Times Booklovers' Convention</a></b><br />
<b>April 11 - 16, Las Vegas, NV</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>April 13: Pitch Wars Road Show:</b> pitching workshop at RT Con</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>April 16: RT Teen Day</b> While I won't be signing (my book's not out yet!) I do have buttons that will be in each gift bag of swag for participants at teen day. There will be an Instagram giveaway related to my swag. Details soon!</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://chicagospringfling.com/" target="_blank">Chicago North Romance Writers Spring Fling</a></b><br />
<b>May 20 -21, Schamburg, IL</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>May 20: YA panel Game of Tomes: Navigating the YA Publishing Kingdom</b></li>
<li><b>May 21: Public Author Signing event </b>(swag, mailing list, giveaway)</li>
</ul>
<div>
Spring Fling has been called a "mini Nationals" in relation to the Romance Writers national conference. If you're within driving distance, or a cheap flight, it's an excellent conference. The headliners are all top notch--Robyn Carr is currently on the Bestseller romance list, along with Courtney Milan and Christina Lauren who are very successful and top sellers. Ask me if you have questions! </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Since <b>Book Expo America</b> is in Chicago this year, I am considering going to BookCon on Saturday with the masses of fans and bloggers. Anyone else going?</div>
Stephscohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06328839483008086049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271157837542030455.post-68812012568114504132016-03-21T11:29:00.001-05:002016-03-21T11:29:53.688-05:00THE DARKEST LIE by Pintip Dunn<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsp_rTj7JQjkN9kx96nJBokqfKsenG37Tl_pRShSuug52wUn4r9XyP_sm1SdFT63sNtgITaFLBkvRPVtOrrxO7FWoyrAPNyg1i1FCYatJMxSvSIFjK1T2X9CiruXqwZ1HLTz_zFfuzLTc/s1600/DarkestLie_ExcerptBlitzBanner+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsp_rTj7JQjkN9kx96nJBokqfKsenG37Tl_pRShSuug52wUn4r9XyP_sm1SdFT63sNtgITaFLBkvRPVtOrrxO7FWoyrAPNyg1i1FCYatJMxSvSIFjK1T2X9CiruXqwZ1HLTz_zFfuzLTc/s640/DarkestLie_ExcerptBlitzBanner+%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
I'm thrilled to take part in the Excerpt Blitz for Pintip Dunn's upcoming YA
thriller, <em>THE DARKEST LIE</em><em>!</em> Check out the book below,
along with the teaser excerpt, and be sure to enter the giveaway!
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em><strong></strong></em></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr62aSdP1XcI97JzEnFhk_Qs3MDPTDM949fPBJxr7DjzVla-hv-GL9jOzg4BmoUN1c0ORYOQHioz4JP9k9qOzwJ3kRSH8zRsRZYf2oFM-9CTvY0aBSGi7Scwbs23RQNKUHJzE1uAtZIyQ/s1600/the+darkest+lie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr62aSdP1XcI97JzEnFhk_Qs3MDPTDM949fPBJxr7DjzVla-hv-GL9jOzg4BmoUN1c0ORYOQHioz4JP9k9qOzwJ3kRSH8zRsRZYf2oFM-9CTvY0aBSGi7Scwbs23RQNKUHJzE1uAtZIyQ/s640/the+darkest+lie.jpg" width="420" /></a></div>
<em><strong><br /></strong></em></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em><strong>THE DARKEST LIE
</strong></em>by Pintip
Publisher: Kensington
Release Date: June 28, 2016<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="align: left; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% #e5e5e5; padding: 5px 8px;">
<em>“The mother I knew would never do those things.</em>
<em>But maybe I never knew her after all.”</em>
Clothes, jokes, coded messages…Cecilia Brooks and her mom shared everything. At
least, CeCe thought they did. Six months ago, her mom killed herself after
accusations of having sex with a student, and CeCe’s been the subject of whispers
and taunts ever since. Now, at the start of her high school senior year, between
dealing with her grieving, distracted father, and the social nightmare that has
become her life, CeCe just wants to fly under the radar. Instead, she’s volunteering at
the school’s crisis hotline—the same place her mother worked.
As she counsels troubled strangers, CeCe’s lingering suspicions about her mom’s
death surface. With the help of Sam, a new student and newspaper intern, she starts
to piece together fragmented clues that point to a twisted secret at the heart of her
community. Soon, finding the truth isn’t just a matter of restoring her mother’s
reputation, it’s about saving lives—including CeCe’s own…
<strong><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26020141-the-darkest-lie?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> | Pre-order from <a href="http://amzn.to/21EzOx3" target="_blank">Amazon</a> or <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-darkest-lie-pintip-dunn/1122748682?ean=9781496703583">Barnes & Noble</a>!</strong>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<em><strong>
“This one will tug your heart and leave you breathless!”
</strong></em>--Natalie D. Richards, author of Six Months Later</div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Excerpt from <em>THE DARKEST LIE</em></h2>
<blockquote>
<b>The Darkest Lie, by Pintip Dunn</b><br />
<br />
Excerpt<br />
<br />
It’s time to view the body. Family first.<br />
<br />
Well, technically, me first. There was always only three of us in the nuclear unit, and<br />
<br />
Dad’s been locked in the den for the past seventy-two hours. I’ve only seen him once, when he<br />
<br />
shuffled upstairs like a pajama-clad zombie and asked me if I’d eaten.<br />
<br />
That was it: Did you eat?<br />
<br />
Not: I prefer the cherry wood casket. Or: Let me make your grandma’s travel<br />
<br />
arrangements. Or even: I know this was Mom’s favorite dress, but isn’t the neckline a<br />
<br />
little...low?<br />
<br />
Did I eat?<br />
<br />
Yes, Dad. I had soup from the can and microwaved pizza rolls and a bowl of cereal. The<br />
<br />
food sloshes in my stomach now as I walk down the runner to the casket I picked out because of<br />
<br />
its mauve tint.<br />
<br />
Calla lilies pile in urns around the viewing room, and the air-conditioning wars with the<br />
<br />
sweat along my hairline. My mom smiles at me from a portrait erected behind the casket. Her<br />
<br />
eyes are hesitant and a little wary, as if she knew, somehow, some way, she would wind up here.<br />
<br />
Lifeless. Pumped full of formaldehyde. About to be gawked at by a town full of gossips.<br />
<br />
This was only going to end one of two ways—with Tabitha Brooks dead or in jail. I never<br />
<br />
thought I’d say this, but I’d give anything to see my mother behind bars.<br />
<br />
I wade through the dense, chilly air and stop a few feet from the body. Behind me, my<br />
<br />
grandmother and aunt sit, a box of tissues between them, blowing their noses like it’s a sport.<br />
<br />
“Look at our Cecilia,” Gram sniffs. “So brave. Not a single tear shed.”<br />
<br />
If she only knew. I’m not brave. Fifteen minutes ago, I was retching into the toilet bowl.<br />
<br />
Five minutes from now, when the doors open for the visitation, I’ll be long gone, leaving Gram<br />
<br />
to shake people’s hands and deal with the bit lips, the knowing eyebrows, that inevitable<br />
<br />
speaking-in-a-funeral-parlor whisper. I can hear the titters: “Is it true? Tabitha’s heart stopped<br />
<br />
while she was boffing the high school quarterback? Why, she must’ve been twenty years his<br />
<br />
senior!”<br />
<br />
Twenty-three years, to be exact, and a high school English teacher to boot. But she didn’t<br />
<br />
actually die during sex. Instead, a few days after Tommy Farrow came forward with their affair,<br />
<br />
my mother took her own life.<br />
<br />
What could be a clearer admission of guilt? She might as well have been caught in the<br />
<br />
act. The investigation was shut down before it even began.<br />
<br />
I take a shuddering breath. Two more minutes. A hundred and twenty seconds and then I<br />
<br />
can leave. I steel my shoulders and walk the final steps to my mother’s body.<br />
<br />
Oh god. It’s even worse than I thought.<br />
<br />
The room whirls around me, and nausea sprints up my throat. My hands shoot out to grab<br />
<br />
the casket, stopping short of actually touching the corpse.<br />
<br />
This . . . this thing . . . can’t be my mother. She never smiled like that, all serene and<br />
<br />
peaceful-like. She never wore this much makeup; her red hair was never chopped so closely to<br />
<br />
her head. My mother was chaos and passion, devastation and joy. Dad used to say you could<br />
<br />
reach deep into her eyes and pull out a song.<br />
<br />
Well, her eyes are closed now, and I’m not sure there’ll be any music in my life, ever<br />
<br />
again.</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<h3>
<strong></strong></h3>
<h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9HJm0wUFczq2-xju86rFDSLZq9RNfXmMX8gD0cMhQDN6GL227NoZRMFcfZI-mAorLKVlKbA6-P8psX-XGSVL2lrKzZrScvAdqnUQWuq5sAHLnFgsimbXfAruCYk_YmZHtFXNVS-3vw-c/s1600/Pintip+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9HJm0wUFczq2-xju86rFDSLZq9RNfXmMX8gD0cMhQDN6GL227NoZRMFcfZI-mAorLKVlKbA6-P8psX-XGSVL2lrKzZrScvAdqnUQWuq5sAHLnFgsimbXfAruCYk_YmZHtFXNVS-3vw-c/s320/Pintip+cropped.jpg" width="205" /></a></div>
About the Author</h3>
<a href="http://www.pintipdunn.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> | <a href="http://www.facebook.com/AuthorPintipDunn" target="_blank">Facebook</a> | <a href="http://www.twitter.com/pintipdunn" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="http://www.instagram.com/pintip_dunn" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=pintip" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>
<br />
<div style="align: left; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% #e5e5e5; padding: 5px 8px;">
Pintip Dunn graduated from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B. in
English Literature and Language. She received her J.D. at Yale Law School, where
she was an editor of the YALE LAW JOURNAL. She also published an article in the
YALE LAW JOURNAL, entitled, “How Judges Overrule: Speech Act Theory and the
Doctrine of Stare Decisis,”
Pintip is represented by literary agent Beth Miller of Writers House. She is a 2012
RWA Golden Heart® finalist and a 2014 double-finalist. She is a member
of Romance Writers of America, Washington Romance Writers, YARWA, and The
Golden Network.
She lives with her husband and children in Maryland. You can learn more about
Pintip and her books at <a href="http://www.pintipdunn.com/">www.pintipdunn.com</a>.
</div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
</h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Giveaways (2!)</h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhWcaiHqeiIraL6YL2DlbBGptkA2AbReBXpV8ST6_RXFW3KK8j7FQxURyP4F6g2Ub6fv1jDTGvCbzoVtn4AVxT94v1-aGhzUoEH00klAQ1Llap6spw06aoATCNPqB8cV4V4oT7ETPUqfU/s1600/PrizePack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhWcaiHqeiIraL6YL2DlbBGptkA2AbReBXpV8ST6_RXFW3KK8j7FQxURyP4F6g2Ub6fv1jDTGvCbzoVtn4AVxT94v1-aGhzUoEH00klAQ1Llap6spw06aoATCNPqB8cV4V4oT7ETPUqfU/s640/PrizePack.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
One winner will receive a prize pack including the following 5
books: <em>Forget Tomorrow</em> by Pintip Dunn; <em>Six Months Later</em>
by Natalie Richards; <em>Find Me</em> by Romily Bernard; and<em> From Where
I Watch You</em> by Shannon Grogan; <em>Lies I Told</em> by Michelle Zink
<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="cf6e2d2816" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/cf6e2d2816/" id="rcwidget_d7scua51" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter
giveaway</a>
<script src="https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>
<br />
<div id="goodreadsGiveawayWidget177942">
<div id="goodreadsGiveawayWidget177942">
<!-- Show static html as a placeholder in case js is not enabled -->
<br />
<div class="goodreadsGiveawayWidget" style="border-radius: 10px; border: 2px solid #ebe8d5; margin: 10px auto; max-width: 350px; padding: 10px 15px;">
<h2 style="color: #555555; font-size: 20px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20px; margin: 0 0 10px; padding: 0; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/" target="_new">Goodreads</a> Book
Giveaway</h2>
<div style="float: left;">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26020141"><img alt="The Darkest Lie by Pintip
Dunn" src="https://d.gr-
assets.com/books/1444604227l/26020141.jpg" title="The
Darkest Lie by Pintip Dunn" width="100" /></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0 0 0 110px !important; padding: 0 0 0 0 !important;">
<h3 style="font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20px; margin: 0; padding: 0;">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26020141">The Darkest
Lie</a></h3>
<h4 style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0 0 10px; padding: 0;">
by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13442212.Pintip_Dunn" style="text-decoration: none;">Pintip
Dunn</a></h4>
<div class="giveaway_details">
Giveaway ends March 28, 2016.
See the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/177942" style="text-decoration: none;">giveaway
details</a>
at Goodreads.
</div>
</div>
<div style="clear: both;">
</div>
<a class="goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink" href="https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/enter_choose_address/177942">Ent
er Giveaway</a>
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
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Stephscohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06328839483008086049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271157837542030455.post-33298196749501774652016-03-03T08:00:00.000-06:002016-03-03T08:00:18.502-06:00Cover Reveal: MY PERFECT MISTAKE by Kelly Siskind<h4 style="color: #333333; text-align: center;">
I'm so excited to be sharing the cover of Kelly Siskind's MY PERFECT MISTAKE today! Check out the beautiful cover below, read a sneak peek, and enter to win!</h4>
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<img alt="Siskind_MyPerfectMistake_2" class="aligncenter wp-image-15119" src="http://www.inkslingerpr.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Siskind_MyPerfectMistake_2.jpg" height="640" width="420" /></h2>
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<strong>About MY PERFECT MISTAKE</strong></div>
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<strong>What happens in Aspen </strong><b>is definitely not </b><b><i>staying</i></b><b> in Aspen . . .</b></div>
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<b>About MY PERFECT MISTAKE</b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br />
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What happens in
Aspen is definitely not <i>staying</i> in Aspen . . .</span></b><span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
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<span style="background: white;">A girls' trip to Aspen was exactly what Shay
needed to forget about her toxic ex-boyfriend. She's got her girls, pristine
slopes for skiing, and hot guys everywhere. Of course, her epic
self-rediscovery goes completely to hell when a wild (and deliciously hot)
skier knocks Shay on her ass . . . and war is declared. </span><br />
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<span style="background: white;">Kolton doesn't know what it is about Shay that
makes him lose it. Not just his cool---although she does have an unholy gift
for that---but his restraint. When anger gives way to explosive chemistry,
they're both shaken with the intensity of it. But somewhere between lust and
hate, Kolton and Shay realize they could have something <i>real </i>.
. . if they don't kill each other first.</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<strong><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; padding: 0in;">Add MY PERFECT MISTAKE to Goodreads here</span></strong></div>
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<strong style="line-height: 17.85pt;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; padding: 0in;"> (</span></strong><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25798815-my-perfect-mistake" style="line-height: 17.85pt;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; padding: 0in;">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25798815-my-perfect-mistake</span></a><strong style="line-height: 17.85pt;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; padding: 0in;">)</span></strong><strong style="line-height: 17.85pt;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; padding: 0in;">!</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; padding: 0in;">Preorder MY PERFECT MISTAKE:</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Amazon: </span></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/My-Perfect-Mistake-Over-Top-ebook/dp/B01BCJDUXG/"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">http://www.amazon.com/My-Perfect-Mistake-Over-Top-ebook/dp/B01BCJDUXG/</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">
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<strong><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; padding: 0in;">Barnes and
Noble: </span></strong><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/my-perfect-mistake-kelly-siskind/1123347506?ean=9781455565429"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; padding: 0in;">http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/my-perfect-mistake-kelly-siskind/1123347506?ean=9781455565429</span></a><strong><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; padding: 0in;"> </span></strong><strong><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; padding: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></span></strong></h2>
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iBooks: <a href="https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/my-perfect-mistake/id1080396186?mt=11">https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/my-perfect-mistake/id1080396186?mt=11</a>
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Kobo: <a href="https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/my-perfect-mistake">https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/my-perfect-mistake</a>
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<strong><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; padding: 0in;">About Kelly Siskind</span></strong><strong><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; padding: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></span></strong></h2>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A
small-town girl at heart, Kelly moved from the city to open a cheese shop with
her husband in Northern Ontario. When she’s not neck deep in cheese or out
hiking, you can find her, notepad in hand, scribbling down one of the many plot
bunnies bouncing around in her head.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She
laughs at her own jokes and has been known to eat her feelings—Gummy Bears heal
all. She’s also an incurable romantic, devouring romance novels into the wee
hours of the morning. </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">She
is represented by Stacey Donaghy of the Donaghy Literary Group. </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">2015
Golden Heart® Finalist</span></div>
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<strong><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; padding: 0in;">Connect with Kelly Siskind:</span></strong><strong><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; padding: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></span></strong></h2>
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<a href="http://www.kellysiskind.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/authorKellySiskind/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/KellySiskind" target="_blank">Twitter</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14128796.Kelly_Siskind" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/kellysiskind/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> <a href="http://www.kellysiskind.com/" target="_blank">Newsletter</a> </div>
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Stephscohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06328839483008086049noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271157837542030455.post-43940570474109105982016-03-02T07:00:00.000-06:002016-03-02T07:00:25.659-06:00IWSG March: How to Succeed at Twitter Without Really Trying<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggkG4nzR35tZWwMp39co7qH2yuKLT8tfOHc_MA64gHc74waAuyYjNamVGSLCN2omzVD4XbQxOwRpVVRMYcnePnuIfQhw7YTxo9qBZNmrvYFGj4R24ZNTPmaTu4OUOBcrKc_8_YtiumHr0/s1600/IWSG+badge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggkG4nzR35tZWwMp39co7qH2yuKLT8tfOHc_MA64gHc74waAuyYjNamVGSLCN2omzVD4XbQxOwRpVVRMYcnePnuIfQhw7YTxo9qBZNmrvYFGj4R24ZNTPmaTu4OUOBcrKc_8_YtiumHr0/s1600/IWSG+badge.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Welcome to the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Be insecure no longer! Commune with fellow writers and find your place and your tribe. For more regular interaction, join the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/IWSG13/" target="_blank">IWSG Facebook Group here</a>. Writers of all skill level and background ask questions and offer support.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Follow the <a href="http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank">monthly IWSG blog hop here</a>. Pick a number and visit a few blogs. Comment and make a friend!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">How To Succeed at Twitter Without Really Trying</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;">Yesterday on twitter, I happened upon a tweet stream discussing how not to behave as an author: when you get a big book deal, or a big-time agent, don't forget about your pre-published writer friends. More importantly, don't <b>intentionally</b> cut them out.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Here is the <a href="https://storify.com/TeeEss/cool-kids-club-not-cool" target="_blank">Storify link</a> to the tweets I'm referring to.</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQghIvQrWpojRP5RJzaoBuNtYcFeXay7_khsE7cDV8E1qxTjU1nWR23R1CqewkTCENKJsg-37xR2JkMJg6si2rKYb_qWtzEdoYZHkUEjQJkV30l0qtthR4-O3_aCKfowNJ_VVFlcg8IYE/s1600/bad+advice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQghIvQrWpojRP5RJzaoBuNtYcFeXay7_khsE7cDV8E1qxTjU1nWR23R1CqewkTCENKJsg-37xR2JkMJg6si2rKYb_qWtzEdoYZHkUEjQJkV30l0qtthR4-O3_aCKfowNJ_VVFlcg8IYE/s320/bad+advice.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;">Bad advice is everywhere, and especially when you get into social media management. You may find advisers suggesting you pare down your lists of followers, that following more people who follow you looks bad. You may even hear a suggestion to cut those who aren't "influencers," meaning users who tweet/post often and have large followings.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;">You never know where your fans are. There are people I've barely corresponded with on twitter whose books I've bought. There are people whose classes I've promoted, whose causes I've championed, because I've seen them be awesome within the writer community (and beyond). What's worse--showing a lower number of people you follow vs. who follow you, or losing a potential champion for YOUR books/teaching/author brand?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;">The IWSG community is great--I doubt anyone here would drop writer friends once they got a book deal or a hot shot agent. But apparently some people do this. I am a big proponent of using twitter as it was meant--SOCIALLY. When you interact and don't auto-tweet, you are engaging as a real person. When you don't cull your follow list with an automated-tool based on "influencer" quotients, you keep real people who may not be social media stars, but who may actually buy your book. When I sift through who I follow on twitter, I cut people who aren't following me whom I also rarely interact with, or who themselves are rarely using the platform.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;">Think about it. If your mom is on twitter and follows two people, one of whom is you, do you cut her? Or is she your biggest fan waiting for the chance to shout your praises?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;">I love to hear from you! Please share in the comments a time where you made an unlikely social media connection!</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;"><b>Writing Workshops and More Blogging:</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;"><b>YA and Middle Grade Writers:</b> Looking for feedback on your first pages? <b><a href="http://www.1st5pageswritingworkshop.com/p/our-monthly-1st-five-pages-workshops.html" target="_blank">The First Five Pages Workshop</a></b> is held monthly as part of the <a href="http://www.adventuresinyapublishing.com/" target="_blank">Adventures in YA Publishing</a> blog. The March sign-up is this Saturday March 5.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;">Stay tuned tomorrow on my blog for a cover reveal by a fellow Pitch Wars mentor Kelly Siskind, for her second New Adult romance!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;">One last thing! I joined <b>The YA Buccaneers</b>, a Young Adult blogging collective. <a href="http://www.yabuccaneers.com/blog/2016/2/24/meet-new-crew-member-stephanie-scott-aka-boatswain-jayne" target="_blank">Here is my intro post</a>, plus I'll be posting What the Heck Makes a Good Book this Friday for our month-long <a href="http://www.yabuccaneers.com/blog/2016/2/29/welcome-to-march-on-the-ya-buccaneers-lets-dive-into-some-spring-cleaning" target="_blank">Spring Cleaning</a> theme. Please stop by!</span>Stephscohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06328839483008086049noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271157837542030455.post-55718529454088715582016-02-27T08:00:00.000-06:002016-02-27T08:00:21.152-06:00New Author Website in the Works<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhTV_0jNKLspcTDFiu_PYAZxEpjgTVTay5Y-cuLLMIMawC3dZaYRc9XpvPBMd2z_BySGir1BY1exQQnutpeYdiz9ERdtRcxvgTp44i3EpTxMji_TzBRYLtR5mLdcizpGOffn6fCkv4Ij0/s1600/2016-02-18+04.53.19+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhTV_0jNKLspcTDFiu_PYAZxEpjgTVTay5Y-cuLLMIMawC3dZaYRc9XpvPBMd2z_BySGir1BY1exQQnutpeYdiz9ERdtRcxvgTp44i3EpTxMji_TzBRYLtR5mLdcizpGOffn6fCkv4Ij0/s640/2016-02-18+04.53.19+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">Photo credit: Stephanie Scott via Instagram</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
You may see changes or experience delays on my Blogger site due to the awesome and exciting developments going on behind the scenes with my domain name! I'll be debuting a brand new website in the next few months. The team at <a href="http://www.atmosphereauthorwebsites.com/" target="_blank">Atmosphere</a> is working on it as we speak!<br />
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Most likely my blog will be a Wordpress blog connected to my new site, but there's a chance this little old Blogger may hold on :)<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg5QjkGwTN-_pM4q-laOKI1B8Fq5t5ZlsrPbQjHcEY8RReEohyZupZnFLFc3Hq29T48C9ITj5tDIkakEStQDDQDYBoO7Ovri0VmHqmxZcnh4k_gupRt0KZl0i6lnurzNOmbHy-Me7k1OM/s1600/Boatswain_Jayne+smaller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg5QjkGwTN-_pM4q-laOKI1B8Fq5t5ZlsrPbQjHcEY8RReEohyZupZnFLFc3Hq29T48C9ITj5tDIkakEStQDDQDYBoO7Ovri0VmHqmxZcnh4k_gupRt0KZl0i6lnurzNOmbHy-Me7k1OM/s400/Boatswain_Jayne+smaller.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo credits: Leah Lewis, Jason Scott</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Meanwhile, I'm blogging in these places:<br />
<br />
<b>The YA Buccaneers! </b>I'm so happy to be on board with this most excellent crew of young adult writers. I'm Boatswain Jayne, and even have a my own pirate portrait! <a href="http://www.yabuccaneers.com/blog/2016/2/24/meet-new-crew-member-stephanie-scott-aka-boatswain-jayne" target="_blank">Here is my intro post on the blog</a>.<br />
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I will be posting about writing, reading, and I'm helping out with their writing bootcamp challenges!<br />
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You'll also find me every so often with <b><a href="http://writingwithmentors.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Writing With the Mentors</a></b>, including my post on <a href="http://writingwithmentors.blogspot.com/2016/02/how-to-write-first-line-that-hooks.html" target="_blank">Writing a First Line That Hooks</a>.<br />
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You can find me elsewhere online:<br />
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Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/StephScottYA" target="_blank">@StephScottYA</a><br />
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Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/stephscottya/" target="_blank">@StephScottYA</a><br />
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Facebook Author Page:<a href="https://www.facebook.com/stephaniescottauthor/?ref=hl" target="_blank"> Stephanie Scott</a><br />
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Exciting things to come as my book debut nears! Thanks loyal hangers-on to this blog. I'll keep you all updated.<br />
<br />Stephscohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06328839483008086049noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271157837542030455.post-85372195631334271742016-02-03T07:00:00.000-06:002016-02-06T17:25:56.157-06:00Insecure Writers Support Group: February<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Welcome to the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Be insecure no longer! Commune with fellow writers. Find your place and your tribe. Join the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/IWSG13/" target="_blank">IWSG Facebook Group here</a>. Writers of all skill level and background ask questions and offer support.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Follow the <a href="http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank">monthly IWSG blog hop here</a>. Pick a number and visit a few blogs. Comment and make a friend!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Twitter and Facebook and Tumblr and Instagram and Oh God What's Snapchat, </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Oh My!</span></b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/stephscottya/" target="_blank">My Instagram Mantra</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There is a lot involved with being a modern author these days. Often it's all the EXTRAS outside of writing that wakes us in the night with panic (did I schedule my blog post for 6 AM or 6 PM? Did I cross-post my Tumblr to Facebook but not Twitter? WHAT EVEN DAY IS IT?)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My debut YA release is forthcoming mid-year 2016 (!) so I've been poking around at marketing and social media advice sites looking for direction. Here are a few resources I've found helpful so far in planning out how to best focus your social media efforts. I don't know these individuals personally, nor have I paid them any money. My recommendations are all based on the <b>free</b> <b>content</b> they provide on their websites:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Etc:</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Peg Fitzpatrick: Author, speaker, social media marketing pro</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I found this advice-giving entrepreneur linked on twitter. She has posts like <a href="http://pegfitzpatrick.com/12-strategic-ways-use-pinterest-marketing/" target="_blank">The 12 Most Strategic Ways to Use Pinterest for Marketing</a> and <a href="http://pegfitzpatrick.com/make-the-best-of-goodreads/" target="_blank">The Simplest Ways to Make the Best of Goodreads</a>. Her twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/PegFitzpatrick" target="_blank">@PegFitzpatrick</a> links to all these articles. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Kristen Lamb's </span><a href="https://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/" style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;" target="_blank">Warrior Writers blog</a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">. I love her take on how social media should be SOCIAL rather than automated (organization tools=good, autopost=not so good). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">She is my one exception to the paid content comment; I purchased her ebook <i>Rise of the Machines: Human Authors in a Digital World </i>and found it worthwhile.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Blogging, Various Social Media:</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Social Media Hat</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This website features articles like <a href="http://www.thesocialmediahat.com/blog/social-media-predictions-2016-01192016" target="_blank">2016 Social Media Predictions</a> (always fun) to practical advice like <a href="http://www.thesocialmediahat.com/blog/how-focus-your-blogging-09222015" target="_blank">How to Focus on your Blogging</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Rebekah Radice</span><br />
<a href="http://rebekahradice.com/how-to-grow-a-blog/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">How to Grow Your Blog the Right Way</span></a><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Instagram:</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Alex Tooby</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://alextooby.com/5-new-instagram-features-how-they-can-benefit-you/" target="_blank">Five New Instagram Features and How they Benefit You</a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You don't have to do everything. Recently, in a forum of YA authors, Snapchat came up. Someone said: oh great, is this yet another social media site I HAVE to sign up for? No, you don't! If you don't want to use Snapchat, then don't! It's a waste of time to grumble through using a tool meant for social interaction if you hate it and have no vested interest. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Find what YOU like and go from there!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you have a blog and want to focus your efforts, look into what components make a good blog. I personally don't like Facebook much, though I use their group functions quite a bit. I love Instagram and Twitter. Because of what I like, I focus efforts on those sites, and have more meaningful connections there. Farming for followers on any platform won't lead to lasting connections.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What social media tips and strategies have helped you? What overwhelms you? Maybe we can help each other out! I'd love to hear from you in the comments. </span></b>Stephscohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06328839483008086049noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271157837542030455.post-51119474318229580382016-01-11T08:00:00.000-06:002016-02-06T17:26:56.627-06:00The Life-Changing and Life-Procrastinating Magic of Everything But Writing <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I started 2016 off with reading<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22318578-the-life-changing-magic-of-tidying-up" target="_blank"> The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up</a>,</b> a bestselling lifestyle book by Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo. The book focuses more on our relationship with stuff than finding cool new ways to organize it. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Stephanie Scott </td></tr>
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<span 21px="" line-height:=""><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This is a book best read and thought on for a few days--I actually read it in the remaining days of 2015, but it wasn't until after the first of the year I really started to sort through things. I'd just helped my husband shed half the clothes in his closet (seriously, half--it'd been years) and I'd combed through my clothes earlier in the season. I took an entire trunk of things to the donation center. I figured I was good.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: color: #181818; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: color: #181818; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Still, I've got a lot of stuff. Drawers jammed with junk, little baskets of <i>things</i>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">One of the concepts in the book is to change your mindset from what <u>should</u> you get rid of, a what can I purge?mentality, to what do you own that sparks joy? She prompts you to consider why you hang onto items you don't use. <i>There's nothing wrong with it </i>or <i>I paid good money for this</i>, are likely responses. Only those items become buried in a drawer or the back of a closet. Why do you keep it?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So this whole "life-changing magic." I think it's real. There's something about this book that squeezes through the folds in your brain so it's ever-present. <i>Does this candle spark joy? It's not quite the scent I like, and I never burn it more than ten minutes because it smells like roses doused in White Diamonds perfume, but it's a perfectly functioning candle! This sweater is ten years old and still fits so it would be wasteful to get rid of it.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Marie Kondo is all about taking care of what you have by finding a place for it. If an item has no place, it sits around and becomes clutter. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Basically, all of this assessing of one's stuff leads</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> to this:</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Stephanie Scott</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I folded my socks. I took out every pair of socks and knee-high nylon stockings, chucked a bunch, donated a few, and folded them the way God--I mean Marie Kondo--intended. Marie says socks need to rest. They're stomped on all day doing hard work for your feet, so balling them up and stretching them out only causes further torment. If you don't believe your socks having feelings, sure go ahead. Either way, the folding makes it easier to see what I have. It also helped that half of my regular rotation socks were fresh from the laundry and needed to be put away anyway.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But still. <i>I sorted my sock drawer.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Which means my holiday is over and it's back to writing. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Once a writer willingly sorts her sock drawer, she is officially avoiding writing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Here, I'll go ahead and put that in a quote so we all remember:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">At least I'll have a tidy drawer. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Read my full review of this book here on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1264661640" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Have you read this magic tidying book? Have you ever folded socks or are you still a sane human being? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!</b></span><br />
<br />Stephscohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06328839483008086049noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271157837542030455.post-4755736270022676832016-01-06T07:00:00.000-06:002016-01-06T07:00:03.313-06:00Insecure Writers Support Group: January<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Welcome to another year of monthly posts with Insecure Writer's Support Group! If you're new to writing or blogging, this is a great community to network with which spans across writing genres. Check out the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/IWSG13/" target="_blank">IWSG Facebook group</a> and <b><a href="http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/" target="_blank">IWSG website</a></b>. Today the site is announcing the winners of their anthology contest.<br />
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I posted about last year's and this year's writing goals on Monday. Today, another new development I'll be a part of is the <b><a href="http://writingwithmentors.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Writing With Mentors</a></b> group blog started by writers involved with <b>Pitch Wars</b>. The blog debuts today and will feature twice weekly posts on writing and the publishing business. I hope you stop by and take a look!<br />
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Which brings me to this quote:<br />
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Any success I've had so far in my writing career, I owe in part to those who've offered help and support. I somewhat blindly navigated my way through query writing and pitch contests and found an agent fairly quickly. But what to do then? Each step forward in publishing leads to more questions and uncertainty. Sometimes I wonder, how did I get here? People are asking ME for writing advice? When does it feel real, like I actually know what I'm doing?<br />
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Maybe never?<br />
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I'm so thankful for the many blogs and twitter chats and Facebook groups I've read through and joined where writers shared whatever scrap of knowledge they knew. Even linking to a website of writing articles for me was a huge deal when I knew nothing. Now I look back and think, well I might know a *few* things. :)<br />
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What's a step you've taken with your writing that you're proud of?<br />
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<b>Make sure to visit the <a href="http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank">blog hop list</a> and check out a selection of participating blogs to meet new writers!</b><br />
<br />Stephscohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06328839483008086049noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271157837542030455.post-46972605538316271332016-01-05T08:00:00.000-06:002016-01-05T08:00:05.565-06:00Thief of Lies: Library Jumpers Release Day!<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Thief of Lies_BannerFinal_RGB" class="wp-image-3099 aligncenter" src="http://jenhalliganpr.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Thief-of-Lies_BannerFinal_RGB-1024x341.jpg" height="217" width="651" /></div>
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I'm pumped to be taking part in <a href="http://www.brenda-drake.com/" target="_blank">Brenda Drake's</a> Release Day Launch (hosted by <a href="http://jenhalliganpr.com/" target="_blank">Jen Halligan PR</a>) for <em>THIEF OF LIES (Library Jumpers #1)! </em><br />
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Brenda Drake is the person behind writer pitch events Pitch Madness, Pitch Wars and the twitter pitch party #PitMad. She's helped dozens of aspiring authors connect with literary agents and publishers. Let's show her some love today with her long-awaited Library Jumpers series.<br />
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Check out the book and excerpt below, and be sure to enter the giveaways!<br />
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<em style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Thief of Lies by Brenda Drake" class="alignright wp-image-3114" src="http://jenhalliganpr.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Thief_of_Lies_cover-683x1024.jpg" height="615" width="410" />
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<b><i>Thief of Lies: Library Jumpers #1</i></b></div>
<b>by Brenda Drake </b><br />
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<b>Publisher: Entangled Teen </b></div>
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<b>Pub Date: January 5, 2016</b></div>
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Gia Kearns would rather fight with boys than kiss them. That is, until Arik, a leather-clad hottie in the Boston Athenaeum suddenly disappears. While examining the book of world libraries he abandoned, Gia unwittingly speaks the key that sucks her and her friends into a photograph and transports them into a Paris library, where Arik and his Sentinels—magical knights charged with protecting humans from the creatures traveling across the gateway books—rescue them from a demonic hound.
Jumping into some of the world’s most beautiful libraries would be a dream come true for Gia, if she weren’t busy resisting her heart or dodging an exiled wizard seeking revenge on both the Mystik and human worlds. Add a French flirt obsessed with Arik and a fling with a young wizard, and Gia must choose between her heart and her head, between Arik’s world and her own, before both are destroyed.
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17669243-thief-of-lies">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Thief-Library-Jumpers-Brenda-Drake-ebook/dp/B00YM6RD6M/">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/thief-of-lies-brenda-drake/1122259496?ean=9781633752214">Barnes & Noble</a>
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Excerpt from <em>THIEF OF LIES</em></h3>
<blockquote>
We stepped into the Children’s Library and stopped in the center of the room. A massive light fixture designed to resemble the solar system dominated the ceiling. The hushed rumble of two male voices came from one of the reading nooks. I crossed the room, paused at the built-in aquarium, and inspected the fish. Afton halted beside me.
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“This is great,” I whispered, not wanting to disturb whoever was in there with us. “Fish and books. What’s not to love?” Spotting a sign referencing classic books, I searched the shelves for my all-time favorite novel.
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The male voices stopped and there was movement on the other side of the bookcase. I paused to listen, and when the voices started up again, I continued my hunt.
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Warmth rushed over me when I found The Secret Garden. With its aged green cover, it was the same edition I remembered reading as a young girl. The illustrations inside were beautiful, and I just had to show them to Afton. Coming around the corner of the case, a little too fast for being in a library, I bumped into a guy dressed in leather biker gear. My book and notebook fell and slapped against the floor.
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“Oh, I’m so sorry—” I lost all train of thought at the sight of him. He was gorgeous with tousled brown hair and dark eyes. Tall. He flashed me a crooked smile, a hint of dimples forming in his cheeks, before bending over and picking up my forgotten book.
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He held the book out to me. “Mistress Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?” He’d quoted a verse from The Secret Garden with a sexy accent that tickled my ears.
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I stood there like an idiot, my heart pounding hard against my chest, unable to think of a response. The fact that he had read the book and could recite a line from it stunned me. And impressed me.
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Say something. Anything.
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“Good read there,” he said when it was obvious I wasn’t going to speak. He winked and nodded to a guy behind him before ambling off. When he reached the end of the row, he paused and glanced back at me, flashing me another killer smile, and then he disappeared around the bookcase.
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Tingles rose in my stomach. He looked back at me. The guy following his Royal Hotness gave me a final appraisal before departing. His stringy blond hair hung over his large forehead. It looked like he hadn’t washed it in weeks, and there was probably an acne breeding ground under it. He grinned, and I broke eye contact with him, making for the nearest window.
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Oh God, you’re so lame, Gia. You could have finished the quote or anything less tragic than not speaking at all. The response I would have said played in my head. With silver bells, and cockleshells, and marigolds all in a row. Why? Why hadn’t I said that?</blockquote>
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<strong>About the Author</strong></h3>
<a href="http://www.brenda-drake.com/">Website</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BrendaLeeDrake">Facebook</a> | <a href="http://www.twitter.com/brendadrake">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7012713.Brenda_Drake">Goodreads</a> | <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/brendaleedrake">Pinterest</a> | <a href="https://instagram.com/brendadrakeauthor/">Instagram</a>
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<div style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% #e5e5e5; padding: 5px 8px; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://jenhalliganpr.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/BrendaDrake.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Brenda Drake" class="size-medium wp-image-2806 alignleft" src="http://jenhalliganpr.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/BrendaDrake-300x217.jpg" height="144" width="200" /></a>Brenda Drake grew up the youngest of three children, an Air Force brat, and the continual new kid at school. Her fondest memories growing up are of her eccentric, Irish grandmother’s animated tales, which gave her a strong love for storytelling.
So it was only fitting that she would choose to write stories with a bend toward the fantastical. When she’s not writing or hanging out with her family, she haunts libraries, bookstores, and coffee shops, or reads someplace quiet and not at all exotic (much to her disappointment).
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<img alt="Thief of Lies by Brenda Drake" class=" wp-image-3105 aligncenter" src="http://jenhalliganpr.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/ThiefOfLies_bday.png" height="500" width="500" /></h2>
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Giveaways!</h2>
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<strong>Follow Entangled Teen's THIEF OF LIES Blog Tour
</strong><strong>for more chances to win the prizes below!</strong></h4>
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Stephscohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06328839483008086049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271157837542030455.post-31245838427059282582016-01-04T09:00:00.000-06:002016-01-04T15:37:19.213-06:002015 Goals Wrap-up, 2016 Goals<br />
Welcome to 2016! No flying cars yet, and hoverboards only sort of made it. Meanwhile, I'm planning my writing and reading goals for the year.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC7dcRPcf-TrGCwATTtbRqNtvxwL-wP5lCCB6_SDiw-R5JuGcWQ2Im5FvY-eEMqPbdL0iPukQFr3BX93E_gbhiGQrsQ3nytaP8RJnmfHYEWyydh5Y7OD7CLGe_MQnYC0x1yzKHcDiDi8U/s1600/goal+jar+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC7dcRPcf-TrGCwATTtbRqNtvxwL-wP5lCCB6_SDiw-R5JuGcWQ2Im5FvY-eEMqPbdL0iPukQFr3BX93E_gbhiGQrsQ3nytaP8RJnmfHYEWyydh5Y7OD7CLGe_MQnYC0x1yzKHcDiDi8U/s400/goal+jar+1.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
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First, here's a peek at a fun thing I tried out this year. A jar where I wrote and collected accomplishments or promising moments. I first heard of this through writer <b><a href="http://www.jaime-morrow.com/2015/01/caught-with-hand-in-rememberlutions-jar.html" target="_blank">Jaime Morrow</a></b>. Sometimes we get so impatient with where we want to be, we blur past all the points that brought us where we are. It was fun to look through my collected moments, which I kept all related to writing. I added a few moments at the end, and I'm looking forward to adding more!<br />
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As for goals, I'm going through last year's goals to see how I did:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIWq16VY-v2EamqXtvzIZRmFw-TBt_k2wp36mNvPy_ooBNGhxZE-w2eyx72ZkjX3JsYNMl_5oZ8L4Aw_51QAZqZebKftMpW2fIfkCQ7jmxAAhWPZ79jhbx99K0ee2WQXZ4GOnBhrg7SyA/s1600/goal+jar+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIWq16VY-v2EamqXtvzIZRmFw-TBt_k2wp36mNvPy_ooBNGhxZE-w2eyx72ZkjX3JsYNMl_5oZ8L4Aw_51QAZqZebKftMpW2fIfkCQ7jmxAAhWPZ79jhbx99K0ee2WQXZ4GOnBhrg7SyA/s400/goal+jar+3.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">2015 Goals:</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><b>Writing:</b></span></div>
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<li>Finish rewrite of contemporary YA from Nano 2013.</li>
<li>Edit and develop Nano 2014 manuscript.</li>
<li>Potentially revisit historical YA MS, and/or develop new idea</li>
<li>On the freelance front: starting tomorrow, I'll be posting a joint chat-review of <i>Downton Abbey</i> season 5 over at pop culture site <a href="http://thestake.org/" target="_blank">The Stake</a>. Please go visit their site and <a href="https://twitter.com/theStake_org" target="_blank">follow on twitter</a>!</li>
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<b>Updates:</b></div>
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<li><span style="color: #741b47;">I did finish that rewrite! The story, SUNSET SUMMER, took first place in Toronto Romance Writers Catherine contest in the YA category and netted an editor request!</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #741b47;">I did not do anything with my Nano 2014 project and instead wrote a new MS which I'm editing now (and SUPER excited about), and I did Nano 2015 with another new contemporary YA story.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #741b47;">Speaking of the Downton Abbey recaps, I will be joining my writer friend Catherine for the final season of Downton and <a href="http://thestake.org/2016/01/04/downton-abbey-recap-season-6-episode-1/" target="_blank">our recaps</a> will go up on <b><a href="http://thestake.org/tag/downton-abbey/" target="_blank">The Stake</a></b> once again! We also recapped Outlander last year and are planning to do so again when the series starts up.</span></li>
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<b>Blog:</b></div>
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<li>Keep an active blog.</li>
<li>Continue to host book tours and cover reveals.</li>
<li>Feature a guest post.</li>
<li>Potentially find a group blog to contribute to.</li>
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<b>Updates:</b></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47;">For the most part, I kept an active blog. I plan to keep this blog running when I upgrade to my new website, though I may be blogging less frequently. You can find more consistent posting on twitter and Instagram, both places I'm @StephScottYA I love the visual aspect of Instagram and the very fun book community there. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47;">As for a group blog, I joined <b><a href="https://thesweetsixteens.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">The Sweet Sixteens</a></b> group of 2016 debut YA and Middle Grade authors! They have a lot of great content, so please check them out! I'll make sure to share any posts related to my own 2016 release! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #741b47;">Plus, another group blog I'll be contributing to will launch this week. Details coming on Wednesday!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><b>Professional (writing):</b></span></div>
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<ol>
<li>Expand YARWA's online presence through my VP Communications role.</li>
<li>Attend local RWA chapter retreat craft workshop feat. agent and author <a href="http://www.windycityrwa.org/" target="_blank">Donald Maass (March)</a></li>
<li>Plan & attend Day of YA at <a href="http://www.rwa.org/p/cm/ld/fid=538" target="_blank">RWA Nationals</a> in New York City (July)</li>
<li>Attend and network at <a href="http://ladyjanessalonnaperville.com/" target="_blank">Lady Jane Reading Salon</a> (Naperville, every other month). Also network and attend author signings at <a href="http://www.andersonsbookshop.com/" target="_blank">Anderson's Bookshop</a>.</li>
<li>Attend a <a href="http://chicagonorthrwa.org/" target="_blank">Chicago North RWA</a> meeting.</li>
<li>Submit to contests with editor final judges, including the Golden Heart.</li>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><b>Updates:</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47;">I was voted in for a second term on the YARWA board! We started hosting twitter chats and we'll see where those go in the coming year. The Donald Maass workshop was awesome, and I had such a great time at RWA Nationals in NYC including Day of YA. I attended probably half or more of the Lady Jane Salons in my area featuring local romance writers, went to a few signings, and also met a totally different cadre of writers at Chicago Writers Conference. I did not go to Chicago North's chapter at all, but a number of their members joined our chapter and I know more of the group. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47;">I subbed to the Golden Heart and a couple other RWA chapter contests, including the one where I placed first :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><b>Reading:</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/challenges/3082-2015-reading-challenge" style="font-size: 1.1em; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none;">2015 Reading Challenge</a></h3>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4959053-stephanie">Stephanie</a> has read 1 book toward her goal of 50 books.</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/1931299">1 of 50 (2%)</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/1931299" style="font-size: 10px; text-decoration: none;">view books</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2015/4959053?utm_source=twitter" target="_blank">Here's my year in books on Goodreads</a>. I read 71!</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">2016 Goals:</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNPE8bf0fBLF3JLmklleeV0PbTBxqSOW_hk-FVeTLw0v-joEVMsOxFva_VJXd-S81r1_BZ8gHKwUE4N3YEJD26qHQjBLEQtNgYr_m3LHumIOsnxh3h8FutMzvBf3fG6K8dKNaIh-7ICQ8/s1600/mindy+kaling+book+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNPE8bf0fBLF3JLmklleeV0PbTBxqSOW_hk-FVeTLw0v-joEVMsOxFva_VJXd-S81r1_BZ8gHKwUE4N3YEJD26qHQjBLEQtNgYr_m3LHumIOsnxh3h8FutMzvBf3fG6K8dKNaIh-7ICQ8/s320/mindy+kaling+book+%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>Writing:</b><br />
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<ol>
<li>Revise current YA manuscript and get it to agent and editors this spring!</li>
<li>Revise a NaNoWriMo project (2 to choose from)</li>
<li>Write a short story for a secret project!</li>
<li>Possibly craft an older Nano novel for a serial release on Wattpad (novella length)</li>
<li>Nano 2016 because I can't help but draft something new! </li>
</ol>
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<b>Reading:</b><br />
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<ol>
<li>Goodreads standard goal: 50 books</li>
<li>Read 5 classics</li>
<li>I'm joining a book club! It's with in-person friends of mine including a spouses & significant others. All of our choices will be authors who are women or persons of color. We're starting with my choice, <b>Mindy Kaling</b>'s new memoir!</li>
</ol>
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<b>Professional (Writing-related):</b></div>
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<ol>
<li>A goal I thought I'd written was to be on a panel at a conference. I'm slated for two this year: RWA Spring Fling in Chicago suburbs in May, and RT Booklover's Con in April in Las Vegas (!!). The first is YA Publishing panel with 3 other authors, and the RT is Pitch Wars Road Show to help writers prep for an RT pitch event. Related goal is to book more panels based on networking from these events.</li>
<li>Go to Book Expo America which will be in Chicago this spring!</li>
<li>Continue to finish manuscripts to send out for editor submission.</li>
<li>Support other 2016 debut authors by reading and reviewing their books, and promoting them online and personally.</li>
<li>Possibly mentor again in 2016 Pitch Wars.</li>
<li>Develop quality programs for my home RWA chapter (program committee) and promote the chapter and YARWA on social media.</li>
<li><b>MY OWN BOOK DEBUT! </b>A million related items fall under this, but my main goal is to plan ahead where I can and enjoy the ride. Many updates to come!</li>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">What are your goals for 2016?</span></b></div>
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Stephscohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06328839483008086049noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271157837542030455.post-42614452878488044922015-12-31T16:54:00.003-06:002015-12-31T16:54:59.088-06:00Goodbye 2015!Hi everyone!<br />
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I'm seeing a lot of year-end posts and thought I'd send out a quick post with a few of my favorite discoveries from the year. More to come in 2016 with my debut book (!!) and likely a new website. Next week, some friends of mine have book releases, so stay tuned for posts on their books!<br />
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<b>Podcasts</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjetzT5BF4HDZcqqKyn4l9TKUELePu48pMGVq5v08oUeJYny8R7eMdX_QRd8xlw78b12RjNYHQOuRGMaGmBL5-iBp0Jadd9zK9OtxYlvlKkm1edZzrs-2Xks1RTCE3eeOhyphenhyphentq1YTIQ0DuA/s1600/90210+boom+mic+Larry%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjetzT5BF4HDZcqqKyn4l9TKUELePu48pMGVq5v08oUeJYny8R7eMdX_QRd8xlw78b12RjNYHQOuRGMaGmBL5-iBp0Jadd9zK9OtxYlvlKkm1edZzrs-2Xks1RTCE3eeOhyphenhyphentq1YTIQ0DuA/s320/90210+boom+mic+Larry%2521.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The boom mic strikes again! Photo: <a href="http://previously.tv/beverly-hills-90210/63135/" target="_blank">Previously.TV</a></td></tr>
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I wrote a post about podcasts earlier this year, and I have a bunch of favorites. But one major fave is <b><a href="http://previously.tv/shows/again-with-this/" target="_blank">Previously.TV's Again With This: 90210 edition</a></b>. That's the original Beverly Hills, 90210 dissected in discussion WITH VISUAL AIDS. Thanks to NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour for pointing this one out. A friend of mine and I are hooked. I never knew Brandon Walsh was such a kooz.<br />
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<b>Instagram!</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmQYg9OdHfM4WJo1WQ9qD5X-B6q-3D1HYjkpRJjoiQpUcO6sMtOKkWeohdbaZtjZZPm77U7ihCph-BU8vqE31hDnpAvDcAnLcLFK6k395xP40fzC4RejTYQiQL-1I0bgiuupPSw_rq81c/s1600/Instagram+StephScottYA+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmQYg9OdHfM4WJo1WQ9qD5X-B6q-3D1HYjkpRJjoiQpUcO6sMtOKkWeohdbaZtjZZPm77U7ihCph-BU8vqE31hDnpAvDcAnLcLFK6k395xP40fzC4RejTYQiQL-1I0bgiuupPSw_rq81c/s320/Instagram+StephScottYA+%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: @StephScottYA</td></tr>
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I've had this app for years, but only recently connected with the wonderful book and reader community there. On work breaks, I love to scroll through pretty book pics or fashion and photography. I did a December photo challenge hosted by a few bloggers that gave me all sorts of photo ideas. It's such a fun way to connect.<br />
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Check out a few favorite accounts below! @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/thereaderbee/" target="_blank">thereaderbee</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/_halfbl00dprincess/" target="_blank">@halfbl00dprincess</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/kindredvintage/" target="_blank">@kindredvintage</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/bookvibes/" target="_blank">@bookvibes</a><br />
I'm <a href="https://www.instagram.com/stephscottya/" target="_blank">@StephScottYA</a> come follow me!<br />
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<b>Cheese Plates</b><br />
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I feel super fancy when I bring these to parties. This one is Star Wars themed. You know, all those actual Star Wars cheeses ... or cheeses I made up names for to match Star Wars like Han's Havarti and BB-8s Black Pepper Bellavitano.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXZ2y59q_wjlzmF1hkVKN_dyH0o39Iwxgge_HTwU2ofI4EPQaM1dzIDoQigD2fAuch7_KFeYjg1iTiceBfp8q9NUuN9r2Mdt1OHytMHQOOQrsIJqf-4gGR7RuoH02ItYtgdk2bZVnNw9E/s1600/cheeseplate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXZ2y59q_wjlzmF1hkVKN_dyH0o39Iwxgge_HTwU2ofI4EPQaM1dzIDoQigD2fAuch7_KFeYjg1iTiceBfp8q9NUuN9r2Mdt1OHytMHQOOQrsIJqf-4gGR7RuoH02ItYtgdk2bZVnNw9E/s400/cheeseplate.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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<b>Fargo</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUhfcG7Irc2oQsOgbqtVH8HO3oZ5lR2w6XA5yjsFJI6OWUGhfJAIyyaHvqoXtLEL0MYRGqO5k1tseKuKiifRa2vP1V7fvF1jNKa6ee_vcnZehEFU17IK2dhmcumszhyphenhyphentqqcBIdVZn7DdU/s1600/fargo-season-2-trailer1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUhfcG7Irc2oQsOgbqtVH8HO3oZ5lR2w6XA5yjsFJI6OWUGhfJAIyyaHvqoXtLEL0MYRGqO5k1tseKuKiifRa2vP1V7fvF1jNKa6ee_vcnZehEFU17IK2dhmcumszhyphenhyphentqqcBIdVZn7DdU/s400/fargo-season-2-trailer1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
This the year I sort of gave up being on top of everything. Too many movies, TV shows, streaming options, not to mention books and OH YEAH WRITING BOOKS TOO. Yeah, I can't keep up. One show I totally loved was season two of Fargo on FX. It's dark, moodly, pitch black in humor, and so well casted and acted. Each episode is like a short film.<br />
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And for as many people who die (it's about Midwest gangsters), there is a sweetness threaded through each season with a few good people to root for.<br />
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That's my very short list! Just short enough so you can all get on your merry way to celebrate an event we have no control over--time passing. May your time pass with loved ones and good food. See you in 2016!Stephscohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06328839483008086049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271157837542030455.post-65112619565141870322015-12-17T07:00:00.000-06:002016-02-06T17:28:37.085-06:00Thief of Lies by Brenda Drake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIWIrH6fXd957UbDQuNq8vxo0ZizyZw1J57mASB4t9GRaQuTPg7q1aAjgANx6il8dYT_vL-_Olv7yTndvRKKY7KzVg73B5CLSorEY2uMNpulYiGlHwS3_KazUvBDXlbgk5APJctP-7gAc/s1600/ThiefOfLies-ExcerptTourBanner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIWIrH6fXd957UbDQuNq8vxo0ZizyZw1J57mASB4t9GRaQuTPg7q1aAjgANx6il8dYT_vL-_Olv7yTndvRKKY7KzVg73B5CLSorEY2uMNpulYiGlHwS3_KazUvBDXlbgk5APJctP-7gAc/s400/ThiefOfLies-ExcerptTourBanner.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><b><i>Thief of Lies</i></b> is coming! I'm so happy to be part of this tour to support author Brenda Drake! She's given so much to the writing community with her blog contests like<b> Pitch Madness </b>and <b>Pitch Wars.</b> The twitter pitch event <b>#PitMad</b> was her idea!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">Check out the excerpt below and details on the book. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGa6G15l4tYqbL1cr9P5ZMuOaJPezNz_IVNOOdLpmbVJh_ufNR0TxviOmh_aX3qlA3B_68J7-QE6EjkRJy4g_ok4ImjnE0uTS6qwYU0hZedxfHlHMmlfs9RBhJfRMq_sD9onaV1ejKGUI/s1600/9781633752214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGa6G15l4tYqbL1cr9P5ZMuOaJPezNz_IVNOOdLpmbVJh_ufNR0TxviOmh_aX3qlA3B_68J7-QE6EjkRJy4g_ok4ImjnE0uTS6qwYU0hZedxfHlHMmlfs9RBhJfRMq_sD9onaV1ejKGUI/s320/9781633752214.jpg" width="213" /></a><b><span lang="EN-CA">Thief of Lies (Library Jumpers,
#1) </span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA">Release date: 1/5/16</span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA">Author: Brenda Drake</span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA">About the book:</span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="background: white;">Gia Kearns would
rather fight with boys than kiss them. That is, until Arik, a leather clad
hottie in the Boston Athenaeum, suddenly disappears. While examining the book
of world libraries he abandoned, Gia unwittingly speaks the key that sucks her
and her friends into a photograph and transports them into a Paris library,
where Arik and his Sentinels—magical knights charged with protecting humans
from the creatures traveling across the gateway books—rescue them from a
demonic hound.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="background: white;">Jumping into some of
the world's most beautiful libraries would be a dream come true for Gia, if she
weren’t busy resisting her heart or dodging an exiled wizard seeking revenge on
both the Mystik and human worlds. Add a French flirt obsessed with Arik and a
fling with a young wizard, and Gia must choose between her heart and her head,
between Arik's world and her own, before both are destroyed.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA">Where to Pre-Order:</span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Library-Jumpers-Brenda-Drake/dp/1633752216" target="_blank">Amazon</a> </span></b><b><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/library-jumpers-brenda-drake/1121817874" target="_blank">B&N</a> </span></b><b><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/thief-of-lies/id1000566034" target="_blank">iTunes</a> </span></b><b><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/thief-of-lies" target="_blank">Kobo</a> </span></b><b><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Library-Jumpers-Brenda-Drake/dp/1633752216" target="_blank">Amazon.co.uk</a> </span></b><b><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Library-Jumpers-Brenda-Drake/dp/1633752216" target="_blank">Amazon.ca</a></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.powells.com/book/thief-of-lies-9781633752214/72-1" target="_blank">Powell’s</a> </span></b><b><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Thief-Lies/Brenda-Drake/9781633752214" target="_blank">Books-a-Million</a> </span></b><b><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Thief-Lies-Brenda-Drake/9781633752214" target="_blank">The Book Depository</a> </span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17669243-library-jumpers?ac=1" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> </span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA">Excerpt:
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<span lang="EN-CA">I
pressed the screen, and it went dark. “How do we know he’s not being forced to
say this?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"> “The password, </span><i><span lang="EN-CA">May Agnes guide
you</span></i><span lang="EN-CA">,”
Lei replied. “She’s the patron saint of Asile.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-CA"> Agnes? That was the silver
woman’s name that formed from my globe. </span></i><span lang="EN-CA">Did the saints have something
to do with the Chiavi?</span><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"> I faced Ricardo. “How did you
know I was here?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"> “The werehounds tracked your
scent from a shirt Katy…excuse me, your nana…gave us.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"> “Can your pack help us save
Couve?” Arik asked him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"> “They will, but Gia must go with
me.” He noticed the protest forming on my lips. “Merlin said no exceptions. I’m
to get you to the shelter.”</span><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"> From the corridor came yells,
scuffles, and the continual wail of the warning siren.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"> “I can’t go with you,” I said.
“I have to fight with them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"> “She can’t fight with us,” Lei
said, glancing at the door. “She almost killed Kale.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"> I turned to Sinead. “You know
what I can do.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"> Sinead gave me a pity smile.
“Yes, but you have no control over it. Let Ricardo take you to your father and
friends.”</span><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"> I thought of Kale lying
motionless, near death, and I hated that she was right. As much as I wanted to
stay, I might be more hindrance than help. I caved. “Okay,” I said, defeated.
Lei flew out of the room with the Laniars on her heels.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"> Sinead hugged me, then rushed
after them. Arik moved over to me and cupped my face gently in his hands. His
eyes held the intensity that always drew me to him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"> I swallowed my breath in
anticipation. All the sounds around us went silent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"> He bent and lightly brushed my
lips with a kiss. His lips were soft and oh, so tender. Butterflies swooped and
curled inside me, and it felt like the ground disappeared from beneath my feet.
He pulled back a little and said, “Regardless of the fact that you’re a royal
pain in the arse, I fancy you. Listen to Ricardo and don’t do anything rash.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"> He gave me another kiss and
rushed out the door. My heart twisted in my chest as he disappeared. I touched
my mouth and exhaled. He liked me. It was against the laws, but he told me he
fancied me. Maybe we had no future, but we had </span><i><span lang="EN-CA">now</span></i><span lang="EN-CA">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"> “What a sweet display,” Ricardo
said, dragging me out of my haze. “I’m not one for rules or laws, but I’d be
careful there. The punishment would be much worse for him than you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"> “Why?” I stared at the door as
if I’d see Arik there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"> “He’s a leader. He knows
better.” Ricardo headed to the window. “Are you ready to fly?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"> “Did you say </span><i><span lang="EN-CA">fly</span></i><span lang="EN-CA">?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh46lgjl7_Pa8nswN60A0Z-F1hl_16-oRAdpLs2G_bmH-tCvPeaiM7WbQt2UU_b3hlyrvXOHLrzb4HtNSS9yHZW11w7f4PFj7RfqG1ANpLXg96Id8dy7pu0fo4FN0f-hI24xTksANwsodY/s1600/brenda+drake.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/AVvXsEh46lgjl7_Pa8nswN60A0Z-F1hl_16-oRAdpLs2G_bmH-tCvPeaiM7WbQt2UU_b3hlyrvXOHLrzb4HtNSS9yHZW11w7f4PFj7RfqG1ANpLXg96Id8dy7pu0fo4FN0f-hI24xTksANwsodY/s1600/brenda+drake.jpg" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Brenda Drake, the youngest of three children, grew up an Air Force brat and the continual new kid at school. Her fondest memories growing up is of her eccentric, Irish grandmother’s animated tales, which gave her a strong love for storytelling. So it was only fitting that she would choose to write stories with a bend toward the fantastical. When Brenda’s not writing or doing the social media thing, she’s haunting libraries, bookstores, and coffee shops or reading someplace quiet and not at all exotic (much to her disappointment).</span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA">Website: </span></b><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.brenda-drake.com/"><b><span style="color: #1155cc;">http://www.brenda-drake.com/</span></b></a></span><b><span lang="EN-CA"></span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA">Twitter: </span></b><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://twitter.com/brendadrake"><b><span style="color: #1155cc;">https://twitter.com/brendadrake</span></b></a></span><b><span lang="EN-CA"></span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA">Facebook: </span></b><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brenda-Drake/171424269657164"><b><span style="color: #1155cc;">https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brenda-Drake/171424269657164</span></b></a></span><b><span lang="EN-CA"></span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Stephscohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06328839483008086049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271157837542030455.post-79862975150752162632015-12-11T08:00:00.000-06:002015-12-11T08:00:03.082-06:00Fall Reading Challenge Wrap-Up!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtIe12YLsKqHnixCzitFBcRL3NvsqKMbnRApgFtwz05-CHic6P7EpodQpcVa6qqsKvJ-oRU2pP0faZ8mK8LVHnyHHDZhW8B_DCF-VZHxuv96Rh-UQnkhiwUEspWoD-2_8ldrFQ9TCLvVA/s1600/Reading+Challenge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtIe12YLsKqHnixCzitFBcRL3NvsqKMbnRApgFtwz05-CHic6P7EpodQpcVa6qqsKvJ-oRU2pP0faZ8mK8LVHnyHHDZhW8B_DCF-VZHxuv96Rh-UQnkhiwUEspWoD-2_8ldrFQ9TCLvVA/s320/Reading+Challenge.jpg" width="279" /></a>Technically, it's still fall for a few more days, so I'm going to wrap up my personal fall reading challenge! Here are some mini reviews of what I read November and December:<br />
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<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400519034l/21893566.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="21893566" border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400519034l/21893566.jpg" width="129" /></a><b>Author I know:</b><br />
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<i><b>Dating Down</b></i> by Stefanie Lyons. I met Stefanie when we sat next to each other in a Story Studio Chicago class. She had just finished her MFA and had written this very book, but it was not yet published. This is a book told in verse, which stretched me a little since I don't read a lot of poetry. I liked the variety of poems, and how each word mattered to the tone of the page.<br />
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<b>Book by a Favorite Author</b><br />
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<i><b>Indecent Proposal</b></i> by Molly O'Keefe. This author writes consistently deep and engaging characters. The heat level in her books (meaning the degree of explicit sexy-times) is about my max, which is probably tame for some, but just a word there <span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">if you're new to her or romance books</span>. She is an author who uses the romance wholly in the development and conflict with her characters. Her characters are always interesting and never one-note. Every book of hers I read seems better than the last. She takes a trope and destroys it. Or jumps on board and makes it work. This is a marriage of convenience book, and it's contemporary. And it works. Molly O'Keefe is awesome, ya'll.<br />
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<b>Something New</b><br />
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<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1421107274l/22875451.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="22875451" border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1421107274l/22875451.jpg" width="132" /></a><b><i>The Royal We </i></b>by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan. These are the authors behind the <a href="http://www.gofugyourself.com/" target="_blank">Fug Girls fashion blog</a>, where the snark is focused on the outfit and not the wearer (take that, junky tabloids!). I've been following their blog for close to ten*cough* years,which seems crazy, but yeah. I trekked to Chicago's Printers' Row Lit Fest this summer to see them! The signing line was verrrry long, so I bought my copy later and now finally read it. Imagine Wills and Kate in England are Nick and Bex and Bex is American. This is a saga-of-sorts that follows their relationship from college, where Rebecca "Bex" Porter is an exchange student, through their royal wedding. The same feeling I had when I read Lauren Weisbergers' books (<i>The Devil Wears Prada, </i>and <i>Everyone Worth Knowing</i>) cropped up when reading this. Call it chick lit with pop culture savvy. I want these ladies to keep writing books. They also wrote two YAs which are fantastic!)<br />
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<b>A Holiday or Seasonal Book</b><br />
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<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1414360664l/23452501.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="23452501" border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1414360664l/23452501.jpg" width="133" /></a><b><i></i></b><br />
<b><i>Unwrapping Her Perfect Match</i></b> by Kat Latham. I sneaked in this freebie by a writer at my same lit agency. This is set in England and part of her rugby romance series, but it's a stand-alone novella that doesn't require reading the rest of the books. But you should, obviously! I remember when she was putting this book together, she asked readers to vote on her blog between different covers. I love feeling a part of things!<br />
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<b>These next two don't fit any of my reading challenge categories, but I read them so they count! </b></div>
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<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1416429594l/22295304.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="22295304" border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1416429594l/22295304.jpg" width="138" /></a><b><i></i></b><br />
<b><i>Shadowshaper</i></b> by Daniel Jose Older. I listened to the audiobook version, which I highly recommend. the narrator is fantastic and brought the characters to life. This is urban fantasy YA with beautiful imagery of shadowy spirits using New York City's art and murals and music to communicate. It's a super cool concept told through the eyes of teen Sierra and her group of friends in Brooklyn. And it's a series! I am so on board. It's funny, creepy, haunting, and a lot of fun.<br />
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<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1381033426l/16059149.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="16059149" border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1381033426l/16059149.jpg" width="133" /></a><br />
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<b style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><i>Magnolia</i></b> by Kristi Cook. I've had this on my To Read list for awhile and found it on a library trip (where I was supposed to be returning books, but you get how that goes). A sweet but not shallow YA romance that's like reverse Romeo & Juliet--two southern families bound by generations are ecstatic to join up a son and daughter who are "meant to be" ... to everyone but the two who are pressured to get together. When a hurricane rolls through their small town, the two must rely on each other to stay safe and take care of the family farm.</div>
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A few more:<b> How to Lose a Bachelor by Anna Banks</b>, a sweeter and funny romance from Entangled related to a reality show competition, and <b>What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick,</b> a YA contemporary about a sleepy beach town and the help vs. the wealthy. This took me awhile to get through (I think I started it over the summer), but it's a lovely book with some beautiful characterization.<br />
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That sounds like a lot of books! A few I started months ago and only now finished, and I also had ten whole days off in November to get caught up with reading and writing projects.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">What have you read lately? Are you planning any reading challenges for 2016?</span></b></div>
Stephscohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06328839483008086049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271157837542030455.post-88672303591191743632015-12-02T07:00:00.000-06:002015-12-02T07:00:04.094-06:00Insecure Writers Support Group IWSG December <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Welcome to the last IWSG post of 2015! The purpose of Insecure Writers Support Group is t</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;">o share and encourage. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Head here to <b><a href="http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank">Insecure Writers Support Group</a></b> and visit a few new blogs. Pick your favorite number, click on the corresponding blog, and make sure to leave a comment. This is a great, supportive community for writers. There's also a <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/IWSG13/" target="_blank">Facebook group</a></b>!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Today I want to talk about the opposite of writer's block. The reverse of procrastination, when you're so fueled to write you kept going, and going, and going. Maybe you have deadlines and projects other people are counting on. Maybe writing is your job and it pays your bills. Sometimes writing takes over, but after awhile, that constant mining for creativity can take its toll.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'm taking an online course about</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> organizing life to enhance creativity, which brought up how our creative minds need a break. The same way we need to get up from the chair and physically stretch, our writer brains need to defrag and do something else. Or? Burn out. Nobody wants that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And then the instructor went ahead and listed some alternate activities. Including....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">VIDEO GAMES. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I did a double take. Right there with scrapbooking and gardening and going for a walk was the suggestion to play video games.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><u>My Writing Instructor Told Me Video Games Enhance Creativity</u></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Do you know how long I've been waiting for someone to say this? It's especially timely for me since my favorite game franchise released a new edition: Fallout 4 last month. I may or may not have coordinated time off work with my husband over the release of this game. (Hey, us adults can do that and not just call in to work for a "sick day.") </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Fallout has everything; epic world-building, hundreds of quests, excellent writing (bonus!), great voice acting, doses of humor. It's so, so fun. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And I felt like I needed permission to play. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I've drilled it in my consciousness that I won't be a multi-published author if I don't multi-finish books (true). I also know, my brain gets fried if I don't take breaks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We writers are hard on ourselves. I wrote two rough drafts in four months. I have projects in the works. I love it, but I also need to give my story-crafting brain some downtime.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And I need to build a not-up-to-code shanty in the irradiated wastelands for my settlements. Yup.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxHBqDYK9TR2K53P_soQnvNfY7hsXtFO8oqBjzpGhCn8wjQbg50DB7a9pea0BeQhdJgJIAB7-cz35pYmlpK5zcAKGROiZBXTWqqwro7O74efvKHiWnIb4CYJ9QbBHGQ-aia6AObdXv-eQ/s1600/fallout+shanty+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxHBqDYK9TR2K53P_soQnvNfY7hsXtFO8oqBjzpGhCn8wjQbg50DB7a9pea0BeQhdJgJIAB7-cz35pYmlpK5zcAKGROiZBXTWqqwro7O74efvKHiWnIb4CYJ9QbBHGQ-aia6AObdXv-eQ/s400/fallout+shanty+%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">poorly constructed settelment Fallout 4</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Have you ever had a time where you felt like you needed permission to take a break? What's your outlet from writing? </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Make sure to stop by the IWSG blogs!</span>Stephscohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06328839483008086049noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271157837542030455.post-90059623896098063582015-11-23T10:58:00.002-06:002015-11-23T10:58:48.178-06:00The Sweet Sixteens and Gratitude <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This week is Thanksgiving (if you're American!) and I'm happily jumping in on gratitude-themed blogging for the month. And, I get to announce I'm now part of the Sweet Sixteens Debut Author Collective!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz_45q0Pf8gEKla2kVcrr5d8W-Sk0oNQBEkmPWHulyJ6OwZnwgPEJx6zVf0LARGzUQpBpteDSi2z9DKKzi3uK1_EpBXadZyhizE99Mb2ukVk8Lb8fz5EQJ9EZFo97z_C8ZF9oiWcrlSJ0/s1600/sweet+sixteens+headliner.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz_45q0Pf8gEKla2kVcrr5d8W-Sk0oNQBEkmPWHulyJ6OwZnwgPEJx6zVf0LARGzUQpBpteDSi2z9DKKzi3uK1_EpBXadZyhizE99Mb2ukVk8Lb8fz5EQJ9EZFo97z_C8ZF9oiWcrlSJ0/s640/sweet+sixteens+headliner.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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About<br /><a href="https://thesweetsixteens.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">The Sweet Sixteens</a> is a group of Young Adult and Middle Grade authors debuting in 2016. We have come together to share this publishing journey and promote one another’s books. Follow us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thesweetsixteens" style="border: 0px; color: #ff8f85; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.3s linear; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/TheSweet16s" style="border: 0px; color: #ff8f85; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.3s linear; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.</blockquote>
</header><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Only a week into the group, and I'm already so appreciative of the support from other debut authors. Thinking back over the year, and I can point to many moments where I've experienced the support of other writers. This whole journey to publication can be lonely and anxious. While my family is totally behind me in my creative pursuits, they don't always know the details of the struggle. Having writer friends is by far the best thing to come out of my publishing journey so far.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here are a few highlights:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Romance Writers conference in New York!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSgNuDNeA8uK_YDPq-kV5gZZh3-L10PKpH_AkS_-4rc6K4oYtzX6fApY3OSnfqccvLDD_4TQeokNYL_lfmlTqZgJlQpnYvcw9nDoSzgoVv5Dkc3Rw5BP3osnCpH4e4eNqdMxX3kuzCxM8/s1600/Steph+with+Brenda+Drake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSgNuDNeA8uK_YDPq-kV5gZZh3-L10PKpH_AkS_-4rc6K4oYtzX6fApY3OSnfqccvLDD_4TQeokNYL_lfmlTqZgJlQpnYvcw9nDoSzgoVv5Dkc3Rw5BP3osnCpH4e4eNqdMxX3kuzCxM8/s320/Steph+with+Brenda+Drake.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brenda Drake and myself RWA 2015</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I officially met contest queen Brenda Drake (and we shared a bathroom early mornings!). Her dedication to helping writers through Pitch Madness, Pitch Wars, #PitMad is constant and ongoing. She brainstormed new ideas and organized meet-ups with two different groups of writers while we were there. AND she thought up the Pitch Wars Roadshow pitch workshop for the RT Convention in Las Vegas next year and asked me to be a part of it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Speaking of Pitch Wars, the writer I had the privilege to help received five requests from the agent round. I'm so proud of her and her wonderful story!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My critique group put together our second retreat weekend on the (cold, fall) shores of Lake Michigan. Each of these ladies is either on the board or running a committee through my local Romance Writers Chapter. We talk through plot issues, brainstorm character tragedies, and help each other toward our goals.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 critique group retreat</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This next one is a little bit of a throwback (2 years ago--note the hair!). On the left is Summer Heacock who I met at Midwest Writers Workshop (standing with our shared agent at the time). This month, the collective online writing community came together to support Summer and her family through a tough time. The #FriendsofFizzy fundraiser raised almost $10,000 (!) to go toward medical bills, and a separate auction was set up with agent and author items up for bid. I am so incredibly touched by seeing so many people pull together to help Summer, who consistently cheers everyone else on. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm thankful for all these wonderful women who make this business easier to manage. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What are you thankful for? What stories inspire you?</span></b></div>
<br />Stephscohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06328839483008086049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271157837542030455.post-58126368388999374102015-11-11T11:33:00.000-06:002016-02-06T17:29:10.847-06:00Guest Post: YABuccaneers on Conferences PLUS RT Booklovers panel listing!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitg56lJ-Q0DASA8OTXDpyXa4q63Ts6ZduZv6ePsM8yuQwJj7r7b6ZwIsEyNY9ci6euv3b2gbbnIb6OOHFoz5iXEQk1qXCi2ucJy63UdgDcfjrRluxYCTrb9xnWiapjm2awOqAuPulPVU4/s1600/stephanie-scott-rwa-writers-conference.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitg56lJ-Q0DASA8OTXDpyXa4q63Ts6ZduZv6ePsM8yuQwJj7r7b6ZwIsEyNY9ci6euv3b2gbbnIb6OOHFoz5iXEQk1qXCi2ucJy63UdgDcfjrRluxYCTrb9xnWiapjm2awOqAuPulPVU4/s320/stephanie-scott-rwa-writers-conference.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Today I'm blogging over on the </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.yabuccaneers.com/" target="_blank">YABuccaneers </a></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">about my experience at </span><a href="https://www.rwa.org/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Romance Writers </a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">National Conference in NYC. Plus tips about attending any writers conference! They prettied it up with cool graphics and everything. Hope you stop by!</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.yabuccaneers.com/blog/2015/10/6/10-lessons-learned-from-attending-rwa-national-conference" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ten Lessons Learned From Attending RWA National Conference</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Also, the R<b>omantic Times Booklovers Convention</b> (RT for short) just announced their schedule for the 2016 Las Vegas conference. Guess what--I'm on it!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><a href="https://rtconvention.com/event/pitch-wars-road-show" target="_blank">The Pitch Wars Road Show</a></b> is a session I'm cohosting with Brenda Drake and other experienced <b><a href="http://www.brenda-drake.com/pitch-wars/" target="_blank">Pitch Wars</a></b> mentors. The goal is to use the workshop to prep writers for RT's Pitchapalooza later that week. Bring a query and pitch, and the mentors will provide hands-on practice prior to the pitch round. </span>Stephscohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06328839483008086049noreply@blogger.com3