As you know, a few weeks ago, I finished polishing ONE TWO THREE. I’ve received some additional feedback from other writers telling me it’s really ready to be sent out in the big wild world and how much they loved it. Apparently, one of my strengths is making yummy love interests…Natalya is now more likable on paper and not only in my head. I love ONE TWO THREE. I cross my fingers someone will fall in love with it so it can see the light of the day. It’s back into Query Land, and to contests.
But now instead of stressing about the outcome, I pour my energy into my new story. And it’s EXCITING…
I know you all will understand what I mean.
The rush of new words. Falling in love with new characters, a story…fleshing them out until they become real. Plus I have the feeling my writing got so much better and stronger since I wrote the very first draft of my last novel. Beta reading and critiquing, receiving feedback on my own writing has helped me grow as a writer and I have all the butterflies, the overflow of creative energy running through my fingertips.
Of course, I’m still scared. What will it become? Am I good enough to tell the story? Will other people love it?
However, I’m enjoying the rush. It’s like the anticipation before a big moment and then riding the wave…Or making music, learning the notes and practicing until they come out as smoothly and powerful as possible…Or taking pictures, finding that one angle that makes the picture full of emotions…
Where are you on your writing journey these days?
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Whenever I get approved for a book in NetGalley, little butterflies put on their reading glasses in my stomach and fly around happily. When I received the email about ALSO KNOWN AS, they were not only flying around, they were drawing banners saying “Reading is cool”.
Summary: Being a 16-year-old safecracker and active-duty daughter of international spies has its moments, good and bad. Pros: Seeing the world one crime-solving adventure at a time. Having parents with super cool jobs. Cons: Never staying in one place long enough to have friends or a boyfriend. But for Maggie Silver, the biggest perk of all has been avoiding high school and the accompanying cliques, bad lunches, and frustratingly simple locker combinations.
Then Maggie and her parents are sent to New York for her first solo assignment, and all of that changes. She’ll need to attend a private school, avoid the temptation to hack the school’s security system, and befriend one aggravatingly cute Jesse Oliver to gain the essential information she needs to crack the case . . . all while trying not to blow her cover.
Expected publication: February 26th 2013 by Bloomsbury Juvenile US
Last year, after several bloggers raved about AUDREY, WAIT! by Robin Benway…I decided to see what all the enthusiasm was about and wow, two words: THE. VOICE. Robin Benway managed in Audrey, Wait! to show how a voice can carry a book. Don´t get me wrong, I loved the story of AUDREY, WAIT! too but like with Courtney Summers, I fell in love with the characters due to their voice.
ALSO KNOWN AS doesn´t disappoint. The voice of the main character, Maggie, is spot on. Again. The entire cast of characters leaps from the pages. I loved her best friend from school Roux. Roux has so many different facets and she´s the type of friend you want to have by your side. Jesse Oliver is definitely aggravatingly cute and the story moves at a fast pace.
The entire spy angle is more Spy Kids than Hanna and it is not always present as Maggie discovers who she is in that book while making friends, exploring New York City.
ALSO KNOWN AS is the type of book that you want to pick up when you want something different but still familiar, when you want a light clever read, and words that make you laugh.
What are you reading right now?
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We have to talk. This is not a break-up letter. Don´t worry. However, you may have noticed that my blogging has been…hmm…quite sporadic recently. The main reason is that I´m spending every single free minute I have with ONE TWO THREE (and on Twitter :P) As soon as I know for sure my manuscript is as pretty as I can make it, I will be back on a more regular basis and with fun things (like a giveaway or two :P)
But…I do continue to read blogs and I thought I´d share a few with you in case you missed them in the past weeks…
February Compliment Challenge – Where you challenge yourself to compliment one person a day and where incredibly nice and generous Jessica donates to classroom in needs. Intrigued? Ready to spread the love? Then don´t hesitate to head over Jessica´s blog and check it out.
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The post where Christa announced her second book BLEED LIKE ME sold (you can already add it on Goodreads.com by clicking on the title)…If you haven´t read her conversation with her agent, Sarah LaPolla, you should! It will make you smile and go “aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwww” for Christa. Because she´s awesome. And because her story sounds great. And because that particular retelling of the phone call is just funny/adorable/so her.
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This video by Kelsey made me smile, laugh and nod!
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Did you see the adorable group picture on Jaime´s blog from SCBWI? And she and her sister, Erin, made it to the agents´ round of Cupid’s Literary Connection’s Blind Speed Dating! If you read Jaime´s entry, you´ll see what wonderful writing I get to read 😀
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And then there´s this inspiring post by Alex on multicultural stories. She´s definitely taking the high road in her answer to some comments she received.
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If you love YA contemporary novels, both Katy and Jessica Love are recommending two this week and they sound amazing!
Do you need a pep talk? Head over to Tracey´s blog! Her motivational penguin isn´t the only reason why this post will lift your spirits, it will also remind you YOU CAN DO IT! 😀
Have a lovely weekend and “see you” very soon!
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I mentioned at the beginning of the year that I would take part this year in the Debut Author Challenge hosted by Hobbitsies. There are so many wonderful books coming out in 2013 and lots of them are Debuts…
I love the idea of supporting new authors and I love sharing my views on the books I really enjoyed.
So…The challenge asks for at least 12 books to be reviewed. Here is a list of 18 Debuts I am planning to read this year (by release date) – I might read more…but I´m so very excited about all of those!
Still sorry about not blogging as much these days but I´m spending as much time as I can with my manuscript and work has been very very busy!….But see those puppy eyes – those are exactly the same kind of puppy eyes I´m making right now!
By Deskana at en.wikipedia [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)%5D, from Wikimedia CommonsI did answer some interview questions though! My FIRST BLOG INTERVIEW!!!!!!
It´s over on Alex´s blog…Alex is one of the wonderful and talented writers I met via Mandy´s class…
Hope you´re all doing well! Can´t wait to catch up!
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Yay, it´s time for Happy Friday 😀 Looking forward to know what made you smile this week!
One of my words for 2013 is “appreciate” and looking back at what happened this week, I want to sit back and truly appreciate the journey. You all made me feel so happy and cheered on and simply just wonderful about my writing and my dreams!
At the beginning of the week, I talked about contests and entering Cupid’s Literary Connection Blind Speed Dating Contest and….I made it into the agents’ round! I’m so grateful also to those organizing these contests because it must eat up so much of their time!
Getting the words “you’re in” on my entry in itself is AMAZING and definitely made me grin so much my face hurt! But…the journey to get there, both the writing of ONE TWO THREE and the input it received over the months by some truly wonderful people and the journey into the contest are things I need to sit back and appreciate. I know it’s not the end of the journey, it’s actually still the beginning…And maybe no agents will fall in love enough with this story to offer rep. But…I WILL enjoy the journey, I WILL pause and smile and think how lucky I am to have you all in my corner…(including my dear husband who gets used of waking up to me checking my emails, turning to him and saying “OMG, I can’t believe!)
Writing this post is making me smile …Anyways….let me tell you a story in Twitter format.
Before the contest
While I was sleeping
And when I woke up
And then….
(I probably missed some but know that all of your messages, comments and tweets really touched me!)
I entered Cupid´s Blind Speed Dating contest…If you haven´t heard about it and you have a manuscript that´s complete and revised (or my case revised many times :P), all the info is here
Pressing send is scary. It´s exhilarating but it´s really terrifying. I mean everybody can go and read my updated query (focus on romance) and updated (many times over) first 250 words. (psssshhhh if you want to see it, it´s Bouncer Post 37)
Definitely not as relaxed as my cat
And the other entries are AMAZING So much talent!
At the end of the month, my pitch and first 250 words will be posted up for PitchWars and I get all nervous just thinking about it too.
But all those contests, they´re not only bringing me amazing connections (through PitchWars I already *met* so many wonderful writers + my mentor extraordinaire Dahlia), they´re also teaching me to:
Put. My. Words. Out. There.
In the big wild world. They also give me great feedback. They help me become a better writer. And I can try to help others too.
Best of luck to all of you entering contests! We´re going to rock them 🙂
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Yay, it´s time for Happy Friday 😀 Looking forward to know what made you smile this week!
So I’ve been quite the bad blogger lately. I still need to put up my list of Debuts I’m going to read this year for the Debut Author Challenge. I haven’t done any Road Trip Wednesday and I haven’t been responding to recent comments. Though I read them and love them and am very thankful for them! So what have I been doing? Well first work started again which means less time.
But really, I have been doing this *little* think called REVISING…waking up early on weekends to work on ONE TWO THREE, making my characters even more fleshed out, giving them more meaning and also more to struggle with. I think it’s going in the right direction even though I did have a moment last week where I wondered, where I doubt myself (but that’s for another post :-)). Right now, I am simply excited to get in the train this evening and turn on my laptop, to put my alarm clock early Saturday to revise before my husband gets up.
And I’m also very grateful for Dahlia. She really takes the time to help us, going far beyond to answer our questions and help us make our manuscripts shine for PitchWars. And I cannot wait to read my team’s manuscripts!
And when it comes to reading? This week I got lost into two wonderful books! Both YA contemporary. Both amazing. Both giving me all the feelings. I will review them properly closer to their publication date but just know they both made me SMILE 😀
A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen-year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey’s younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and the girls are found by their father, a stranger, and taken to re-enter the “normal” life of school, clothes and boys.
Now, Carey must come to terms with the truth of why their mother spirited them away ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won’t let her go … a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn’t spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down.
If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk’s home life, they’d send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom’s freedom and her own happiness. That’s how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn’t want her and going to a school that doesn’t understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn’t get her, but does….
Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can’t tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn’t be less interested in him.
But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won’t let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all….
So tell me what made you SMILE this week?
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Wishing you health, happiness, love and lots to smile about for you and your loved ones…
When I look back at my resolutions for 2012, I realize I´ve accomplished some of them, but others were left in the dust.
Last night, on our back to my MIL´s place after a fun evening at my in-laws, a French song came on the radio. And I started singing out loud, a smile on my face, even dancing a little. I felt happy and like I could do anything I set my mind to.
I´d like to keep some of this feeling all year long. I know there will be ups and downs. I know I cannot plan every single thing and that there will be moments I want to curl up in a ball and cry. But…I also need to fully enjoy the happy moments like those ones. I need to not be afraid of what could come and look forward to what I can make happen.
And I´m going to start with THE JAN PLAN – brainchild of Fabulous Christa. In January, I will finish one project.
See last year, I wanted to finish PLAYING WITH FIRE, revise it, and query it. Well…I did finish it, revised it but then realized it needed a rewrite. Instead, I wrote an entirely new book, revised it (several times) and even started querying it before I entered it in PitchWars. There, not only was I chosen as an alternate by the lovely Dahlia, I also received some feedback on how I could make ONE TWO THREE stronger.
I thought long and hard about the suggestions and comments…and started revising. Again. And wow…I mean…wow. This revision is kicking my butt. Don´t get me wrong, all my revisions were tough but I feel like this one is helping me connect even more with my characters and I think it makes the story shine.
But…I´m only on Chapter 6 and I need to be done with it by the end of January, as even the alternates for PitchWars will be showcased on a blog for agents to look through should they wish to.
I´m on a deadline. And with JanPlan I can also get inspired by all those participating and cheer them on as I work hard to meet that deadline.
What else am I planning to achieve in 2013?
Write GUILTY, revise it and maybe query it (if ONE TWO THREE doesn´t find a home…)
Do more sports aka stop fighting my husband when he wakes me up to go jog. I do love jogging but sometimes the leaving the comfort of my bed to go jog during the week is tough.
Finding more of a balance. Work has been insane last year. And while I don´t think it will slow down in 2013, I need to find better ways to deal with it. Especially since my hubby will probably travel more and his schedule will get even busier.
I´m taking part in the Debut Author Challenge – to read and review at least 12 Debut Authors this year. I´ll share the list of Debut I am planning to read this year later on, but I can already tell you I´m quite excited about this year of reading.
Find a way to spend more time with my family-even if it´s only on Skype.
Enjoy more care-free moments with my hubby (and my cat),and more me-time.
I want to cook more, and bake more.
Attend the SCBWI conference in Paris.
Meet some of my dear blogger/Twitter friends IRL 😀
And many more…
My words for 2013?
Several lovely ladies (including Katy and Erin) last year picked a word as resolution…They were inspired by Jessica Corra who instead of coming up with resolutions picked a Word of the Year as she explained: Resolutions are too compartmental, too specific and practical. I prefer a word, an attitude, a way of being.
As you can see, I still like to have some goals and resolutions for a given year but I think there´s a certain way of being that goes along with them.
So for 2013, I ´ll pick two words:
PERSEVERANCE and APPRECIATE
What are you looking forward to in 2013?
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First of all, hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas if you celebrate it, and a great holiday season…
Wow I blogged for an entire year. A full year. Those are a lot of posts, a lot of connections and friendships made ❤
Here´s my a recap of what happened on this blog and in my life in 2012(some stats-even though numbers don´t say how much I smiled thanks to all of you-pictures and past posts).
As of 12/21/2012
168 followers (and 39 on Google reader, maybe they´re the same, maybe not)
…I revealed my first name…I used to go only by “commutinggirl” and I used the opportunity of a Road Trip Wednesday to finally say “Hello, my name is Elodie and I´m a writer.” in the post “Pshhhhh top secret”
…I finished the first draft of my manuscript PLAYING WITH FIRE. One that now needs a rewrite and which hasn´t yet been seen fully by anyone but me: The Two Magical Little Words.
I read ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS for the first time. It has now become my security blanket. When I feel down, I know I can turn to Anna (and Etienne) to lift me up.
…Hosted my first Giveaway. It was the “I love reading” giveaway where two books were up for grabs (one for the reader of my blog and one for someone younger than them to spread the love of reading). Jessica Love won! 😀
Hubby and I went to see a Klitschko fight! It was amazing!
April
I took a deep breath, reread my email a thousand times over, adding this subject line…asking Jaime if she would like to try out this CP thing. She said yes, and I not only got a wonderful Critique Partner with an eye for detail (and an amazing manuscript), I also got a new friend!
It´s the month I plunged into JELLICOE ROAD, and wow…the ride was amazing! I love this book. Really. I think it´s even my favorite read of the year. (Thanks again, Katy for gushing about it!)
During our road trip, we experienced so many things. We reconnected with friends, we created new memories, we laughed a lot…We also went back to that little Bed and Breakfast I fell in love with back in 2007…
Got deep into Jaime´s manuscript and into drafting ONE TWO THREE…
Started making yummy desserts 😀 (Thanks to Katy again as she shared some of her favorite websites)
I read and loved MY LIFE NEXT DOOR…and the author, Huntley Fitzpatrick, agreed to let me interview her! (reading this post always makes me smile)
Yay! I was one of the lucky three winners of the query contest of Taryn (Queroine extraordinaire as I now like to call her or as she puts on her blog: writer, reader, lit agency intern, and freelance editor).
August
Celebrated my 31st birthday!
Birthday Breakfast
Celebrated our one-year anniversary…
Hmmm food!
Met my baby niece
Met my newborn niece for the first time
September
Traveled to Russia…
Bolshoi…
Discovering Moscow…
Deep into revisions
Felt like a rock star
I attended a webinar by Sara Megibow…and she tweeted about my overview. Sara is truly amazing and so happy I took that webinar to see how an agent goes through slush…and at the same time, her comments on my query helped me go through yet another round of revision.
October
I started a class on revision by Mandy Hubbard, I learned a lot and met many wonderful writers….
…Got deep into Awkward
….Found our cutie patoutie at the shelter
Our new cat – Peter – found at the shelter
…Went to the Frankfurt Book Fair and hung out with great people from SCBWI
Both Katy and Christa had some exciting news to share! I´m so happy for those two lovely ladies. One snagged a wonderful agent, and the other revealed the cover of her book (one I think every teenage boy and girl ought to read) I love other people´s good news!I entered PitchWars and made it as an alternate!!!! 😀 And? Have you seen who´s teamed up with the wonderful Dahlia? I´m so happy about this….I received this beautiful ornament from Jessica (perfect for ONE TWO THREE…)Spent quality time with my hubby at the Christmas market….And…my friend Alex got an SCBWI award and will be going to the conference in NYC!!!! (see her blog for all information :D)Only a few more days until 2013…
I, NobbiP [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC-BY-SA-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5-2.0-1.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons2012 has been full of surprises, of ups and downs, of never-ending revising, of happy moments…for me and for others.I´m thankful for you! For your comments, for our interactions, sometimes for our angst-ridden emails, for the support you give me, and for being there. Really, the internet is great but it´s especially wonderful for having enabled me to connect with all of you!
See you in 2013! (and I´m sure I´ll share many more of YOUR happy news :-))
Random picture of our cat…He looks so cute on that one 😀
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Yay, it´s time for Happy Friday 😀 Looking forward to know what made you smile this week!
Elodie Nowodazkij 