The conference is a blast,and yet totally and completely exhausting at the same time! How can that be? I've met a lot of new friends (so nice to put a face to the online folks I've been chatting with) and gotten lots of great info from the panels. Last night I went to the Faery Ball and got my picture taken with Charlaine Harris! Yes, I know you are jealous. This is the second time I have met her. She was at DragonCon last year, and I just love her to pieces. Her accent and sense of humor are the best. I'd love to just sit on the porch with her, drinking sweet tea and talking vampires. LOL.
I had some audio of the first panel she moderated but the battery on my recorder died and I lost the entire file! I am going to try and get some more today.
There are book signings this afternoon and tomorrow. The Saturday one is open to the public so if you are in the area stop by and you can meet up with more than 300 authors for just 5 bucks! I also have an appointment with another editor this afternoon to talk about some of my short fiction. I was going to do a straight pitch, but really I think I will use the time to ask her a bunch of questions. I don't know if I am ready to pitch my novella yet. I have been so obsessed with Love Sex Magick that the novella has become the neglected baby in the family. but I am super interested in learning more about the changing nature of these epublishers. I look forward to picking her brain!
I did survive my first live pitch for Love Sex Magick. I was very nervous about the whole thing, despite the fact that my day job involves training people how to make pitches for fundraising! I used the same basic principles for this, and once I had my pitch outlined, I practiced on my writing group, with my parents and even recorded myself so that I could watch it and give my own feedback. Super helpful if your nervous, because you get all the rambling and stammering out of the way and the pitch has a flow and a pace that makes you look like you know what you are talking about! Which of course you do, because you wrote it, right!
Okay beeps. It's officially time for me to hit the rode. It's after eleven and even though I am annoyed that I could not find my black skirt for the vampire ball, I am going to truck on. I've got things to do and people to meet/greet. Tomorrow I will be posting pictures and maybe some video, maybe. I'm not making any projects. But man, it is crazy how much I miss writing and my time to work on the blogs, when I am at things like this. Sometimes I just need an hour or two to recenter and feel connected to everyday life.
Happy Friday!
Wicked Jungle (AKA me) Going to RT!!!
If you don't know what RT is or why we are so excited over here at Wicked Jungle, RT is short for the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention and this is our first year, well my first year, attending. We can't wait to spend five whole days mingling with authors, chatting with fellow fans, and generally just geeking out about books.
For those of you attending be sure to look for us. We have some spots in Promotional Row, with a giveaway sign up and free chocolate (first come first serve). I will be attending some of the parties and socials, including the RWA FFP chapter cocktail on Tuesday evening.
For those of you not attending, please don't fret. We will be blogging live from the conference. We will be tweeting live from the conference. We will be interviewing and attending signings, and basically getting tons of information, all of which we hope to post on the site for our readers.
Check out www.WickedJungle.com to find out which of your favorite authors are attending and get updates throughout the week. Follow @wickedjungle on Twitter or use the #WJatRT hash tag to get updates.
Dystopia What-ah??
One of my favorite YA series out now is the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I know your jaw just dropped because you can't believe that I read something other than paranormal romance and urban fantasy. But I do. In fact, I've been craving it recently. Something different, something original, something that doesn't feel like the author created a replica of the exact same supernatural world that existed in the last five books I picked up off the shelves. It doesn't mean I love my PRUF writers any less. Hell, I am one of them! But it does mean that I was eagerly searching for something different to fall in love with.
Boy did I get my wish. I discovered the Hunger Games after attending a YA panel at DragonCon last year. Their were several librarians who basically went through about a hundred YA books out today and gave quick summaries/reviews on each. We had the opportunity to follow along on our own list and mark off anything we wanted to check out based on their comments. Hunger Games was one of those books.
I wasn't certain if I would like it but like many readers, I feel in love with it as soon as I picked it up. It was a surprising delight (not the story, but my love for the story and the characters) because it was so unexpected. It was the same feeling I had when I picked up my first Twilight book back when no one knew what Twilight was. But, I digress!
So you get the point, I love the books. I can't wait until the third book comes out (which happens to be the week of my birthday). As I was browsing blogs for the blog hop I discovered an interesting little challenge that Parajunkee was running over at her site and I just had to join in on the fun.
Boy did I get my wish. I discovered the Hunger Games after attending a YA panel at DragonCon last year. Their were several librarians who basically went through about a hundred YA books out today and gave quick summaries/reviews on each. We had the opportunity to follow along on our own list and mark off anything we wanted to check out based on their comments. Hunger Games was one of those books.
I wasn't certain if I would like it but like many readers, I feel in love with it as soon as I picked it up. It was a surprising delight (not the story, but my love for the story and the characters) because it was so unexpected. It was the same feeling I had when I picked up my first Twilight book back when no one knew what Twilight was. But, I digress!
So you get the point, I love the books. I can't wait until the third book comes out (which happens to be the week of my birthday). As I was browsing blogs for the blog hop I discovered an interesting little challenge that Parajunkee was running over at her site and I just had to join in on the fun.
No I know you are thinking, what the heck is Dystopian Fiction! I could answer you, but Parajunkee does it so much better. Click on the link above to learn more about Dystopian Fiction and the Challenge that ParaJunkee's View has thrown down. There is also a great entry on Wikipedia that lists out Dystopian novels by decade. So no matter what you prefer, the classics or the new stuff, there is something on the list for you. I think I can conquer the challenge. I'm excited about trying, even if we are a few months in. I've already got three books that fit the bill right now. Anyone going to join me?
Book Blogger Hop!
It's that time again!! Okay, well technically it was that time again last Friday, but I have been so busy I haven't had an opportunity to post about all the good finds! So without further introduction..."It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time!! Peanut Butter Jelly Time, Peanut Butter Jelly Time!!" And by that I mean it's Book Blogger Hop Day.
For the full list visit www.crazy-for-books.com
First off, if you aren't familiar with the Book Blogger Hop let me take a few moments to explain. Basically, every Friday Jennifer starts a post in which anyone with a book blog may add their link. After listing your blog (along with some basic descriptors such as new, old, type of content, etc.) you can browse the list and discover great new sites. I discovered the site about a week ago, so this is my first official time participating but I did find some great reading buddies that I am now following. I wanted to take a moment to share some of my favorites.
1. Confessions of a Book Addict http://bookaddictchris.blogspot.com/
A fun YA book review site done by a teacher (Yea, we love teachers!). I was particularly impressed with her review of Hex Hall, as I had just finished reading the book and was looking to get other folks opinions on it.
2. Obsessed http://paranormal-obsession.blogspot.com/
Another YA blogger, this time focused on my favorite, Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy! I have to admit, Bella won my heart over with her post on the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It is more science fiction than PR or UF but one of my fav books out in the YA market right now. Bella is doing a huge give-away with some great new and gently used books. I encourage you to check her out!!
And last but certainly not least
3. Parajunkee's View http://www.parajunkee.com
First off this site is gorgeous!! I love it, I love it, I love it. Aside from great reviews and news updates on her site, she does fantastic blog design work and get this: you can commission her to work on your very own project! How cool is that? You know that old saying, "you can't judge a book by it's cover"? Yeah, its true. Or at least partially. Covers sell books and I am of the strong opinion that a professional looking blog will get you followers. You only have four seconds to capture a new visitor and convince them to browse around on your site. Wouldn't you want to make it count?
Alright folks, that is it. I have more things to do. Can't play all day. If you find a fun site on the blog hop let me know! I can't visit the whole list each week! It's ridiculously long now, but that is a good thing.
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