Yikes! What's all this RED STUFF?

Last Wednesday night, I Skyped with a writer's group in California. We exchanged manuscripts (of about 5K words) and critiques beforehand, then talked about them during their meeting. Based on their reactions, STARSWANS AND SARKI will lose it's prologue (even though I quite like it) for my fourth draft. We'll see how the next draft turns out. I had several good reasons for adding the prologue in the first place, but I can already see places to integrate pieces of information.

Three of the writer's have blogs: Ryan, Chris, and Paula. If you're a writer, you should check them out; they discuss a lot of interesting writerly stuff. ;o)

Krista is playing (working?) Alpha reader to the whole manuscript. I've had people read bits and pieces before, but never the whole thing. At 95,ooo words, I'd say my YA fantasy could lose some weight, but all of my readers have wanted me to add more information, not less. I guess I should be happy they didn't call me on info dumping, right?

So, my manuscript is finally getting out of the house. I'm excited to get feedback. Where are you with yours?

The Thief

Do you like plot twists? I do. One of the things I loved best about the Harry Potter books was how she'd set up plot twists in advance. She planted the clues (I'm being vague to avoid spoilers), but I wouldn't catch all of them. If you like plot twists, I have a book recommendation for you.

THE THIEF is the first book in a YA fantasy series. I read the first three a little over a year ago, but the fourth book recently came out. So, I was putting it on hold through our library system, and my husband walks in the room.

Myrna - Hey, the fourth book in the Attolia series is out!

Ben - *blank look*

Myrna - You know, Megan Whalen Turner's series, the one that starts with THE THIEF.

Ben - *adds head shaking to above mentioned look* I don't remember reading them.

Myrna - THE THIEF had this really cool plot twist at the end. The main character's name was Gen. You really didn't read them? *putting all of them on hold while I have the screen up* I'm ordering them in for you.

So, I ordered them in, and then I couldn't resist peeking at the first one. Before I knew it, I'd been sucked into the story and had to read it all over again. I'm glad I did though. I paid close attention to the way she dropped clues this time, and I'm in awe. That's all I'm going to say. I highly recommend reading this series. In fact, I'm going to take my recommendation and read through from where I'm at to see how she crafted the plot twists in THE QUEEN OF ATTOLIA and THE KING OF ATTOLIA. They're longer than the THE THIEF and more involved.

If you take my recommendation, let me know what you think. Thanks!

A Birthday, a Bird, and a Champion

I don't post pictures of the kids very often, but I am today. Last week, Gwenyth turned three.

I made her cake out of Blue Bunny Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream and Oreos because she likes ice cream more than she likes cake. The train is just a big Hershey bar and Oreos.

Then, on Saturday, one of my friends showed up at the door with a guilty look on her face and said she needed me to help her with something. She thought she'd hit this baby mourning dove with her car.

I looked it over though, and it had puncture marks, probably from a cat. I knew the bird was a goner when it snuggled up to my hands, but it surprised me. It ate peanut butter and drank water and stayed alive until I handed it to a Wildlife, Fish and Game fellow this afternoon. In fact, it looked a lot better than it had on Saturday. I'd have kept it (at least until it recovered), but you need a special license to keep wild birds.

And today, Robyn won the 2010 Spelling Bee for Grant M. Bowler Elementary School. Check out the trophy they gave her.

And Daxton wanted to show off the fake food he painted. Mostly, he wanted to be in a picture with Robyn and her trophy. Who wouldn't?

How was your Monday?

Finished!

I finished my third draft! Thanks to everyone for their encouragement, especially those of you who've volunteered to read and critique it.

And thanks to everyone who liked my little poem. This week, I feel a bit like Beaker singing the "Me Me Me" song. Next week, I'm focusing on somebody else. It's been a while since I recommended a book. :o)

Speaking of Beaker . . .

A Wee Happy Post

I found my complimentary copies of the June issue of Highlights High Five in my mailbox on Saturday night. The illustrator, Kristin Sorra, has pictures of the illustration and the illustration with my poem on her blog. Click on her blog, if you'd like to see them. Aren't her animals fabulous? I love how they look like they're sleeping.

If you'd like to listen to the audio on the Highlights website, you can click here. You want the big blue "play audio" rectangle. "A Place on My Bed" is up first. Vicki, if you're reading this, you'll appreciate how they pronounce my name. ;o)

For those of you who submit to magazines or might be curious, I'm throwing in a few details. I first submitted "A Place on My Bed" on August 18, 2008. My editor requested a rewrite on the 28th, and I sent the revised poem back on September 9th. She asked for another rewrite on the 22nd. I mailed it back the next day, September 23, 2008. They sent my contract on January 12, 2009. Yes, it takes just about as long to have something published in a magazine as it does to get a book published. The editing process for eight lines versus a novel is definitely easier though. Sometimes, I don't have to revise at all.

It's always exciting to see what the illustrator comes up with. Highlights has amazing illustrators, and I've never been disappointed.

Thanks for celebrating with me!

The Facts

If you missed my previous post, I had to write six lies and one truth about myself to accept an award. This is the post where I expose my lies for wishful thinking, instead of real creativity.

1. I finished my third draft. LOVE IT! Actually, I hit a rough patch, and a new character showed up. I didn't realize I was adding a new character. How was I to know the dead body would come back as a ghost and want to replace my old (possibly cliche) ghost? In my defense, I think the younger ghost will make the story better, but new characters are the bane of my revising experience. Now, I have to deal with how this ghost will affect the rest of the story.

2. November 20, 2004, I placed third in my division in the Valley of Fire Marathon. It's the only marathon I've ever run. I've never run a marathon, though I'd like to. It was a 10K.

3. Remember the poem you wished me luck with at the bottom of this post? I found a contract from Highlights in my mailbox today. I love the way they word their contracts. Having someone tell you they're "delighted" to buy your poem never gets old. I haven't heard back on this one. Typically, it takes a couple of months for them to get back to me with a contract, while a rejection sometimes only takes two weeks. I do love the way they word their contracts.

4. It's taken me three days to go through all of the piles, but right now, my house looks fantastic. Yep. This one was a blatant lie.

5. My dad had me behind the controls of an airplane, teaching me how to fly before he taught me how to drive. My family's a bit odd that way. My dad flew his first cross country solo when he was ten-years-old. Ryan and Jackee guessed the truth. My dad is 73, and they didn't regulate flying when he was a kid the way they do now. Everyone in his family could and did fly. They used to take the plane to get the mail. I never did get my license, but one of my older sisters has hers.

6. I scored an ARC (advance reader copy) of PARANORMALCY, by Kiersten White. I'll hold a contest to pass it on when Ben and I are done reading it. I'm so excited to read this book! I wish! I bid on one in an auction earlier this week, but the bidding went much higher than I could afford. If I do end up with my own copy of PARANORMALCY, I will write a review and pass it on. Deal?

7. My two-year-old has a pet snake. She did ask for one, but she's going to have to settle for the ones in the yard.

Thanks for guessing. I hope you had as much fun as I did. :o)

Fact or Fiction?

Last week, Al at Publish or Perish tossed me the Creative Liar award.

To accept, I have to tell six lies and one truth about myself. See if you can spot the truth, and I'll 'fess up in my next post. ;)

1. I finished my third draft. LOVE IT!

2. November 20, 2004, I placed third in my division in the Valley of Fire Marathon. It's the only marathon I've ever run.

3. Remember the poem you wished me luck with at the bottom of this post? I found a contract from Highlights in my mailbox today. I love the way they word their contracts. Having someone tell you they're "delighted" to buy your poem never gets old.

4. It's taken me three days to go through all of the piles, but right now, my house looks fantastic.

5. My dad had me behind the controls of an airplane, teaching me how to fly before he taught me how to drive. My family's a bit odd that way. My dad flew his first cross country solo when he was ten-years-old.

6. I scored an ARC (advance reader copy) of PARANORMALCY, by Kiersten White. I'll hold a contest to pass it on when Ben and I are done reading it. I'm so excited to read this book!

7. My two-year-old has a pet snake.

I'd like to give this award to Holly at Scribbles and Splashes and the

funny fellas at SAD Videos. Thanks, Al! I had way to much fun making up whoppers!

Actually, I have two more awards to dish out. Jackee at Winded Words gave me the Blogger Buddy award. Thanks, Jackee! *hugs*

I'm tossing the award to three of my best blogger buddies: Niki, Q, and Debbie. Catch!

And Faith Elizabeth Hough gave me the Sweet Blog Award.

Thanks, Faith!

I'd like to award Olleymae, Sue, and Kelly.

But speaking of sweet blogs, how many of you already follow

Nathan Hale's? He writes and illustrates picture books (among other

things), and there's always something entertaining happening on his

blog. They're sequential though, so you want to scroll down and find

the beginning. My kids and I read this blog together. No fibbing!

Ninja Test

Last week, my eleven-year-old wrote the following story for Natalie Whipple's contest. She procrastinated a bit and almost didn't finish it in time to enter; we e-mailed her story one minute before the deadline. There are still a few little mistakes in in, but I thought she did a great job.

Ninja Test

By

Robyn Foster

Amanda scanned the forest with her scarlet eyes once more. “He isn't here,” she thought. “He must be on the lenticular bridge.” She slid, as swiftly and silently as a snake toward the bridge. She looked on the bridge. Yes! There he was, looking into the water. Amanda quickly drew her katana. She prepared her assault. Suddenly his blue eyes widened. Then Amanda realized her hood had come off. “Oh, well.” and she pounced.

Her katana clashed with his broad sword. She dodged his next swing and directed the katana at his shoulder – and lost her sword to the next clash.

He dropped his broadsword and looked at Amanda in disbelief. “I thought you had given up on that ages ago,” he said, breathing heavily.

Amanda shrugged. “You know our best attack skill, Master. Surprise.”

Amanda's trainer smiled at her. “Remind me to tighten your hood before your mission tonight.”

Amanda silently cursed herself. She was the only albino in these parts, and her long white hair was a pain. But it didn't matter. Her victim was Barry the Kid, a criminal who never studied anything. Including sociolinguistics.

Amanda crouched behind some crates. Then she heard a voice say: “I knew someone would be up here. Prepare to be defenestrated.” Amanda turned around. “You're going to throw me out the window?”

“No, I'm going to club you.”

“That's fustigating.”

Barry looked puzzled. Before he knew it, Amanda had bound and gagged him.

“Man, blonds are stupid.” Then she remembered her trainer was blond. Oops. She smiled. She had completed her first mission. She was a ninja.

Blogging Sunshine

I am so behind on passing along awards. Stina Lindenblatt gave me the Prolific Blogger Award a few weeks ago.

"By definition, a prolific blogger 'is one who is intellectually productive...keeping up an active blog that is filled with enjoyable content.'"

Thank you, Stina!

I'd like to pass it on to these prolific bloggers:

Mariah Irvin @ Constantly Risking Absurdity

Karen G. @ Coming Down the Mountain

Enna Isilee @ Squeaky Books

Steena Holmes @ Chocolate Reality

Vicki @ Conger Clan

And then, Niki @ Wool-N-Nuts and Susan Fields gave me this beauty.

Thanks, Niki! Thanks, Susan! I feel the same way about both of you!

I'd like to thank everyone who comments on my blog. I love comments. If I had a frequent commenter section in my sidebar, the following people (and Niki) would top the list. You gals are my sunshine. ;)

Krista @ Mother. Write. Repeat.

Amy @ The Green Bathtub

Emily @ Our Family Wagon

Jackee @ Winded Words

Maile @ Our 'Ohana

And Rorie

Okay, I have a question for my male followers: how do you feel about getting blogging awards? I actually thought of three different guys I'd give the Prolific Blogger Award to, but then, I wasn't sure they'd want it. So, I'm going to list them anyway. If they want the award, they can pass it on. If not, you can check out their blogs anyway.

R. Garrett Wilson and I are having a revision race.

C. Michael Fontes is giving away ENDER'S GAME, by Orson Scott Card.

and Al @ Publish or Perish writes the most amazing photo essays about Australia.

Thanks again to all of you who comment. You're the best!