He did WHAT to her shoulders?!

I have been on a critting/betaing kick lately.  I've beta'ed at least four full novels, and visited over fifty blogs for blog hops (although I didn't exactly critique on the blog hops, I did notice stuff--lol).

There's one mistake that I see A LOT that I really don't get.  And it looks something like this:

Shrugging my shoulders, Liam turned and walked out of the room.

Do you see what the problem is?  The subject of the sentence is LIAM.  The sentence is actually saying that LIAM shrugged the protagonist's shoulders.

That was an extreme example, but I really do see these sentences all the time.  Another common version is this:

Closing the door, my eyes tracked across the room.

In this sentence, the protagonist's eyes somehow closed the door.

I've seen these so much at this point, that I decided to write a blog post about it.  Funnily enough, I recently visited Entangled Editor Heather Howland's blog, and clicked on a link to her "Craft Quickies." Low and behold, what is her first quickie about?

Pesky Participle Phrases.

Her post about them is informative and interesting, and so are her other Craft Quickie posts, so you should definitely check them out.

What about you?  Are there any common mistakes that drive you nuts?

P.S. During the blog fest, I hit 200 followers. THANK YOU! (*waves to Emily R. King, who was the 200th*) I like to give stuff away, so look for a contest next week!

Cover Reveal: GRAVITY by Melissa West

I'm so excited to be part of Melissa West's cover reveal!  You can visit Melissa at her website here, as well as on twitter.

Melissa's debut novel GRAVITY (October 2012) is the first in a trilogy with Entangled Publishing.  I can't wait to read it!  

Here's the blurb:
In the future, only one rule will matter:

Don't. Ever. Peek.

Seventeen-year-old Ari Alexander just broke that rule and saw the last
person she expected hovering above her bed - arrogant Jackson Locke, the
most popular boy in her school. She expects instant execution or some kind
of freak alien punishment, but instead, Jackson issues a challenge: help
him, or everyone on Earth will die.

Ari knows she should report him, but everything about Jackson makes her
question what she's been taught about his kind. And against her instincts,
she's falling for him. But Ari isn't just any girl, and Jackson wants more
than her attention.  She¹s a military legacy who¹s been trained by her
father and exposed to war strategies and societal information no one can
know - especially an alien spy, like Jackson. Giving Jackson the
information he needs will betray her father and her country, but keeping
silent will start a war.

Pre-order from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Gravity-Melissa-West/dp/1620610914/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Add to Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12844575-gravity

Are you ready for the cover?

Are you? 

SO PRETTY! Don't you think?  

Huge congrats, Melissa! I can't wait to read GRAVITY.  


Make sure you add it to your Goodreads and spread the word!

That's YA-more Blogfest & Is It Getting HOT in Here Blogfest

 It's here!  The That's YA-more Blogfest!  Get ready for some smokin' hot YA kissing. :)

My post is below, but you'll want to make sure to read all of the entries, so go here for the full linky list.  And feel free to join in at any time!  The Oasis Ladies will be choosing our favorite to win a free book, so make it awesome!

 ETA: Ooh YAY! I just found out about another blogfest!  The Is It Getting HOT in Here Blogfest. Since this blogfest also calls for a hot kissing scene to be posted on February 14, I can do a two-fer!  IF you're interested in joining this blogfest, sign up here.

Suddenly, I didn’t want to go home and face Mom and Lily.  The park was just ahead, so I crunched across the gravel and plopped into a swing. 

“It was perfect until you went and fudged it up,” I said aloud.  I closed my eyes, recalling the warmth of Paul’s lips on mine.  The way he’d pulled me closer.  The way he’d seemed ready to go further.  My stomach clenched again, and I took a deep breath.  Wow.  One kiss and I turn into a slut. But that wasn’t exactly true.  I didn’t want to go out and kiss just anyone—I wanted to run back and kiss Paul some more. 

“As if he’d even want to,” I mumbled, kicking at the gravel under the swing.

“As if who’d even want to what?”  Paul’s amused voice startled me, and I jumped, grasping at the chains to keep from falling off the swing.

“I—um—nothing.”  I kept my gaze on his shoulder, not wanting to see whatever might be in his eyes.  “Uh, what are you doing here?”

He shook his head and sat in the swing next to me.  “I came to find you, silly.  Why did you run out like that?”

I squirmed in my swing a little.  Why does he always ask me the hard questions?  Why do I want him to?  I avoided this kind of frank talk with Mom and Lily, shrugging off answering, or giving the answer I thought they wanted.  But, with Paul, not only did I want him to ask, but I wanted to answer.

Staring at the gravel under my swing, I blushed.  “I—well, you said you’d only meant to give me a quick kiss, and I thought I’d been too, um, enthusiastic, and—”

“Okay, whoa.  Stop right there.”  He turned his swing sideways, and grabbed the chains of mine so I faced him.  “Look at me, Em.”

My heart pounding, I raised my eyes to his.  They were serious and heated.  Butterflies fluttered in my stomach as I tried to decipher his expression.

“I could kiss you all day and never want to stop.  I was only trying to be quick because I was afraid the librarian was coming back.”  His eyes smoldered at me and my breath quickened.  “I’m pretty sure it’s impossible for you to be too enthusiastic when it comes to kissing me.”

The muscles in his upper arms contracted as he pulled me closer.  “Let me show you,” he murmured, before pressing his lips to mine.

Book Lauches and Blogfests

Last week I took a road trip with my favorite writer friends to go to Tampa for the launch of Kristen Simmon's debut novel Article 5!

Here's the cover and blurb:

ARTICLE 5, the first installment of a dystopian trilogy for teens. Major cities have been abandoned, the Bill of Rights has been revoked and replaced with the Moral Statutes, there are no more police – instead, only soldiers. Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that life in the United States used to be different. Living with her rebellious single mother, it’s hard to forget that people weren’t always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. She has learned to keep a low profile, but then her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And what’s worse, one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings…the only boy Ember has ever loved.


Jessica, Christina, Tara, and I had such a fantastic time!

From left to right, Tara, me, Jessica, Kristen, and Christina.

Kristen had lots of fun elements including cookies, 5 gum, raffles, and a reading!

We also met Sarah from The Book Life!

This was an amazing launch for an amazing book, and I am so glad I got to be a part of it!  Go check out Article 5!!!


On another note, don't forget to sign up for the That's YA-more Blogfest!  It's coming up soon--February 11-14--and I can't wait to read all the smoochy goodness. ;)  Plus, if you enjoyed my almost-kisses from the No-Kiss Blogfest, then you'll really love my That's YA-more post.

Go here to sign up, and I will be visiting all the blogs during the blogfest.  Can't wait!