Winner and Happy New Year!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered and participated in the Midwinter's Eve Giveaway Hop, particularly I Am a Reader, Not a Writer, and my group blog Oasis for YA!  The hop is officially over now, so if you entered multiple giveaways, make sure to hop back around and see if you won anything! Also, if you enjoyed this hop, I Am a Reader, Not a Writer has TONS of them. So check them out, and maybe participate in a few!

Before I announce the winner (if you haven't already scrolled down), I wanted to say thank you to everyone who entered.  The thank you and Happy Holidays messages in the comments truly brightened my day each time.  You are all awesome! 

Okay, according to Rafflecopter and Random.org, the winner of my giveaway is


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Nurmawati Djuhawan!!!!

I have emailed Nurmawati for her info and book choices. This is why I LOVE The Book Depository.  I can easily have an international giveaway, and the fact that my winner lives in Indonesia and I live in Florida doesn't matter. :)

So, New Year's Eve is upon us, and that means lots of goals and resolutions posts.  Do you have any New Year's goals you want to share? I'd love to hear them in the comments! Or, if you posted about them on your blog, leave me a link so I can stop by!

For me, I think some words to focus on are going to be the most helpful to me this coming year. I know some people choose one, but I don't think that's enough for me. If you check the About Me above, it should be clear that I like having A LOT going on. LOL.

I'm thinking about turning it into a craft project and painting the words on small canvases or something. 

So far, I have:

Dream

Relax

Inspire


Hope


Peace


Any ideas for more? Or better ones?


Anyway, have a wonderful New Year's, everyone! Thanks for being awesome!


P.S. I just rejoined Pinterest. If you're on there, look me up.  My username is lchardesty77.

Midwinter's Eve Giveaway Hop!

Hey there! I am so excited to participate in the Midwinter's Eve Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and the group blog I participate in, Oasis For YA.

This is super fun, because all you do is hop from blog to blog and enter to win free books! Can it get any better?!

Enter my giveaway via the Rafflecopter below, and then check the linky at the bottom of the post to hop around to the other participating blogs!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Hopping!!!

Renegade Winner + another opportunity to win!

Hi everyone! So according to the lovely Rafflecopter widget, the winner of the signed copy of RENEGADE and swag is

CLAIRE!!!

I have emailed Claire and will be sending her the book as soon as I can.  But don't despair! My wonderful friend and critique partner, Tara Gallina, is also giving away a signed copy of RENEGADE with some swag, AND A $30 B&N GIFTCARD!  Yes, she's super generous.  And awesome. You should definitely go enter and tell her I sent you.

On a completely different note, how is everyone's holiday season going? If you celebrate, are you ready? If not, what's your favorite thing about this time of year?

Coming up, I will have a Mid-Winter Giveaway Hop, and then the SCBWI FL Conference in Miami, which means MORE signed giveaway books, and tidbits from the conference! :)

RENEGADE Book Launch and GIVEAWAY!

Two weeks ago, I had the experience every great crit partner dreams about: I got to attend the launch for a book I critiqued!

RENEGADE by J.A. Souders!!!

I headed to the launch with my friends and crit partners Tara, Christy, and Liz.  Jessica held the launch at an industrial office space that was the inspiration for one of the settings in the book.

From L-R: Me, Liz, Christy, and Tara

Jessica had yummy RENEGADE cupcakes:

 And she read part of the first chapter of RENEGADE:

Jessica and me!

Final group shot:

From L-R: Me, Tara, Jessica, and Christy

It has been so amazing to watch this book develop from first chapter to agent edits to edit letter to final copy.  I am so so happy for Jessica!!!

This is a book you DEFINITELY want to read, and, lucky for you, I got an extra copy to give away! Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below!

And, in case you missed it, don't forget to check out my video interview with Jessica!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Goodreads Blurb:

Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has been trained to be Daughter of the People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes, all her life she’s thought that everything was perfect; her world. Her people. The Law.

But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into their secluded little world, she’s forced to come to a startling realization: everything she knows is a lie. Her memories have been altered. Her mind and body aren’t under her own control. And the person she knows as Mother is a monster.

Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb... and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all.

AUTHOR BIO:

J.A. Souders lives in Florida with her husband and their two children and is an active member of RWA, DFRW, YARWA, SCBWI, and SFWA. RENEGADE is her first novel.

RENEGADE Blog Tour--Video Interview!

I am so super excited to be a part of the blog tour for the release of J.A. Souders's debut novel RENEGADE! Jessica is a friend and critique partner, and I have watched this amazing novel grow from conception to it's release NEXT WEEK!

When asked what kind of post I wanted to do, I thought it would be fun to do a video interview, since Jessica lives near me. After you watch, don't forget to scroll down and enter the rafflecopter giveaway for swag and preorders! (US only)




a Rafflecopter giveaway

Goodreads Blurb:

Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has been trained to be Daughter of the People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes, all her life she’s thought that everything was perfect; her world. Her people. The Law.

But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into their secluded little world, she’s forced to come to a startling realization: everything she knows is a lie. Her memories have been altered. Her mind and body aren’t under her own control. And the person she knows as Mother is a monster.

Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb... and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all.

AUTHOR BIO:

J.A. Souders lives in Florida with her husband and their two children and is an active member of RWA, DFRW, YARWA, SCBWI, and SFWA. RENEGADE is her first novel.

LINKS:

http://jasouders.com/ (Website)

http://jasouders.com/blog/ (Blog)

https://www.facebook.com/JASouders (Facebook)

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4880398.J_A_Souders (Goodreads)

http://twitter.com/jasouders (Twitter)

BUY:

http://www.amazon.com/Renegade-Elysium-Chronicles-J-A-Souders/dp/0765332450/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350339958&sr=8-1&keywords=renegade+j+a+souders (Amazon)

http://www.bookdepository.com/Renegade-JA-Souders/9780765332455 (the Book Depository)

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

The lovely and talented Liz tagged me in this fun meme, so here we go!


What is the working title of your book?

Meditation



Where did the idea come from for the book?

I got the idea in yoga class. LOL. I had gotten a rejection and was trying to use the practice to let go of my negative thoughts and stay positive, and I thought "What if a character was using yoga to get through something truly traumatic?"


What genre does your book fall under?

YA Contemporary Thriller

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I posted about this in another bloghop, but I think Miranda Cosgrove would make a great Bree, and Jake T. Austin would make a great Brian.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Seventeen-year-old Bree Miller never expected her passion for yoga would save her life, but when she's kidnapped by a man in a mask who talks about obedience and punishment, her training is the only thing keeping her sane.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I would love for it to be represented by an agency. *crosses fingers*

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

It took me about three months-ish.

I know it's sort of cheating, but I skipped a few questions, and I'm not tagging anyone specifically. If this meme sounds fun to you, please post on your blog and leave me a link.  (Check Liz's blog via the link at the top of this post for the questions I skipped.) I'd love to read about your WIP! 

And be sure to come back on Sunday for a super fun post in J.A. Souders's blog tour for RENEGADE!!!

Pitch On Workshop Critique: SN

Welcome to the Pitch On Workshop! When you have time before October 14, please take the time to go to the participating blogs (list here) and critique the pitches.  All critiques will be entered to win either a 10 page critique or a query critique. (Details here).  If you are interested in having your pitch workshopped, it's not too late to sign up!

Here's Stacey's Pitch:

Title: FORGET-ME-NOT
Genre: Light Science Fiction
Word-count: 76,000
Pitch:
Seventeen year old Anamae accidently activates secret technology, which causes her to blink into and out visibility. Its use attracts an attacker, who she learns is an agent of a secret society. They suppress the knowledge of technology so advanced it could be straight from a science fiction movie. Now that she knows the secret, she’s at the top of their hit list. She must fight to keep herself and her family alive.

My Critique:

This sounds so intriguing! But it reads a little stilted to me.  I have some fixes below, but I'd love more about who Anamae is and more of her voice throughout. More details about Anamae will help me connect to her and to your story.

Seventeen-year-old Anamae accidently accidentally activates secret technology, which causes her to blink into and out of visibility. Its use attracts an attacker, who she learns is --an agent of a secret society. They created to suppress the knowledge of technology so advanced it could be straight from a science fiction movie. Now that she knows the secret, she’s at the top of their hit list. She must fight to keep herself and her family alive. This last sentence is too vague for me.
 


What do you think? Leave your critiques in the comments!  I'm sure Stacey appreciates your help!