Writer's Creed 2013

My friend Sheri Larsen has posted the following Writer's Creed, and invited everyone to join her.

So read the Creed below, and in the comments, tell me what you plan to do with your writing this year. Then jump over to Sheri's blog, and grab the Creed for yourself!

No Kiss Blogfest

HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone!

So, I was super excited to see a link to the 4th annual No Kiss Blogfest hosted by the lovely Frankie Diane Mallis. (<---click the link to find the other No Kiss Blogfest entries)

I had so much fun last year, and got really excited to participate again this year.

And then I thought about my WIP.  My very dark WIP during which my hero and heroine are separated for most of the book. :-/

And besides what I posted last year, none of my other mss have anything that would work. *sigh*

I could post a you tube video, or type out an excerpt of a great non-kiss from a favorite book (HEX HALL, anyone?), but I dunno. I just didn't want to do that. I even tried to write something, but that totally did not work.

So, I'm cheating a little. I'm posting a scene from my current WIP--a flashback scene of how the main characters met, which may or may not make it into the final draft. They don't almost kiss in the scene, but I think it has that flirtiness that is at the heart of many almost-kiss scenes.

It's a little long, but I hope you enjoy it. Leave me a comment and let me know, and don't forget to scroll back up and continue on the hop!

Inside, I shrug off my backpack and unload the stuff from the store.  Chrissy must have heard me, because she comes in just as I take the carrots out.

“Hey, slow poke,” she says, grabbing a cutting board.

My cheeks heat.  “Sorry.  Class went over.  I grabbed the stuff at the store as fast as I could, although I did get distracted by a super weird conversation with a guy,” I say, knowing the guy will distract her from bugging me about my tardiness.

“Wait.”  She pauses mid-chop and turns to me.  “What guy?  Tell me everything.”

Laughing, I tell her about the guy, who, now that I think about it, was pretty cute, if a bit muscley for my taste.  “So I was like, ‘Yeah, yum,’ and then I went to get the rest of the stuff on your list.” 

I wait for Chrissy’s comment, but she’s silent.  Surprised, I glance over at her and laugh—she’s staring at me with her mouth open.  “What?”

“You just left? You didn’t even smile at him or anything?”

“Uh, no.  Why would I?”

She rolls her eyes.  “Oh, Bree.  I guess I have to spell it out for you.  He.  Was.  Flirting.”

I burst out laughing. “Yeah, sure he was.  Over the yucca root.  Riiiiiight.”

She waves her hand.  “Not the most romantic place, I’ll admit, but he was improvising.”  Turning back to her chopping, she mumbles, “I wonder who it was?  You said he was muscular and tall?”

I nod, closing my eyes to picture him. “He had brown hair.  Kind of wavy, but not long.  Just sort of shaggy, I guess.  And green eyes.”  Really nice, piercing green eyes.  I shake my head.  If I say that out loud, Chrissy will hound me to death.  She might even go hunt the guy down.

“And you thought they were football players from Park?”

“They kind of looked familiar.”

Chrissy sighs.  “What am I going to do with you, Bree?  You have to pay attention.”

I snort.  “I was paying attention—to what I was there for.”

She shakes her head and finishes chopping the vegetables.  I help her arrange them on a tray and pour some dipping sauces into bowls.  She starts putting frozen taquitos on a pan while I carry the tray out to the table.

I nod at a few people who say hey as I walk by.  It’s so weird for everyone to know my name when I only know a few because I’ve only been here a little over a month.  Shaking my head, I set the tray on the table.  Chrissy had laughed at me for suggesting a veggie tray, but given the way a bunch of people descend on it as soon as I step back, I’m not the only person who likes a little variety in the normal, greasy party fare.

Glancing up, I notice the ice bucket is almost empty.  I turn around to get more and run smack into a large, muscled chest. 

“Sorry!” I say, lifting my gaze to see who I bumped into.  “Oh.”  Holy crap, it’s the guy from the store.

His green eyes spark with humor as they meet mine.  “Nice running into you again,” he says.  “I didn’t get to introduce myself earlier.  I’m Brian.”

“Uh, Bree,” I say.  Oh jeez I feel like an idiot.  “I, uh, need to get some more ice.”  My cheeks feel like they’re on fire.

“I’ll help,” he says, turning and gesturing me through the doorway back to the kitchen.

I cringe, but lead the way.  I do not want to think about what Chrissy will say when she sees Brian.

Increasing my pace as I enter the kitchen, I hurry over to Chrissy and whisper in her ear.  “He’s here—right behind me.”

“Who?” she asks, turning.  Then her eyes widen as Brian saunters in, leaning his hip against the doorframe. 

“Hey, Chrissy.  Did Pete bring the extra food in here yet?  We grabbed a few things at the store before we came.”

“Yeah, thanks,” she says, then throws a mischievous glance my way.  “I heard you guys were at the store.”

The corners of his mouth creep up, and he turns his gaze to me.  “You did, did you?”

My cheeks must be the color of the strawberries Chrissy is cutting up.  “Chrissy…”

But she goes on, just like I knew she would.  “So.  Brian.  You can settle an argument for us.”  Her eyes twinkle.  “Bree ran into a guy at the store who sounded an awful lot like you.”

He nods, still staring at me.  I can’t look away, even though I feel like running and hiding.

“She told me about an exchange they had, and I told her he was flirting, but she doesn’t believe me.”  Chrissy is full-out grinning now.

My heart is pounding, and I have to lean against the counter.

“Oh, he was definitely flirting,” he replies.

Holy shit.

Chrissy nods.  “That’s what I thought.  Bree, why don’t you and Brian go get a drink.  I’ve got the food.”

Brian holds his hand out to me, and without even meaning to, I take it.  As he leads me back to the table where the drinks are, I turn back to glare at Chrissy.  She just grins at me, and I find myself grinning back.

 

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)