Once More With DRAGONS: My YA Book Deal Announcement Is Out!

There you have it, folks. BLAZEWRATH, also known as The Book Of My Dreams, will be published in Fall 2020.

I can’t believe I wrote that sentence.

This book has been haunting me since 2014. It took me two years to figure out the story it really was, and to find the courage to write it. No other book had intimidated me quite like this one. I figured I was too terrible of a writer to actually try drafting it. When I finally started it in December 2016, it was a slow and painful process made even more so after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017. That first draft took a backseat while I dealt with the lack of power, water, and the will to do anything productive. Hands down, it was the worst period of my life.

I hope to write more about how BLAZEWRATH came to be a completed manuscript, and how it’s going to be a real book next year. For now, I just wanted to share my excitement over a project that’s challenged me and fulfilled me the most out of anything I’ve written. This wild ride started three years ago.

I can’t wait to see where it takes me next.

CONGRATS To My Operation Awesome Buddy, Angela Townsend!!

Yesterday was a pretty good day, folks.

Why?

Because THIS happened:

Angela Townsend's AMAROK, set in a remote Alaskan town, when a runaway is kidnapped by an evil man and his black wolf, whom she later discovers is a boy enslaved by an ancient shaman; she must find the strength to save herself and the wolf, and in turn discover what love truly means, to Kate Kaynak at Spencer Hill Press, by Jill Corcoran at The Herman Agency (NA). 

*break-dances*

*screams*

*dies*

HUGE congrats to Angie!!! I can't wait for y'all to read Amarok!! And I can't wait to actually hold it in my hands!!! 

You can go congratulate Angie on Twitter, and stay tuned to Operation Awesome for our celebration!!

Are You Better Than Snooki?

So. Snooki. She's on this show:

And she wrote this book:

And she's now officially a New York Times Bestselling Author.

Many people hate this. Others don't seem to mind.

Those who do mind say Snooki doesn't deserve to be a NYT Bestselling Author. Their arguments are:

a) she didn't write the book herself

b) she's taking another (real) writer's spot on the list

c) she's Snooki

I, folks, have zero problems with Snooki being an author. My argument is:

a) young adults are reading

They're caring about books. They're not just focusing on what their teachers assign in class. They're going to the store and buying books that are relevant to pop culture, whether adults are familiar with that pop culture or not. Or whether that pop culture is worthy of emulation or not.

If you say you hate the fact that Snooki's a Bestselling author, I interpret that in two ways:

a) you think teens should be reading better books, such as the ones you write

which means

b) you think you're a better writer than Snooki 

If that's the case, I have a tip for you: keep writing.

If you are a better writer than Snooki, that means you'll get a book deal. Because if she did it, so will you, right? Someday your book will be on shelves. Young adults will be buying your book. They will be choosing it over the classics they call boring and hard to read. You will show the world what real quality writing is. That teens are wasting their time reading books by people who drink and have sex on TV. 

Is that why you want to get published? 

Don't you think people will say the same thing about your book when (if) it hits shelves?

Aren't literary fiction writers against YA because they think it's not quality fiction? That it's what you do before taking writing seriously, like playing pretend until you're good enough?

Alas, the cycle of snob life continues...

Congrats, Kody!!

Aside from being awesome, Kody Keplinger is the author of this book:

Today the blogosphere is buzzing about some great news for Kody: she just sold another book to Poppy!!! 

*throws confetti* 

*eats cake on her behalf* *lots of it*

Here's the official announcement from Publishers Marketplace:

Nineteen-year-old Duff author Kody Keplinger's LUSTSTRUCK, a contemporary reimagining of the Greek play "Lysistrata," that explores the issues of teen sexuality as high school senior Lissa decides it's time to end her school's ridiculous sports rivalry once and for all with a hook-up strike, to Kate Sullivan at Poppy, for publication in Fall 2011, by Joanna Volpe at Nancy Coffey Literary & Media Representation (World).

Reimaginings of Greek plays? Hook-up strikes? 

I am so there.

So here's to Kody and her awesomeness. Fall 2011 can't get here soon enough :D

Congrats, Elana!!!

Epic day, peeps. I'm sure you already know this, but the uber-awesome Elana Johnson HAS A BOOK DEAL!!!!!




Even though she has no idea who I am, I've read almost every article she's written for the Query Tracker website (girl has helped me more than she'll ever know...). Also, I'm a follower on her blog, which makes me just as uber-awesome as she is.

Okay... It doesn't... But whatever...

The point is that Elana's journey can teach every aspiring author sooo much:

Persevere, persevere, persevere!

Set small goals as well as big picture ones.

Learn when to quit on a story, then write a better one.

Read within and outside the genre you write.

Find crit partners who'll help you hone your craft, and return the favor.

And did I mention persevere? :D


On behalf of all us aspiring authors in the universe, congrats, Elana!!!!