Library Lovin’ Challenge
This is a library-loving blog challenge created by my good friend and fabulously talented writer, Jenn Hubbard (check out The Secret Year)!
For every commenter on this post between now and March 27th at 4 pm, I will donate $1 to my local library: Cherry Hill Public Library (Cherry Hill, NJ), up to an amount of $50.
How easy could it be? You comment, I cough up the money, the library gets a gift! If you don’t know what to say in your comment, “I love libraries” will do.
Note that my pledge is “per commenter”—so if a single person leaves 50 comments, that still only counts once! But you can do more by spreading the word ... please link to this post, tweet about it, and send your friends here so they can comment and raise more money.
If you’re moved to make a flat-fee donation to your library, or to start your own challenge, you are quite welcome, and please leave that information in the comments.
For a complete list of participating bloggers (and to visit other sites where you can help libraries just by leaving a comment!) visit the writerjenn blog at http://writerjenn.livejournal.com/
Hello August
I've been working hard, and I'm afraid I've ignored you--my little blog.Received an acceptance letter to the Rutgers One on One Mentoring Conference. Yay. It takes place in October. I'll be sure to post a slew of info afterwards. Read this interesting interview. Take a peek. DEAD GIRL WALKING: 20 YEARS TO PUBLICATION By Linda Joy Singleton (in celebration of the release of DEAD GIRL IN LOVE) Would you stick with a book if you knew it would take 20 years from idea to publication? In 1988 I wrote TURN LEFT AT THE MILKY WAY. Every few years I would rewrite and submit again. In 2007, I changed the title to DEAD GIRL WALKING. Here are author-editor emails that followed: June 22, 2007 (8:30AM): Emailing my Flux editor, Andrew Karre, on another project, I added:
June 22, 2007 (10:30AM): From my editor:
If you d like to send DEAD GIRL WALKING (email, please), I d have a look, of course.
July 3, 2007 (2PM): From my editor:
Are you going to around on Thursday or Friday? If you are, I’d like to chat with you about this project. Let me know when you’ll have some time.
July 3, 2007 (3:07PM) To my editor:
I'd love to talk with you on Thursday.
July 5, 2007 (1:47PM) From my editor:
It was good to talk, as always. I’m attaching my markup of the ms (notes in the right margin), but it’s mostly what I said on the phone. I m excited to see how this develops. I m sure you’ll surprise me.
July 5, 2007: (2:03PM) To my editor:
I've been thinking it over and see the arc of at least 3 books, following her as she tries to go back to her own body. I'll work on it more and send you a basic description of the three books.
I'm playing with titles and have these ideas so far:
DEAD GIRL DANCING and DEAD GIRL IN LOVE
I think the DANCING one could stem from her desire to be an entertainment agent. I'm seeing Amber as someone who can't figure out who she is and envies others, wishing she could have their life because it seems easier or more glamorous. Getting lost, finding herself...themes I'm working on.
July 9, 2007 (10:47AM): To my editor:
I expect to send you revised chapters and a new synopsis later this week. I am very excited about your idea of a possible short DEAD GIRL series.
July 11, 2007 (10:40AM) From my editor:
I read your new draft, and I think it is much improved. This is much closer to what I was picturing, and I feel like you’ve started out on the right foot with your protagonist. I like this Amber a lot more, and I want to know what happens to her. Of course, I have comments and I’ll pass them along in a bit, but in the main this is what I was hoping you d do. Bravo!
July 11, 2007 (11:05AM): To my editor:
I'll start plotting the additional books and get this to you within a few days. By the way, I love your ideas about other people being like Amber--very cool! My brain wheels are churning.
July 16, 2007 (3:38PM) From my editor:
I will be pitching the series to the committee on Thursday, so expect to hear from me on Thursday or more likely Friday.
July 16, 2007 (4:00PM) To my editor:
Great! Thursday I'll be home but Friday I'll be camping.
Thursday, July 19, 2007: From Linda Joy Singleton’s journal:
At 9AM the phone rang. Editor Andrew...
I sucked in deep breaths and kind of stammered something like "Hi...gasp." He chuckled and said he had good news. Then he offered me a 3-book contract with DEAD GIRL WALKING; DEAD GIRL DANCING
and DEAD GIRL IN LOVE. YAY!!!!!
DEAD GIRL IN LOVE is now available -- completing the trilogy about love, loss, best friends and body-swapping.
Whatever Wednesday…
Spent the morning at the hospital with my son. More docs. More tests.
Utilized 2 hr wait to formulate questions for my blog's first author interview!
Came home. Baked an Irish Pound Cake (why is Irish in the title? Might have something to do with the whiskey required for the recipe).
Industry news tomorrow.
Coll
Whatever Wednesday…
My very first interview decribing me as a writer is here: http://www.querytracker.net/colleenk.php Exciting! Coll
Monday and Tuesday…
Sorry, missed my Monday:what am I reading post. The day was spent with trying to pick the new paint colors for our house. Sounds easy--until you pick up the 2000+ color palette.!!!. Thought I made the right choices. Boy was I wrong. Ick. Going back to a trio of colors similiar to ones the old owners had picked. Misted lilac sounded so pretty, with dove white, and red earth. Misted lilac was supposed to look like a slightly purple tinged gray--not pink! I did read a good book last week called Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan. Margo has a magical way of writing, and the ideas are so original. It took a bit of time for me to get into the swing of the phrasing. She's from Australia, but the dialogue sounds(to me) like perhaps England or Whales in the 1600's (I'm no expert and could be totally off). I fell in love with the writing, and will read it again at some point. Tuesday: Writing challenge. My writing challenge is to finish the first two chapters of my book before Monday. I try to make weekly challenges for myself, if not, time has a habit of slipping away. Guess it keeps me on task. Had my first interview! I'll post it when it is online. Coll
