Touchable Pants

Here we go, Minions. The reason Paul said the weird things about pants being touchable (he says weird things all the time, but I felt this one needed clarification) is that I have a brand spankin' new cover for EIGHTH GRADE BITES! And with the cool, glossy black ink they plan to use, Vlad's pants...well, I think they'll be touchable too. Let me know what you think.

Here's the front:
And here's the back:

I'm particularly in love with that vampire smiley (DUDE! How COOL is that??). The colors, the boy. It's all so perfect! Not that I didn't love my last cover (I really did), but this one just feels right, y'know? My editor summed it up best when she said that after she saw this cover, she couldn't imagine any other cover for EGB.

Now I just have to let my brilliant web designer know my site needs more changes...

Catching Up

What a horrible, rogue blogger I've been lately. But I have an excuse! Actually, a couple. For one, I was busy setting up my 'Blood Test' contest. I was also busy enjoying the company of Ms. Linda Levandoski's 'Books Fall Open' class at Pattonville Heights Middle School (her 7th and 8th graders are brilliant, funny, and about as cool as you can get). I was brushing up NINTH GRADE SUCKS for my fabulous agent's perusal (which he'll be perusing over the holidays--yay!). And I've also been dealing with (read: entering full-on SQUEE! mode) some news that I'm not ready to sahre here just yet (soon, my minions...I promise--think "touchable pants"). In short, I've been a busy little Minion overlord.

So catch me up...what have my Minions been up to?

"His pants look like they should be touchable..."

Yep. Touchable. That, my Minions, is the weirdest thing I think I've ever heard (thanks, Paul!)...and I'll tell you all about soon. Promise.

'Blood Test' Contest Announced!

Have you studied? Because there will be a test.

My second contest is going on now! Happy entering, Minions!

2007 Backspace Writers Conference Scholarship Guidelines

Thanks to an extremely generous anonymous donor, two full-tuition scholarships to the 2007 Backspace Writers Conference will be awarded to writers whose work shows exceptional promise, and who have completed a novel and are actively seeking an agent to represent their work.

Tuition scholarships cover the conference registration fee, travel expenses to and from New York City, and hotel accommodations (May 30 - June 1).*

Applications must be received between January 15 and March 1, 2007. Winners will be notified by April 15, 2007.

Applications will be accepted via email only, and should include the following:

1. A copy of your query letter and one-page synopsis (synopses may be single or double-spaced)

2. A detailed list of publishing credits (if applicable)3. The first three chapters of your novel (maximum 10,000 words), formatted according to the guidelines below. If your novel opens with a prologue, the prologue should be included4. A 400-word essay explaining how you hope to benefit from the conferenceManuscript submission guidelines:

-Submissions will be read blind. Please make sure that your name does not appear on your materials except in your cover email.
-Manuscript pages should be in standard format, double-spaced with 12 pt. font (Courier or Times Roman) and margins of at least 1.25"
-Materials (query letter, synopsis, and sample pages) should be compiled into a single file named "tuition scholarship-title of book." Email the file as an attachment (.doc or .rtf extension) to: scholarship@bksp.org.

Materials will be acknowledged by email receipt. There will be no additional correspondence except with scholarship winners.

Applications received outside the application window (January 15 - March 1, 2007) cannot be considered.

Award determinations will be based on both the writing sample and the personal essay. Winners will be asked to submit a picture and bio for the conference program and website. Judges' decisions are final. Please refer questions to Karen Dionne (karendionne@bksp.org).

* Sleeping rooms for award recipients will not be booked at The Algonquin, but will be reserved at Backspace's discretion at a nearby hotel. Cost of travel to and from New York City (coach round-trip airfare within the 48 contiguous United States) will be reimbursed once travel arrangements have been booked by scholarship winners. Award recipients may be asked to help out during the conference in minor ways that will not interfere unduly with their benefitting from the conference program.

Judges:
Mark Bastable, Scholarship Committee Chair
Harry Hunsicker
Elizabeth Letts

Scary Mary

Check out this video over at Fuse #8.

...I always knew there was something off about Mary Poppins...

Brrrrrrrr...I'm f-f-f-freeeezing!

Vlad is chipping icecicles off of his fangs and I'm as bundled up as I can get, perched in front of a heater. All we can do is shiver. Methinks it's time for a visit to one of two things. A) a sauna or B) a beach. But, as Vlad and I have access to neither right now, we'll have to suffer with a wind chill factor of ONE FRIGGIN' DEGREE!

Not to mention that my fingers are so cold, it's hard to type. *grumble* But type I shall, as I woke up with the urge to tweak a few more aspects of NINTH GRADE SUCKS. Now if I could only thaw my brain enough to focus...

Bah Humbug!

It's that time of year again, where some poor, unsuspecting tree gets sacrificed, only to end up standing in someone's living room, decorated and degraded. Poor tree. Anyway...happy holidays! ARCs of EIGHTH GRADE BITES are mailed and I'm trying to focus on ANYTHING but the fact that people are reading my book. Because I'm quite sure it's terrible, and the hate mail will roll in soon, perhaps attached to the poisoned spines of porcupines. (Yay! I rhymed!) So...there's some holiday cheer for ya. Humbug, indeed.

Curious and Curiouser

I've been feeling pretty solitary lately. It's not a bad thing (this time), just different. It sometimes feels like the world is spinning fast around me, while I'm sitting at my desk, plugging away at stories that lurk in the shadows in the back of my mind. But the world goes on spinning. And sometimes, I glance up at what's going on and wonder why I'm not a part of it. Occasionally, I'll pop my head into the fray long enough to say hello, but it's not like I'm there. I'm here. Writing.

It's a weird feeling.