In It for the Long Haul by Rachelle Gardner from Rants & Ramblings on Life as a Literary Agent. Peek: "...what helps a writer accomplish this goal – and what can sabotage their efforts."
When You Discover Your Agent's Not That Into You by Brodi Ashton from Nathan Bransford - Literary Agent. Peek: "I’m still friends with my first agent, and I admit I learned so much from him. But I would rather be in the query pool, collecting a thousand rejections, than be with an agent whose reaction to my book was, 'Meh.'" See also The All-Important First Chapter by Valerie Kemp from Nathan.
Writing Fight Scenes by Leah Cypress, featuring insights from Jenny Moss, Ellen Oh, Malinda Lo, Dawn Metcalf, Lia Keyes, and Caroline Hooton, from The Enchanted Inkpot. Peek from Ellen: "We have to know that in a fight, the brain doesn't completely go blank. Capturing the heightened intensity of the character's emotions is what makes a fight scene really come alive."
Cobwebs Got Your Story? by Carolyn Kaufman from QueryTracker. Peek: "Unsettled, I peer around the corners into the nooks and crannies of the story only to find sheets of lacy cobwebs and the mummified remains of plot bunnies that didn't quiet make it out to the green pasture before I tucked the story away. Dust coats nearly everything, giving my story a surreal, fuzzy feeling."
Master List of YA Literary Magazines and Journals by S.E. Sinkhorn from maybe genius. Peek: "These are mostly magazines that are on a paying scale, which means they're pro or semi-pro. Some of them don't pay, but are still of a high quality. I'm going to list the magazine/journal along with a link, the age group it's aimed at, and a short description." Source: Alice Pope's SCBWI Market Guide.
New Agent Interview: John Rudolph, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management by Alice Pope from Alice Pope's SCBWI Market Guide. Peek: "Right now, I’m open to pretty much anything and everything, though I will say that I’m not actively looking for picture book manuscripts unless they’re by author/illustrators."
Spooky Screening Room
Nightshade by Andrea Cremer (Philomel, Oct. 19, 2010) ARC giveaway from P.J. Hoover at Roots in Myth. Deadline: midnight Oct. 22. Check out the book trailer below.
Spooky Giveaway Reminder
Enter to win a copy of The Wish Stealers by Tracy Trivas (Aladdin, 2010)! To enter, email me (scroll and click envelope) with your name and type "The Wish Stealers" in the subject line LiveJournal, Facebook, JacketFlap, MySpace, and Twitter readers are also welcome to just privately message or comment me with the name in the header/post. I'll write you for contact information, if you win. Deadline: Oct. 31. Sponsored by Simon & Schuster; U.S. entries only. Read a Cynsations interview with Tracy.Note: the email link was broken on previous announcements of this giveaway. It should work now. Please try again. My apologies for the inconvenience.
More Personally
Hooray! One of my stories is featured in Girl Meets Boy, a YA anthology, edited by Kelly Milner Halls, which literary agent Jill Cocoran sold this week to Chronicle for spring 2012 release! My story is a companion to one by Joseph Bruchac! I'm especially jazzed because this will be my next piece of Native-themed fiction to reach young readers.
Here's the full scoop from Jill! Additional contributing authors: Chris Cruther, Terry Davis, Rebecca Fjelland Davis, Kelly Milner Halls, James Howe, Randy Powell, Sara Ryan, Terry Trueman, Rita Williams-Garcia, and Ellen Wittlinger.
Cynthia Leitich Smith -- Team Werewolf from David and Kelly at YA Book Reads. Peek: "Did it all start with that little girl in the red hood? I can’t say for sure. But werewolves get a bum rap. Ditto werecats and other werepredators. When I decided to write shape shifters, they first thing I did was my homework." Note: check out the worldwide giveaway and the whole line-up for Book Wars: Vampires Versus Werewolves. "Reminder: want to leave a comment at spookycyn? You can do so at the LiveJournal or MySpace versions of this blog as well as at my facebook author page. I'm also online at Twitter and YouTube.
Two Chances to Win Blessed ARC
Blessed by Cynthia Leitich Smith Review and ARC Giveaway by Insert Book Title Here. Peek: "The world of Tantalize and Eternal combine in Blessed (PDF) to create an amazing story that is captivating. I loved both of the previous novels, but Blessed has blown them both out of the water. This is Cynthia at her best." Note: U.S. and Canadian citizens are eligible to win. Deadline: midnight Oct. 31. Enter here.Blessed by Cynthia Leitich Smith ARC Giveaway by P.J. Hoover from Roots in Myth. Deadline: midnight Oct. 15. Note: P.J. is also giving away an ARC of her upcoming novel, The Necropolis (CBAY, 2010). Click titles for details!
On a related note, I was honored to see the cover art for Blessed featured by Amy from A Simple Love of Reading.
Spooky Events
"Beyond Feathers and Fangs: Crossing Borders in Realistic and Fantasy Fiction, with Cynthia Leitich Smith" at The 33rd Annual Mary Calletto Rife Youth Literature Seminar - Kalamazoo Public Library. The seminar costs $40 (lower student rates are available) and is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 4 p.m Nov. 5. Note: Maria Perez-Stable and Beth Amidon will also present a book talk, and additional speakers are Gillian Engberg, Booklist editor, and Debbie Reese, UIUC professor. See more on the speakers. Note: I'll also be speaking on Nov. 4 in a public event at the Kalamazoo Public Library!
