She wasn’t normally this miserable. Or this desperate. Twenty more minutes of waiting and she would have to do the unthinkable. Elise emptied the dirty, soapy water down a drain in the tavern’s kitchen floor. Disposing of the water like that in her uncle’s presence would have earned her a slap across the face. He … Continue reading Read Prologue Teaser for “Prelude to Morning” YA dystopian fantasy
Month: September 2014
To Prologue or Not To Prologue
I choose to prologue for my YA dark fantasy, but not for my Middle Grade fantasy based on this new knowledge.
When is the right time of year to query an agent?
Great question and a wonderful answer.
Answer: whenever your book is ready!
The only time you shouldn’t query an agent is when they’re closed to queries, and some agents never close. (Note: PSLA closes from Christmas to New Years Day.)
Don’t waste your time waiting for the ‘okay’ to query.
Some people say don’t query during certain months or holidays, but agents read all queries, and generally in the order they’re received. So if you query on a Sunday night we don’t read it on a Sunday. We’ll read it at noon the next Thursday.
Don’t give yourself an extra excuse to get that project out the door!
Q: What excuses do you tell yourself to stop you from querying?
The Strong Female Character: I Do Not Think That Means What Some People Think It Means
This issue has been on my mind often, but Debbie’s post did more justice to the topic than I ever could. Well done!
I recently started watching the new TV series Outlander, based on the popular books by Diana Gabaldon. I have never read the books. The series sounded like something I might enjoy, about a woman who time-travels to 18th Century Scotland.
After watching two episodes, I’m already done with it.
I see people raving about the show on Twitter and other social media. Like Charlie Brown, I don’t know how to argue with success. Something is resonating with many viewers, and I don’t mind that they are enjoying it.
But to me it’s a major disappointment. It made me think of how the term “strong female character” is so often misconstrued.
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How to Write a Great Marketing Plan For Your Book Proposal
*Rubs hands* Looking forward to this . . .
Most writers are intimidated by book proposals. I can see why. Writers are writers, not salesmen, not marketers, not researchers, and not necessarily aggressive self-promoters. But all of these qualities are necessary when you are putting together your proposal.
I don’t think proposals are that hard, that is unless you don’t have a clear idea of what your book is about. And even then, I have found that in the process of writing the proposal, the writer’s ideas become clarified, the structure of the book tightened up, weaknesses become apparent, and more often than not the concept of the book gets strengthened. Writing the proposal is time well spent. And a good agent will lead you through that process.
Simply put, a book proposal is a business plan. The purpose of the proposal is to describe your book idea to a publisher and to get them excited about it. But…
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8 YA Science Fiction & Fantasy Books with Black / Afrikan Teen Heroes and Sheroes!
It’s so wonderful and inspiring to see more people of color in taking front and center stage in the grand theater of Science Fiction and Fantasy! Very inspiring and informative post! Thank you.
In her insightful article, ‘Kid Lit Equality – Fantasy or Reality?’ author Zetta Elliot says “There’s clearly a direct link between the misrepresentation of Black youth as inherently criminal and the justification given by those who brazenly take their lives. The publishing industry can’t solve this problem, but the relative lack of children’s books by and about people of color nonetheless functions as a kind of “symbolic annihilation.” Despite the fact that the majority of school-age children in the US are now kids of color, the US publishing industry continues to produce books that overwhelmingly feature white children only. The message is clear: the lives of kids of color don’t matter.”
While there should be much more literature written for and about Black youth, there are several great works out there. Below is a list of some of the better and more unique works for YA readers, aged 12-18…
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My Newest Book Is Out and I’m Excited!
Motivation, people! I’m so happy for this fellow author! Where’s the wine? Time to celebrate.
I have a new book out now in the Kindle edition and soon to come out as a trade paperback. Its title is A Mix of Magics, and it is the third book in the Arucadi: The Beginning series. When I started working on it, I expected that series to be a trilogy, and that this book would complete it. But as I approached the ending, I decided I’d need a fourth book to complete the series. However, as I don’t like cliffhanger endings, the story in this novel is complete. And here’s the cover art: 
Quite a few characters from Mistress of the Wind and Bringers of Magic appear in the novel, so although I’ve tried to supply all the information a reader will need who reads this book, it will be clearer to those who have read the first two books. But, I repeat, the story told…
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Celebrate Banned Books Week With Your Favorite Comic
Oooh, Banned Books Week. Interesting . . .
Almost all comics published between 1954 and the 2000s bore this seal, indicating they met a set of rigid standards pertaining to sexuality, violence, and other things.
Yesterday began this year’s Banned Books Week, and lists maintained by the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and the American Library Association show that comics are as susceptible to banning as their prose cousins.
In a way, it’s flattering to the medium that comics and graphic novels are being challenged and banned in public school systems and libraries each year alongside well-known literary classics (“challenged” means someone wanted the book removed but was unsuccessful in their bid, and the book remained on the shelves).
It means kids are reading these books, that they’re making it onto curricula and reading lists, and that they’re making people uncomfortable.
But kids have been reading comics since adults have been publishing them. And the history of censorship…
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Monique L. Desir 