Brenda Drake . . . under the influence of coffee: June 2011

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Four teens judge your story . . . with three editing prizes up for grab!

http://picture-book.com/content/morgan-gaynin-6

Auntie B's Book Club Contest
July 17 -20

It's the final summer for the seniors in my book club that I started with my niece when the girls were in fifth grade. Three of her friends go off to college this fall, while my niece and her other friends will be seniors. Its hard to believe we're at the end of the book club. We've read so many books and had tons of laughs. I'm gong to miss my girls. So at our last meeting, I asked them what made them choose the books we read.

Their first answer was, "You did."

I smirked and said, "Okay, the times when I don't force what you read, what inspires you to buy a book?"

They just sat there blinking and picking at their pizza. When finally the quietest of the girls spoke up. "I read the back of the book and the first page before I decide. It really has to whisk me away, and the characters can't be lame."

While I sat there listening to what they considered lame, an idea hit me. How cool would it be to have a teen pick what would stand out for them in a book store? So I asked the girls if they would like to be judges in my next contest on my blog. They were so excited they wanted to do it right there and then. Well, without going on and on about how this contest came about, here are the deets.

How it's going down...

On July 17 post a 35-word pitch (logline) and the first 250 words of your manuscript on your blog. Get feed back from your followers, and then hop around and critique the other participants' entries. When you're ready to post your entry, come back here and post it to the entry post. It will be up on July 17, and you'll have until 11:59 PM EST on July 20th to enter it. The girls will then read each one and pick the top three that caught their attention.The ones they would pick up and buy in a book store. And, if they have time, they'll visit your blogs and tell you what they think. Just sign up on the linky below to join in all the fun.

What genres can you enter...

My girls love it all. If your main character is 12 to 25, the girls will read it. Any genre. Please no profanity.

Well, yeah, of course there are prizes for the top three...

The winner will receive a 10 page plus a synopsis critique, and two runners up will receive either a 10 page or a synopsis critique from the fabulous Cassandra Marshall agent intern/editor/cover art designer/writer extraordinaire. Cassandra's edits and critiques are so awesome, they're like having a writing coach. With her suggestions and by her pointing out my weakness, I was able to take my writing to a higher level. Plus her services are affordable.

Cassandra Marshall's Website

Meet our judges...

Choir Girl: Able to hit a high note in a single breath. She's the baby of the group. Next year she'll be a senior. Her interests are romance, historical, and really cool memoirs. She does love vampire stories as well.

Drama Girl: Able to shed a tear on command. She'll be going to California to college in the fall. Her interests are anything Jane Austen, mysteries, thrillers, and of course, anything with hot boys in it.

Book Girl: Able to read a book in a day. She's going back East to college in the fall. She loves all genres! She's read the Harry Potter series like five times or so. Her favorite genre is anything fantasy. She wanted me to tell you it isn't about the genre for her, but more about the story and characters.

Sports Girl: Able to out run all of us on a basketball court. She's off to Colorado for college in the fall. She loves anything to do with sports and boys. She likes strong female and sarcastic male main characters. She likes more of the edgy stuff. If it's gross, she's your girl.

So what are you waiting for? Sign up now!

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Saturday, June 25, 2011

Shelley Watter's Birthday Blowout First Page Contest with Victoria Marini

Today is Shelley Watter's Birthday Blowout Blogfest Contest (Happy birthday, Shelley!!!) with agent, Victoria Marini. I was hoping to have my new project completed so that I could enter its first 250 words into the contest. But, alas, I failed at finishing it in time. I decided to post Library Jumpers instead. Some of you have read it before, and I apologize for boring you. Actually, I've been querying Library Jumpers and I get mix comments about the beginning. Some agents say it goes too fast and others say it starts too slow *scratches head*. I came up with two beginnings and I was wondering if you all could read both and tell me which one works best for you.

Title: Library Jumpers
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Word Count: 91,000

1st Beginning . . .

I swallowed my breath mint when some hot guy across the reading room busted me staring at him. I completely froze, unable to tear my eyes away from him. He totally stood out in the conservative atmosphere of the library with his messy brown hair and tight leather gear. His intense gaze held me for several seconds before I shot my eyes at Afton. Submerged in a book on the Salem witch trials--a strand of her dark hair-weave all twisted around her finger--she hadn't even noticed him. A gust of wind came from his direction and rustled the pages of her book. I swung my eyes back to him. He was gone.

"What the . . .?" I blurted and stood to get a better view of the large reading room. The biography on Samuel Adams slipped from my hand and clunked onto the table.

"Shhh, Gia." Afton glared over her book at me. "Hello? We're in a library."

We weren't in just any library. We were in the Boston Athenaeum, an exclusive library with a pricey annual fee. Afton's father got her a membership at the start of summer. It's a good thing her ticket in allows tag-alongs, since my pop would never splurge like that, not when the public library is free.

"What's wrong?" Afton asked.

My eyes flicked around the reading room searching for the guy. In the core of the room, a collection of antique furniture and sculptures surrounded large walnut tables with leather chairs.

2nd beginning . . .

The bloated dark clouds spattered rain against the polyester shield of my faded-red umbrella, threatening to dampen my good mood. I strangled the wobbly handle while dodging hurried shoppers along the tiny makeshift aisle of Haymarket, Boston's famous outdoor produce market. Every Friday and Saturday canopies bloom and produce stands sprout up in the early morning hours in the middle of the bustling city, where venders shout their wares over tangled conversations and the howl of the nearby traffic. The site, just off the North End, is totally packed and stinky. The fruits and vegetables sold there are rejects from nearby supermarkets. Basically, they're sort of edible and crazy cheap.

"Limes!" an older Italian man with a huge belly yelled. "Twelve for a dollar!"

I skirted around a group of slow-moving tourists.

"Real Sugar Cane!" a craggy woman bellowed over the crowd, her weather-battered face looking just like brown leather.

"A buck a pound!" another man shouted as he held up a tomato in his sausage-sized fingers.

"Fish! Fresh off the boat," a shorter man lied.

The stench from the fish gagged me and I hurried past the booth, holding my breath. I rushed up the street, my sandals slapping against the wet pavement. The rain slobbered my legs, and I cursed my friend, Afton, for insisting I wear a skirt today. Breaking through the crowd, I continued up the street to the Haymarket entrance to The T, Boston's subway system.

Across the street, my two best friends huddled under a black umbrella.

Thanks for stopping by and stop over at Shelley's blog Is It Hot In Here Or Is It This Book? to check out all the other participants entries.

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