Forging Fridays - We're Getting Close

Today is our seventeenth Forging Fridays Query! Wow...sixteen, this year is flying by. Yay! We love volunteers! As stated before, I won't be revealing the identities of the volunteers for Forging Fridays unless otherwise requested. If you feel like unmasking yourselves in the comments, be my guest. But, I won't mention anyone by name.

Here is our next volunteer! *applause* *cheers* *confetti*

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Dear [Agent Name]:

PERMAFROST is a 75,000 word young adult fantasy. [Add in personalization to the agent.]

In the frozen tundra, Light and Dark each claim six months of every year and survival depends on the good graces of the twin goddesses.  Intriguing opening, but it isn't clear enough. Are the goddesses actually personified Light and Dark? Are there twin goddesses that give their grace to survival, but they're separate from these Light and Dark entities? Or is the 'goddesses' reference just some kind of metaphor for the light and dark?

Sixteen-year-old Aurora, a shaman-in-training with an eccentric passion for art, wants nothing more than to be useful to her village like her father, the head shaman.  Her last trial before completing her studies is to enter the malevolent Spirit Realm and greet the goddess of Dark at the annual coming-of-Dark celebration.  Any offense to the heartless goddess would cause six months of freezing and starvation. Great! This paragraph does a great job of telling us what she wants, what she has to do and what's at stake.

Aurora’s spirit guide should be waiting for her in the Spirit Realm, but when she arrives she is alone and unprotected; her great-grandmother’s spirit has gone missing.  Her disappearance could not have been voluntary as she is tied to Aurora, obligated to protect and guide her.  She’s been taken. 

Without her, Aurora cannot traverse the Spirit Realm or greet the goddess.  Many will perish due to Aurora’s failure How and why? This isn't clear.  Perhaps more frightening is her spirit guide’s disappearance. Not even her father can fathom what it may mean for the Spirit Realm or for theirs. This paragraph introduces a lot of information. I'd probably focus more on the central problem of the book. Is it that her great-grandmother's spirit is missing? Or is it about greeting the goddess. I see that they're tied together,but simplifying this is probably a good idea.

She is determined to rectify her offense, what offense? will there be no light because she didn't greet her? Or is there no light only if she offends Dark (as you mentioned). This should be clearer. find her great-grandmother’s spirit, and save them all.  Without a way to safely enter the Spirit Realm, Aurora leaves her beloved village with I'd rephrase this. The first couple of times I read it, it sounded like she was leaving the village in the trainees' care. Maybe just put in "and leads" right here  two fellow trainees on a suicide mission to cross the tundra.  They must find the only place where the spiritual and physical overlap – the feared frozen tomb of the goddess.

PERMAFROST will appeal to fans of fantasies based on cultures other than medieval Britain, such as Leigh Bardugo’s SHADOW AND BONE.  I am a member of SCBWI and an editorial intern for REDACTED.

Thank you for your time and consideration.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Strong finish. This is extremely well done. Just a bit of polish in a couple of places and you've got a great query here. Best of luck to you!

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Okay, that's it for today and this query. Thank you so much for volunteering, oh mystery writer! :) I really hope this helped you. It takes guts to send in a query, to me or an agent. Go you! You have awesome guts! :)

So, what do you guys think? Agree or disagree with my assessments? Discuss! May we all be tougher and stronger thanks to our days in the fire.

Debut Dabbles 3.5 Weeks Out

Before (and after) I got my book deal, I always wondered what it was like the last few weeks before a book came out. So, I thought I'd put it down here in vloggish form for posterity.

So here is the second report, recorded yesterday, 3.5 weeks before my book release and about a month before my book launch. Feel free to mock how badly I fail at this whole vlogging thing. :)

So there you have it. That's what I've been doing this week. What about you?

Stop by Elana Johnson's blog today! Read her review/interview about Insomnia and enter to win a NOOK HD in my Insomnia Pre-order Giveaway!

Craziness, Early Release & Final Copies!!

Today is twenty-seven days until the release of Insomnia and official madness has ensued.

We have the Insomnia Pre-Order Nook HD Giveaway going on. Also, I spent the weekend at Storymakers Conference which is always great.

So that's all awesome and amazing...

And then --

Amazon sent out an email to some of those that pre-ordered earliest, that they moved up their expected delivery date for Insomnia to THIS FRIDAY.

 

The cat is my fave, watch for him... :)

So, yeah...no big deal...just apparently that my book will be sent out to some of you as early as THIS WEEK! *cue sound of my head exploding here*

**Sidenote -- this will not alter the pre-order giveaway. Anyone ordering (with receipt dated) before the close of contest date on May 31st will be eligible to win whether the book is sent immediately or not.**

Oh, and if that wasn't enough, on Saturday, I came home from the conference to finished copies of Insomnia!!

Guys, I know this sounds weird knowing the creepy nature of the cover and all that, but these are gorgeous. They're done in matte with all the cracks out from the eye and the title glossy, it's incredible. Flux has really outdone themselves. I was blown away. This picture here is of the cover flat so you can see the whole thing, and even so, the pic doesn't do it justice, but you might be able to see a little bit of what I'm talking about here:

See how the lines kind of shine with the light? Plus, you can see his whole face better with the cover flat. It's so freaking cool!! :)

Anyway -- SO MUCH HAPPY FLAILING!!

Anything new with you? :)

Forging Fridays - Just a Smidge

Today is our sixteenth Forging Fridays Query! Wow...sixteen, this year is flying by. Yay! We love volunteers! As stated before, I won't be revealing the identities of the volunteers for Forging Fridays unless otherwise requested. If you feel like unmasking yourselves in the comments, be my guest. But, I won't mention anyone by name.

Here is our next volunteer! *applause* *cheers* *confetti*

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Dear [agent]

It was the day 12-year-old Jeremy Miner had dreaded for years. The day when the list of boys at St. Edith’s school finally dwindled to one: him. this is super cute. but after reading the next paragraph, I don't think you need it. You'll see what I mean.

I'd consolidate these two paragraphs and to be honest... I'd probably move this part to the top it's a stronger opening. Start with "12-year-old Jeremy Miner had a girl problem" and go on from there and then make the last line "and after an experiment in going coed fails, Jeremy is the only boy left". This is really cute and has great voice. I can practically hear him groaning. Because Jeremy had a girl problem. Or, more accurately, a girls problem. Four hundred and seventy-five of them. That’s how many girls attend St. Edith’s, after a failed experiment in going coed left the school with a diminishing roster of boy students.

When the second-to-last boy transfers, Jeremy realizes he needs to escape -- but his stressed-out single mother will never let him transfer, since the scholarship he has as the son of a school employee is the only reason she can afford to send him to private school at all. So he and his best friend Claudia hatch a plan to get him expelled through a series of escalating pranks designed to stir things up at the normally staid St. Edith's, involving armies of garden gnomes, doctored doorknobs, and a late-night snow masterpiece.  But when his pranks start to have unexpected consequences he begins to question if he's misjudged his school, his friends and himself all along. This all sounds great, I'd recommend adding just that extra punch of voice in this paragraph that you have in the previous ones and I think you're golden. Currently, this one reads a bit more like a synopsis than the rest of it and you want to carry that same voice throughout.

THE LAST BOY AT ST. EDITH'S is a 46,000 word contemporary realistic middle grade novel a set in the private schools and old mill towns of Western Massachusetts. I'm a Redacted

Thank you,

Redacted

So...pretty much this is awesome already. Just a few minor tweaks to make it even better. :) Hope this helps and good luck!

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Okay, that's it for today and this query. Thank you so much for volunteering, oh mystery writer! :) I really hope this helped you. It takes guts to send in a query, to me or an agent. Go you! You have awesome guts! :)

So, what do you guys think? Agree or disagree with my assessments? Discuss! May we all be tougher and stronger thanks to our days in the fire.

Debut Dabbles 5 Weeks Out

Before (and after) I got my book deal, I always wondered what it was like the last few weeks before a book came out. So, I thought I'd put it down here in vloggish form for posterity.

So here is the first report, recorded almost 5 weeks before my book release and about 6 weeks before my book launch. Feel free to mock how badly I fail at this whole vlogging thing. :)

And don't forget to stop over and enter to

Win a NookHD in the Insomnia Pre-order Giveaway! 

INSOMNIA NookHD Giveaway!

It is just over one month until the release of Insomnia.

Yes...seriously...

I think it's high time we give something awesome away, don't you? Yeah...that's what I thought. :)

So, here is the deal. Insomnia is up for pre-order all over the place for between $7.15 and $9.99. You pre-order a copy from the retailer of your choice, because we all know you want to--and even if you don't, I'm going to pretend you do because I'm delusional and I like it that way--after you pre-order, you can...

Enter to win a NookHD 16GB tablet w/blue case! 

($250 value)

I know what you're thinking..."But Jenn! I already pre-ordered my copy of Insomnia!" Fear not...that still counts. And it's even better for you, because you don't have to spend any additional money and you can still win the Nook!

Huzzah!

I'm sure right about now you're feeling like this guy:

But try to remain calm, it keeps the mouse from slipping out of your hands and injuring innocent bystanders. I know this from experience...

Don't ask. 

This giveaway is going through the end of May and once you put in your pre-order entry, there are other cool ways to earn bonus entries (like tweeting). I also have some awesome authors who are helping me out by hosting giveaway stops, so stay tuned for those. Here is a little more info on what Insomnia is about in case you need a refresher.

Here are a few places you can pre-order:

B&N ~ BAM ~ Amazon ~ Indiebound ~ The Book Depository

And for those planning to attend my book launch on June 18th (I LOVE YOU!), you can pre-order Insomnia on The King's English site now, check the "pick up at the store" option and it will be there for you at the launch party! Or if you'd like your copy signed and sent to you, just specify in the special order comments section on TKE's site and we'll make it happen.

Thank you so much for your support. Seriously, every single book purchase helps and I'm humbled by my amazing family, friends and fans. You are the best!

Now go! Buy! Enter! Win! :) 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Epic Insomnia Dare of 2013

In honor of the impending release (37 days) of my debut novel, Insomnia, *cue hyperventilating in 3--2--1--* I wanted to do something fun.

And in this case, fun = 3 things.

~ Friends
~ Prizes (up for grabs will be signed YA books!)
~ A Good Cause (donations to help find a cure for Diabetes!)

Yep, hanging out, giving stuff away, and curing bad diseases -- It's what I do best.

So...I have challenged Elsie Chapman (author of kick-butt YA Novel, DUALED) to an INSOMNIA-OFF! Or as I like to call it,

The Epic Insomnia Dare of 2013 

Details: Starting this Sunday night, May 5 at 11pm (Pacific), Elsie and I will be taking on the Insomnia Dare.

Rules: Um...we don't get to sleep...duh. The winner is the last one awake and they shall be dubbed Queen of the Insomniacs and everyone must refer to her as She Who Needs Not Sleep. The loser must lavish the winner with praise for a full 24 hours and refer to themselves as The Peon.

~IF~

we both make it past the 4am mark, then we're both declared winners and receive the title and everyone who doesn't join in shall be The Peons!

Muahahahahaa...ha...hmm...

Statistics: On top of the regular and much-anticipated trash-talk, there will be hourly check-ins where we report these stats for the last hour:

* number of yawns
* words written (oh yes, we'll be writing. Probably not well, but we'll be writing)
* number of caffeinated beverages consumed
* $ amount donated to The Swear Jar

Awesome Side Note: We and our fellow Friday the Thirteeners have each put $5 into said Swear Jar. At the end of the Insomnia Dare, the total amount in the jar will be donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, because finding cures = very cool.

Want To Play?
Follow our progress and chat with us on twitter!  We'll be using #InsomniaDare. You can donate your Swear Jar to the JDRF (If you do, tell us and we'll send you a shout out in our reporting post on Tuesday)!

Join in and stay up late with us! You too can compete for the title!

Tweet us your best "Exhausted Pic" for a chance to win a Signed ARC of INSOMNIA and a Signed copy of DUALED! 

And stop by our Friday the Thirteeners blog on Tuesday for a rundown of how the dare went. We'll announce the winner, post pics from our experience and giveaway the books!

Don't forget to use #InsomniaDare

So what do you think? Do you dare to play?