Going Into Lock Down

It is rather obvious my posts have been pretty sparse lately. Life caught up with me and as of recent I have been secluded in my writing cave. I recently joined the Willamette Writers association and am attending their annual conference.

I have been diligently working on my manuscript and decided to see if she is good enough to be introduced into the world.

As far as deciding on the conference...that is very last minute. Every year I flirt with the idea of going and chicken out in the end I decide against it. After some encouragement from  a fellow writer/friend I decided it was time. After all, what do I have to loose? Pride, self respect. Nothing. I only stand to gain as I plan on attending every workshop possible and meeting as many writers as I can.

Oh ya...I'm also pitching my book to two agents and an editor. And these are not your average agents/editor. These are three very talented ladies who have all worked with  reputable and well known authors. Two of the authors they have worked with have been featured on my blog receiving high praise and glowing reviews.

I feel like I am in over my head a bit, but this is my dream and I'm going for it. Since signing up for this I have either been too busy or nervous to even eat. It has turned out to be a great diet plan. I will be back after the conference, August 3rd, to share everything I learned and experienced. I'm sure most of the posts will be more like, "What not to do at a conference", or  "Things you should never say during a pitch".

Any writers out there attend any conferences? What should I expect? I would love to hear how it was for you.

Be Careful What You Ask For

When I was a newbie blogger one thing that really impressed me was reading reviews for books yet to be released. After asking a few blogger friends I learned about the fabulous service NetGalley offers.

NetGalley offers professional readers Advance Reading Copies (ARC) for review.

Oh wow! A place you can requests ARC's, and if approved receive them for free! Here we go. Step one, create account. Step two, browse and request books. Step three, read and post your raving review about the most recent, pre-released books.

Steps one and two were no problem. Step three is where I hit the snag. For the first year my blog was poorly designed (I did it myself and I'm not the most visually creative) and had around thirty followers. Coincidentally, I was denied all of my requests. Fine, whatever.  

Time went on, I got some experience under my belt,  a professional blog design and a few hundred readers found their way to my little piece of the cyber world. I was posting regularly and decided to give NetGalley another shot. I requested all the books that interested me.

I hit the lottery. I got approved for all my requests. Yippee! The next thing I knew I had six books for review. For many book bloggers that is a small number, but for me that was plenty. I still had my own ever growing "to be read" pile, a job and my own book to write. 

Book one started out okay. It was not nearly as good as I hoped but I soldiered on. When I hit page fifty I could not force myself to read one more page. But I felt I owed the publisher a review, after all they graciously gave me the copy for free. The bad thing was I did not like the book. I was left with two options. 

Option one: Finish the book and review it. Sounds easy enough. But life is short and I did not want to waste my time reading a book I did not like.

Option two: Stick in on the shelf and move on. I went with option two.  Then I posted on NetGalley and in place of my review I told the publisher I would not be reviewing their book, because I could not even finish it and did not want to write a complete review based on fifty pages. Moving on...

I tried reading two more books and did not like them. By the time I started book four, the story was awesome but so poorly formatted it was hard to follow. At that time I decided I would no longer request ARC's from NetGalley because I was not following through with anything I committed myself to. It also zapped some of the fun out of reading. In a way I felt like it turned reading into a job. I started my blog for entertainment. Not more work. NetGalley is a wonderful service and many bloggers love and appreciate it. Unfortunately it is not for me.

Some times I get a little jealous when I see reviews for certain upcoming releases. I just remind myself that I already tried that route. Plus waiting for certain books is exciting. I always have something to look forward to.  

Cover Love...Clockwork Princess

It's the Clockwork freaking Princess cover!!!!!!

*jumps up and down clapping hands*

Incase you were under a rock on Tuesday the 10th this is what you missed. Cassie had the coolest cover reveal. We had a blacked out screen that revealed the cover one itsy bitsy square at a time. It was based on how many times #ClockworkPrincess was tweeted.

After a mere two hours Clockwork Princess was tweeted over 30,000 times. It hit #1 on the world wide trend.

All hail Cassandra Clare.


The only bad thing is we have to wait until March 2013.

Add to Goodreads

In Clockwork Princess, Tessa and her companions travel all over the world as they race to stop the clockwork army before it’s too late. As Jem’s health worsens alarmingly and his friends search desperately for a cure, can Tessa choose between the two boys she loves—even if it means never seeing the other one again?


Team Will.

Cover Love...Uncontrollable

As a fan of S.R. Johannes I'm uber excited to a part of the cover reveal of Uncontrollable. It is book two in "The Nature of Grace" series. The sequel to Untraceable. Isn't it pretty?

We can look forward to adding it to our shelves September 24th, 2012. Add to Goodreads

summary~

As Grace recovers from tragedy, her science class is chosen by Agent Sweeney at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to help with research on the new "Red Wolf Reintroduction Program".

While she’s excited about helping with the conservation of the endangered wolves, Grace knows this means being outdoors in the worst winter recorded, in a place she no longer feels comfortable. It also means working closely with Wyn (her ex) and his annoying girlfriend (Skyler), a girl whose idea of getting close to nature is growing silk plants.

After a couple wolves show up dead, Grace almost quits. When a fellow project team member goes missing, Grace continues the assignment under a renewed suspicion that someone might be sabotaging the conservation program. She quietly begins to hunt for clues. 

Little does she know, she is being hunted too.

And possibly by more than one person.

PRAISES FOR UNTRACEABLE

"Grace is a spunky, independent, nature girl who doesn't need a boy to save her. With wilderness survival, a juicy love triangle, and more twists and turns than a roller coaster, this fast-paced novel had me holding my breath until the very last page—and still begging for more!" -Kimberly Derting, author of the The Body Finder series (Harper Teen) and The Pledge series (S&S)

"This thrilling story is a dramatic entanglement of mystery, deception and teen romance. The action flows like a brisk mountain stream interspersed with rapids, holding suspense to last page." 

- Kirkus Reviews

"Johannes has done a marvelous job of creating a suspense-filled mystery with surprises that keep you guessing all the way to the end. Untraceable is a thoroughly engrossing and riveting page-turner."

-IndieReader