CNYRW Mini-Con 2011

The 2011 CNYRW Mini-Conference was so informative, I think my head is going to explode.

This year's Mini-Con was three seminars for the price of one. And as if that weren't enough, we were treated to two speakers: Anna DeStefano, the bestselling author of more than eleven award-winning books, and literary agent Michelle Grajkowski of 3 Seas Literary Agency.

Friday night, we had a candid discussion on the state of the industry. Anna publishes with Dorchester whom, as you know, is the first New York publisher to have gone digital with its catalog. If Dorchester succeeds, the consensus is that the rest of the major publishing houses will follow. The wheels turn slowly in publishing, but it's to Dorchester's credit that they were able to look at the facts and adapt accordingly. Good luck to them!


Saturday morning, Anna presented her method of craft and characterization. Character and story are deeply intertwined, and the simple chart she presented allows a character to drive the events of the story through his major personality flaw and its arc. Who knew you could create a 400-page monster from the push of such a little bitty chart? Anna also went over the process of drafting and revision, with the reminder that a first draft is always going to be less stellar than we anticipate, and that's okay! The revision is where we can perfect it. (Thank goodness!)


In the afternoon, Anna and Michelle presented a workshop on industry professionalism, with emphasis on respecting personal boundaries. Michelle gave us the unique perspective of an agent (hint: they're nervous at those pitch appointments, too, so don't sweat it so much), while Anna brought us the point-of-view of an author. The information presented here was helpful not only in business relationships, but personal ones. This was good stuff we could take home and practice on our families, so Anna and Michelle reminded us not to limit it to those "writing things."

What a great Mini-Conference! I feel like we packed a week into two days. Thank you to Anna and Michelle for their energetic, fun, and informative presentations. What a blast! Can't wait to see what CNYRW does next year!

We Have A Winner!

Congratulations to May P., who as part of The Romance Reviews Grand Opening contest has won a signed copy of my first book, "Earth!" The prize pack includes a signed copy of "Earth," a postcard featuring the book, and a very special 100% biodegradable bookmark! When you're finished reading the book, plant the bookmark in your garden or a flowerpot, and its paper will grow into a beautiful bouquet of wildflowers!


Keep an eye on this blog for announcements of future prizes and upcoming book signings. I'll list them all here as they come up. Congratulations again to May P., and Happy Reading!

A Little Therapeutic Demolition

Yesterday was perfect. Perfect sunshine, perfect touch of lingering chill in the air, perfect absence of snow on the ground ... and perfect decimation of the ugly aluminum shed that's been lingering on our property for seven-odd years.

We built a new shed last summer, and the old aluminum one spent the winter on our back patio housing the snowblower. We didn't have much chance to organize the newly-built shed last year before the snow hit, so everything was basically a cluttered mess in there. Well, we cleaned that up, hung tools, built a shelf for my gardening supplies, and moved the lawnmower and snowblower into their new homes in the new shed.

Then we eyed the Ugly Aluminum Beastie with gimlet glares. The UAB gave a shudder of fear.

Hubby walked over, picked the whole works up, and moved it into the center of the lawn. We started by unscrewing what bolts we could get to. UAB resisted. Then Hubby decided on a better (and certainly more satisfying) tactic. He proceeded to kick it down to scrap metal by sheer force. (I helped, but without quite the grin of delight on Hubby's face.) Let me tell you how nice it is to wreck something that ugly when it's been staring you in the face for seven years on your property. The neighbors even came out for the show. I think they were as glad to kiss it goodbye as we were.

We carried it out to the curb, and the scrap didn't even have the chance to warm the dirt before someone pulled up and offered to haul it away. Bye-bye, UAB! Hello, room for my new greenhouse. (That's going in as soon as the tax refund comes back.)

And just so you know, I slept like a rock last night.

Squirrel Wars 3: Fuzzy Strikes Back

They're at it again.

After the rousing success of my squirrel-proof suet feeder (not for lack of their trying, mind you; the thing's covered in tiny scratches from their foiled attempts at opening the cage), Fuzzy and his gang regrouped. They have taken to shaking the squirrel-proof tube feeder so that some of its contents will spill to the ground, and they can feast. They are also still hanging upside-down from the roof of my squirrel-proof hopper feeder, and scooping out bits of the food within. Smart little suckers, ain't they? It still takes them quite a while to make any sort of dent in the seed, though, so I suppose I should take my victories as they come.

But Fuzzy's not done tweaking my nose yet.

Yesterday, the Greenwood family spent the afternoon at the local zoo (which, by the way, is still fun in winter, especially if you're one of the penguins - one of them spent a good ten minutes showing off for my son, who loved it). When we arrived home, Fuzzy and one of his little lookouts (or maybe his squirrel hitman) had found their way into our trash can, and were fast making off with the remains of a tortilla. They scattered once we got out of the car, but this time, I just shook my head, pulled out the rest of the tortilla, and dropped it on the ground for them. (It's gone as of this morning, in case you wondered.) You may have won this time, Fuzzy, but I will prevail!

Borders Bookstore Filing Chapter 11

Borders Bookstores has announced it will be filing for Chapter 11 reorganization under the Bankruptcy Code. They have also announced their intent to close "underperforming" stores, but no word yet on which ones will be affected. They advise patrons to check their website as news becomes available on this. Borders.com will operate as normal. See the full story here:

http://bordersreorganization.com/

"The Romance Reviews" Grand Opening

THE ROMANCE REVIEWS GRAND OPENING
March 2011
http://www.theromancereviews.com

* Get ready for loads of fun activities!
* Play awesome games!
* Meet new and favorite authors!
* Chat with fellow book lovers!
* Vote for the Best Book of 2010!
* Over 90 participating authors!
* Over 100 winners with
* Over $1,500 worth of cool prizes to be won!

PRIZES

Weekly Prizes
$10 Gift Cards – 32 winners!
(8 winners each week)
Hundreds of Book Giveaways

Major Prizes
Grand Prize: $100 Gift Card
2nd Prize: $70 Gift Card
3rd Prize: $50 Gift Card

For Authors
(based on results of book votes)
Grand Prize: $200 TRR Advertising Package
2nd Prize: $100 TRR Advertising Package
3rd Prize: $50 TRR Advertising Package

Main Sponsor
Dorchester Publishing

Participating Authors
Kat Martin
Beth Kery
Susan Lyons
Ashley March
Karen Rose Smith
LK Rigel
Sandra Edwards
Grace Elliot
Suzanne Barrett
Maeve Greyson
Sable Hunter
Josie Arlington
Laura Tolomei
Kristen Painter
Renee Rearden
Susanna Ives
Amy Corwin
Keta Diablo
Suzanne Tyrpak
TL Schaefer
Monique Martin
Susan Meier
Laura Moore
Susan Roebuck
Brita Addams
KT Grant
Winslow Eliot
Jan Scarbrough
Victoria Blisse
Sharon Buchbinder
Bronwyn Storm
Patricia Preston
Alice Gaines
Ann Tracy Marr
Joan Beth Erickson
Tara Lain
L.J. McDonald
Lucinda Brant
Mahalia Levey
Joanne Troppello
Rhonda L. Print
Pamela Jackson
Mary Manners
Eve Silver
Jennifer Crusie
Jocelyn Modo
Sloan Parker
Eden Baylee
Heather Matthews
Marcia James
Cherie De Sues
Simone Eden
Lauren Fraser
Annie Nicholas
E.D. Walker
Rachel Haimowitz
HP Mallory
Andrea Speed
Elle Amery
Nichelle Gregory
Shermaine Williams
Berengaria Brown
Tina Donahue
Red Haircrow
Virginia Cavanaugh
Hailey Edwards
Rachel Brimble
Frances Pauli
Nancy J Cohen
Em Petrova
Heather Wardell
Cara Marsi
Mary Eason
Skhye Moncrief
Judy Reynolds
Alison Chambers
LoRee Peery
Gail Pallotta
Nicki Greenwood
Alianne Donnelly
Madison Blake
Gem Sivad
Stacy Juba
Tory Richards
LaVerne Clark
Sibel Hodge
Ashley Ladd
Elaine Hopper
Victoria Howard
Jennifer Labelle
Darcia Helle
Sarah J. Bradley
Kerri Williams
Tiffany Ashley
LK Below
and many more…

Find us at the following places:

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