Call for Contemporary Book Recs!

So I normally read and write more fantasy and science fiction than anything, but lately I've been having more and more contemporary ideas. It's weird. Not because contemp is weird, but because I have a hard time finding ones that really capture my attention. Anywho, the current WIP (listed on the BOOKS tab) began as a dual POV ghost story but is now a literary contemporary, meaning it's totally different from anything else I've written, and now the contemporary ideas just won't stop coming. I find myself in need of discipline so I don't try to write them all at once and book recs for research.

I read and loved both Thirteen Reasons Why and Hold Still, also a huge fan of If I Stay (though that one isn't really straight contemporary). I've read some Sarah Dessen and enjoyed it, but it didn't consume me, and I've tried reading The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants but put it down. So if you have anything in mind, do share.

Before I started writing this I was reading my handwritten pages out loud to my phone to convert speech to text so I could more easily get the words into the document because I don't have the money for Dragon or anything like that at the moment. It's working better than anticipated, and I should probably get back to work now to keep from refreshing my email.

In the Trenches

In case you haven't heard, I'm currently in a number of agents' slush, and I recently participated in Nest Pitch, in which I submitted a 35 word (max) pitch and the first 300 words of my MS. As I'm used to Twitter pitches, mine was a little on the short side, but I like to think it says everything it needs to. At least a few people agreed, seeing as I made it into the agent round and got a few requests. Just through Nest Pitch, I now have two partials and a full out with agents (Fun fact: my MS was one of only two to receive a full request in this contest!); I also have a full out with an agent through querying.

The MS I'm currently seeking representation for is a paranormal MG, although sometimes I call it fantasy because so many people can't seem to differentiate between para and para romance, but it's all good. You can read about in on my BOOKS tab if you'd like. It's really nice to see it getting love online since so few people have read the entire thing, but here's to hoping that'll change soon enough. ;)

Nest Pitch Contest

So there's a pitch contest going on right now, and I just found out I made it into the agent round. You can see my pitch here, but commenting is reserved for agents on the post itself until the contest is over. Regardless of the outcome, it's been a blast participating and I've met a ton of new people. So happy to be a part of Team Epic and thankful to Sharon Johnston for coming back for Taryn after seeing her in Pitch Madness. Fingers crossed!

Brave New Blog

Hello, lovelies. Welcome to the new blog!

I've got a number of things going on in my life right now, so things are a little crazier than usual.

Writing has never been better for me. I've been Fast Drafting with a few other people, and, while I haven't gotten anywhere near the 20 pages per day goal, I have been making good progress pretty much every day. I've written more in the last week than I have in a month, and I couldn't be more excited. It's a YA and is completely different than anything I've written before style-wise.

I'm also in the process of moving from a small town in Arkansas to a small town in Oklahoma, so that's fun. Finding the energy to pack my entire life into boxes has been difficult, but the hardest part was moving my cats to the new place last week. I wanted them to have time to adjust before they had to deal with people moving things and stomping in and out. Unfortunately, that means living without them for a couple of weeks, which has been most lonely. The job hunt has been a mixed bag: there are jobs, but none of them sound all that appealing, meaning I'll probably end up with something for the summer until I get situated and what not. I miss working in libraries, so fingers crossed I find something there. Or a slot opens in the symphony for a horn or cellist. I miss making music.

In the reading department I'm having trouble connecting to anything. I keep picking up books I was excited about when I bought them and then putting them down. It's not that they're bad or the writing isn't polished, I'm just not connecting to them. But hopefully it's just a phase or can be blamed on my hectic life right now, because I really want to read something that knocks me off my feet.

Anywho, this is the new blog. It's for me this time, so expect to hear about my life and my cats and my writing and my publishing journey and maybe even the Boyfriend and always, of course, books. Thanks for stopping by!