BUT!

I have someone else’s fabulousness to share, so it’s all good.

Bad Taste in Boys by Carrie Harrie has a cover!!! And it is AMAZING. I love it so much – I would definitely pick this up just based on the cover (though I already wanted to read it before the cover). I can’t wait to have one on my shelf at home.

Behold, Bad Taste in Boys:

Amazing, right? Now head on over to Carrie’s blog and SQUEE! with her.

Drawn from the comments:

RANI!!! (yes, she is my sister. no, that didn’t affect the drawing–I used Random.org.)

Drawn from the sign-up form:

KATE!!! and ELIZABETH!!!

Congrats, winners. I have emailed all three of you–remember, books are on a first-come, first-served basis, so be quick! If I don’t hear back this week, I will draw a new winner next Monday.

Thanks to everyone for entering and making my first contest a success.

One of MY favorite summer-time activities

That’s right! My birthday is right around the corner (thanks so much for all the early birthday wishes, guys), so it is time to get this contest underway!

Once upon a time, I said I would be giving away one signed book for every 50 followers the blah-g has. But you know what? That means I would only be able to give one book away. I love all three books, and I want to give them all a new home! So, because all 55 of you are so great, I am going to go ahead and give all three books away!

Wait! I am new here. What three books are we talking about?

Thanks for asking, Mr. Anonymous-Made-Up-Follower-Man. I am so excited to be giving away signed copies of:

So, here’s how this thing is going to work:

Just fill out the form below. Every follower has one entry, but there are options for more entries! Who doesn’t like to increase their odds? Post a blog entry, tweet a Tweet, and link in the sidebar and get extra chances to win!

And, like I promised so long ago, those few people who were following along with me before I announced this contest will get extra entries as well (I know who you are ).

Also (and I promise I am almost done rambling): I know there are some of you who are regular visitors or who subscribe via email. While you have to be a Google Friend Connect follower to get all the shiny extra entries, I don’t want to leave you completely out. So this is what we’ll do:

One book will be given away to someone who leaves a comment on this post telling me what their favorite summer-time activity is or what they are most looking forward to about summer. That’s it! Give me some summer love in the comments for your chance to win.

The other two winners will be drawn from those people who fill out the form. Yes, you can both comment and use the form–you will be in the running for all three titles!

Alright. I think that is all. The contest will close April 30th at 11:59 PM. Winners will be picked at random and emailed. Book choice is first-come first-served.

Entries closed!!

1. The fabulous Kiersten White has a cover for her book! It is beautiful–totally my kind of cover.

2. Kate Hart, the wonderful blogger behind Two For Tuesday, gave me an Aweseomesauce Award! What’s that, you ask? Well:

Rules if You Get Sauced: Basically: define awesome, and then name 8 people you think fit that definition. You don’t have to pass the award on if you don’t want to. This is really just for my own amusement.

Awesomesauce: the quality of being awesome with ease, ie: just as spaghetti sauce flows easily from the jar, so does the awesome flow easily from them.

My definition of AWESOME is:

Anyone who makes me laugh, supports me, understands my bizarre humor, and is just generally, er…awesome!

My 8 people are:

1. Lilah Pierce – ’cause she is one of my oldest friends, the first person to read my new writing, and a real natural blonde! Her blog is still just a wee baby, but it is fun.

2. Abby Stevens – ’cause I thoroughly enjoy reading her blog, I am jealous that she gets to live in the South and write full-time, and because she is a fellow Britney Spears fan.

3. Kate Hart – ’cause she gave me the idea for Two For Tuesday, then gave me this award so I had a topic for today, and because I love, love, love reading her super fun blog.

* *and now, the end of links* *

4. Cathie – for being a non-evil stepmother, even when I was kinda an evil stepchild. For teaching me the joys of Southern cuisine. And for getting us a great deal on a fabulous new car.

5. Mi Madre – for believing in me, answering all my tax questions (and, well, doing my taxes for free), for passing on her love of books. Also, for giving birth to me.

6. Dad – for always pushing me to be better and making me work harder. And for having a great (though weird, and kinda gross) sense of humor.

7. Rani – for being a cool older sister, even though she made me take the blame for everything when we were kids. For feeding me all those times I didn’t hold up my end of the bargain and the house was still a mess.

8. Bubba – For being the most loving, supportive, wonderful husband a girl can have. And for putting up with me. I know it can’t be easy.

]]> http://rachelbateman.com/2010/03/two-for-tuesday-the-awesome-edition/feed/ 9 http://rachelbateman.com/2010/03/like-whoa/ http://rachelbateman.com/2010/03/like-whoa/#comments Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:49:30 +0000 Rachel http://rachelbateman.com/?p=1329 Remember how I have been super excited for Kiersten White’s debut novel, Paranormalcy, for quite some time? Well, the lovely Weronika Janczuk (if you don’t read her blog already, you totally should) is giving away not one, but two preorders (’cause it doesn’t release until September 21st) of Paranormalcy.

Um, SQUEE!

I am getting this book whether I win it or not, but getting a book you want for free is always a great thing.

Other fabulous prizes include blog interviews, a second free book (of the winner’s choosing), and partial manuscript critiques (or something else for those non-writers out there).

This is a great contest, guys. Head over and enter now.

1. I love that you are the first car to ever have my name on the title.
2. I love that your fetching bumper feature makes it impossible to mistake another car for my own.
3. I love that you put up with me through all those long road-trips and concert tours.
4. I love that, when you decided you needed a new clutch, you waiting until after I got back home instead of giving up somewhere between North Carolina and Montana.
5. I love that when I lock my keys in you, I can easily climb through the unlockable trunk and let myself back in.
6. I love how patient you were when I used you to teach all my friends to drive a stick shift.
7. I love that you cost about 10 cents to register and insure.
8. I love your great, great, great gas mileage.
9. I love that you never once grumbled when we welded an old oil barrel to your muffler to patch up your exhaust system.
10. Most of all, I love that you were not upset, but rather relieved, when I told you about this:

Today’s snippet comes from the first novel I finished (not counting my shining attempt at The Blob). As of yet it remains untitled, so I just lovingly call it Glass until something better comes along.

I stood with my back to the club, leaning against the brick wall. The sounds of the alley greeted me, but I was not listening to them. Rain fell, tracing streams down my bare arms. It ran through my hair, fell off the ends of the dark tendrils, and pooled on the ground around my left foot. My right foot rested on the wall behind me, ready to give leverage if needed.

The cold brick chilled my skin where my bare shoulder rested against the wall. I leaned my head back, closed my eyes, and let the rain wash over my face.

And there I waited. Waited for anything. The slightest change in energy, a different charge to the atmosphere–anything to tell me it was time to go to work.

My name is Becca Cole, and I have been working the same dead end job for the past hundred and fifty-two years. Every day the same thing: hide in the shadows, attune myself to the energy of the people around me, and wait. Bored.

Every. Single. Day.

A gust of wind breezed through the alley, bringing with it the pungent smells of a nearby carnival. Turning away from the breeze, I focused on the more pleasant scent of rain. The wet, dusty aroma of the alley filled my being, clouding my mind and transporting me to a much simpler time.

Funny story about Glass: if you look at my “writing” page, you will notice it is not listed there. That’s not because I am not proud of the story; I am. The core plot is (in my opinion at least) wonderful. Simple, but wonderful. The reason it is not listed is because Glass was a cannibalization of Incubus.

Once upon a time, I thought Incubus would not hold its own as a plot, so I made it the back-story to Glass. Fast forward a few months. With Glass finished, I looked back at Incubus and realized: holy guacamole! This is a pretty compelling story in its own right. I had just burned out on it the first time around. I have since realized that this happens with just about every novel. There comes a point when the writing is more work than fun. With Incubus I took that to mean the story wasn’t working, and I quit writing it (for a period of time).

I have since learned to push through, do the work, and finish the book. I recognize that coming across a slump does not mean the book is not worth writing. Writing a novel is hard work, and stopping when it gets tough will only leave you with a bunch of false-starts. I am happy to report that, since the Incubus debacle, I have finished every novel I have started.

However, I am happy that I had to learn the “push through ’til the end” lesson the hard way. Had I not quit on Incubus, I probably never would have dreamed up Glass. Now, I have not one, but two novels. Once I get through all the back-story edits and rewrites Glass will require now that Incubus demands its story back, of course. When it has a back-story all of its very own, Glass will be added to the writing page.

Now, everyone head over to wish Jamie Harrington congratulations on landing an agent. SQUEE for Jamie!

Carrie Harris is getting published! The world needs more Zombies, and No Pain, No Brain sounds awesome. Head on over to Carrie’s blog and congratulate her.

Also, Kiersten White has a great post on her blog today about the harm caused by hurtful words. Words like Lashes reminds us all to not be so thoughtless about the words we use. Words matter.

Speaking of words mattering…if you know me at all, you know that I am silently correcting your grammar when you talk to me. I correct your grammar when you email me, update your Facebook or Twitter status, text message me–really anytime words are used, I will be silently correcting your grammar. I don’t judge you for bad grammar, I just can’t help but to correct it. Now, I am not telling you this to make you self-conscious. I am merely letting everyone know I am a grammar freak. BUT, I am not a grammar traditionalist. The rules that carry over from Latin? Not all of them need apply to English anymore. The 3000 Messages Blog has a great post on this today: Three grammar rules that are okay to break.

And now, moving on…

Personality Toolkit: Sacrifice

Writing a novel is really hard work. It takes time. It drains your energy–physically, mentally, and emotionally. With so many other options out there, it is a lot easier to not write a novel.

Distractions are everywhere. For many writers, there is the dreaded “real job”. New books to read are coming out weekly. Season 3 of DEXTER sits on top of the DVD player, begging to be watched. Dinners out. Nights at the theatre. Precious, precious sleep.

Things have to be sacrificed for writing–no writing would ever get done if this were not the case. If one is not willing to give up things that take one’s time away from writing a book, the book will never be written. It is not easy to sacrifice things we love, but in the end, it is worth it.

In my mind, there are certain things that are able to be sacrificed and things that should never be put aside for the sake of writing. And they are:

Things I am happy(ish) to sacrifice for my writing

• Time watching movies and TV (who am I kidding, Bubba and I don’t even have TV service)
• Sleep
• Some time with Bubba.
• Time baking, card making, and doing other hobbies
• My sanity

Things I will not sacrifice for my writing

• My marriage
• My health (hello, treadmill desk!)
• Sleep (contradictory? Yeah, well, I have to get some.)
• My values

Notice both lists are short. There are few things I will not sacrifice for my writing (but I will not budge on those points). The list of things I will sacrifice may seem super short as well. It is not because I will only let go of those five things; it is because everything else falls away to my writing so easily I don’t even notice the loss.

And for the record: I would love to sacrifice the “real” job (no matter how much I like it–which is a lot) to write full time. Sadly, I have to pay off my shiny new shoulder first.

Kaleb is just a young pup-20 years old is *really* young to have a novel published (yes, I know about Christopher Paolini, SE Hinton, and the like, but still). So, with the release of Bran Hambric, I find myself looking back on my life and imagining how it could be different (I say as if I am ancient at the ripe old age of 25). Here’s a quick breakdown.

• I decided I wanted to be an author when I was seven.
• Writing was quickly sidelined for:
  1. BMX racing
  2. Drill Team (the baton twirling, high kicking kind)
  3. More AP classes than anyone should ever take in high school
  4. College in Idaho and Hawai’i
  5. Massage Therapy school
  6. yanno, life and stuff
• Throughout all this, I was writing, but not seriously.
• Shortly after a got married just over a year ago, I decided I *still* want to be an author.
• I began to pour myself into writing, learning the business, and networking.

And that, my friends, is where I stand today. How would things be different had I been pursuing the dream that whole time? I dunno. Would I be published today? I dunno. Would I like to trade places with Kaleb? Go back in time and at 20 years old release what some are calling “the most anticipated young adult novel of the year”?

Not a chance.

Whoa, wait…back up. Didn’t I just say I have wanted to be a writer since I was just a little scapper? Well, yes, yes I did. But all those things that got in the way and pushed my writing to the side? I wouldn’t trade those things for the world. I am who I am today because of those things. And I like who I am.

So, me and my old (ha!) self will continue on this path I have laid out. I won’t look back and wonder what if; I will only look forward and work for what I want.

I am excited to see what is in store for me. I am excited for tomorrow; I am excited for twenty years from now. Bring it on.

Natalie has been writing and querying for a long time-she sent her first query to Nathan back in 2007. When she was rejected, she kept on writing. And writing. And writing. Relax, I’m a Ninja is her eighth novel. That’s right-eighth.

Natalie didn’t give up. She kept writing, she kept learning, she kept improving.

That’s right: persistency pays off.

Head over to Natalie’s blog to read her story and congratulate her!

Oh how I wish I was writing this post about me, but I am not.

Oh well, I am super excited just the same!

It was announced yesterday that the wonderful and talented Kiersten White sold her debut novel! Not only did her wonderful agent, Michelle Wolfson, sell it–she sold it in the best possible way. Kiersten just landed a 3-book deal with HarperTeen. HarperTeen!!! No one tells it better than Kiersten herself, so head over to her blog to read the great news!

Now, as much as I would love for it to be me, I am so happy for Kiersten. It is great to see someone (especially someone as nice-and down right funny-as Kiersten) get a great payoff for all the hard work she has done. Also, this little bit of news has just motivated me to work that much harder on my own writing. I am off to do some edits now!

Look for Kiersten’s debut novel, Paranormalcy, in bookstores Fall 2010!