Too Many Shoes!

There are so many things I want to blog about today, and I don't know where to start. I planned on telling you a bit about my webinar with Mary Kole, but all these other things came up. So I'll hold off on that until later in the week. For now, I want to thank Nancy for honoring me with The Stylish Blogger Award. She has to be one of the sweetest people I know. I'm not one to follow the rules with these types of awards, but I do want Nancy to know how grateful I am and that I truly appreciate the friendship we've developed here on blogger. If you don't already follow her, you should drop by her place. You're sure to find a heartwarming experience. Also, I want to congratulate Jennifer Shirk on her 3rd book contract. And get this... I wasn't even on a break when this good news came in! (Don't know what I'm talking about? Then click here). Of course, technically, we could say it counts considering my Internet was down last week and I didn't hear the good news until Friday. Yeah, I know that's a stretch, but still... Finally, did you hear about the drawing my awesome friend Kate Walton is having? If not, you should go check it out. The prizes include 7 YA books and a first chapter critique by the lovely Sarah LaPolla of Curtis Brown LTD. It doesn't get much better than that! Okay, this post is long enough. I'm sure there's more I want to talk about, but it will wait until Wednesday. Have a great day!

Is There Anything Good About These Old Shoes????

Maybe. Maybe not. If nothing else, they might be good for working in the yard. Or perhaps the laces can be used in another shoe. You never know. It's worth taking a look at if you ask me. Most of you know that I was on a little break from blogging over the last few days. I'm happy to say that I accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish and then some. House clean--check. Christmas decos up--check. Some shopping done--check. Really, I couldn't ask for more. Anyway, while I was pulling out Christmas decorations, I came across a box of old things I'd written. I had seen them about a year ago but didn't pay much attention to them. They were mostly essays and short stories I wrote in high school and college, or poetry that I wrote anywhere between the age of 10 and 22. This time, I sat on the cold concrete floor of the basement and re-read every single word. Most of these words were complete crap (and by crap, I mean a total waste), but some of the words and sentences, and even the plots, were salvageable. In one work, I found the glimmer of a totally unique and interesting story line. In another work, I found a beautiful description that I was surprised I'd actually come up with. Neither work in and of itself is worth much, but those two little pieces might just find a home in my more mature works. So, today, I beg you not to discount any of your old writing. Just like the shoes above, you never know when those old words might find a new home. What about you? Have you ever salvaged old writing and put it in a new piece of work?

So Many To Choose From!

What shoe shopping, car buying, and agenting (yeah, I don't think it's a word either, but you get what I mean, right?) all have in common: We've been car hunting for my daughter for about six weeks now. We've come across several acceptable vehicles, but none of them screamed, "BUY ME! BUY ME! BUY ME!" Some looked nice on the outside without a dent or a scratch, but were seriously flawed on the inside with carpet stains or cigarette burns in the seats. They were kind of like a beautiful pair of shoes that are tortuously painful to wear. Or, like a manuscript that catches an agent's attention with a wonderfully written query letter, but disappoints with terrible writing. Some of the cars we looked at were nice on the outside and immaculate on the inside, but lacked mechanical stability. They were like an eye-catching, comfortable shoe that you would never wear because you have nowhere to wear them to. Or, like a manuscript with an attention grabbing query and a beautiful writing style, but a horrible premise. Finally, we came across a vehicle that was flawless on the inside and out, and was mechanically sound. It's like a stylish yet comfortable and functional shoe that people would stop to compliment you on. Or, a manuscript that grabs an agent's interest with an awesome query, brilliant writing, and a knock-out premise. Guess which car we chose? Which kind of manuscript do you think an agent is looking for? Don't even think that they will settle for less than the best. After all, we didn't.