Excellent Contest (Not mine. So, SO much better!)

Check it out here!

The King's Speech and Last Day for Contest!

Buckets and buckets of congratulations to Colin Firth and everyone involved in making The King's Speech. If you aren't sure about seeing it in theaters, check out my 100 word review here, and if you can't take my (gushing) word for it, well, see it anyway. :)

No big upsets last night, though Melissa Leo did her character proud with her speech. What was up with James Franco? Anyone? Did he take a heavy dose of Nyquil right before the show? Who knows, but I loved Anne Hathaway. She seemed like a real person (yes, I know she's a real person, but, oh, you know what I mean): nervous, a little spacey, and super excited. And, drum roll please, I actually stayed awake to watch Natalie Portman's heartfelt and, again, very real speech. Yay!

Enough about the Oscars! It's time to write, people. I have an idea bouncing around in my noggin that needs put to paper/Word document. How about you? Is March the month you start, finish, edit, query, etc? Then make it happen! And make your reading plans for the month while you're at it. I'll be posting my February recap this week and would love to know what you're reading.

And, oh yeah, FLY TO 500 ends today. It ENDS today! Check it out here. 

Did I mention you should all see The King's Speech? Oh, I did? Well, you should. :)

-Marie

The King's Speech: Review in 100 Words or Fewer

Quick housekeeping: FLY TO 500 ends on Monday, The Sky is Everywhere Challenge ends tonight.

Ready? Here we go. 

In one Amanda Bynes movie, someone says Brits "only show emotion toward dogs and horses.” Well, when Colin Firth breaks down, sob-stammering ‘I’m not a King, I’m not a King,’ he decimates this rule and made me a blubbering mess. Bonham Carter creates delicious awkwardness, and there’s such rich, dry humor from the leads that I was biting my bottom lip to keep my stretching smile from touching both ears. The water-over-polished-stone voices of George VI’s father and brother strengthen Firth’s already marvelous spoken performance. Your heart will hurt for him, and there’s gorgeous music the entire time. Fantastic!

That's it! Another week, another movie. Go see The King's Speech and watch Colin Firth win his first Oscar tomorrow. If he doesn't, well, disappointment isn't a strong enough word.

-Marie

Help for New Zealand and Contest Update

This post will be a complete topic-hop. You have been warned! :)

The ginormous earthquake that rocked Christchurch, New Zealand has further devasted an area recently hit by a similar quake. Though the News tries, I just don't think there are words strong enough to convey what those poor families are feeling right now. But there are ways to help, and I recently came across a blog, Confessions of a Mystery Novelist, that is giving an incentive to do just that (though, as the author explains, no one really needs more incentive to help, but it certainly can't hurt). Check it out and give if you're able.

I'm seeing The King's Speech today, so I'll have a review either tonight or tomorrow morning. Remember, the Oscars are tomorrow (Firth, Firth Firth)! Check out this post to predict the winners in a handful of the major categories. I'm hoping to stay awake for at least one of the Actor/Actress categories, but only time will tell.

Contests! Contests! Contests! The FLY TO 500 Contest ends at midnight on Monday, 2/28/11. Can you believe next week is March? Yikes! If you haven't entered yet, check it out here and write your 100 words. Also, I'm giving away a copy of The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson on this post for only two sentences, but that ends TONIGHT (2/26/11).

Okay. That's it! Thanks for reading, be safe, and keep writing!

-Marie

CHALLENGE! Do You Smell That?

Remember when Dwayne Johnson was a wrestler? Can you SMELL what The Rock is cookin'?

Yeah...that has almost nothing to do with this post. HA!

Here in Ohio, we had temperatures in the fifties last weekend. The sky was clear, the birds were a'chirpin', and the sun shined brighter than the...well, you get the idea. I remember thinking 'I want to smell the sun on this gorgeous day.' Then, someone asked me what I was thinking, and I actually spoke those words out loud.

Your challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to write up to two sentences describing exactly what the sun smells like to you. I'll pick one winner on Saturday, 2/26/11, from all the posts and mail you a copy of The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson. I was inspired by this post and this post to give away this book. No, I didn't win it anywhere, but it sounds great and anxiously waits on my Kindle wish list (maybe for March?).

Here's my description (warning, I had to scrape ice off my car on Tuesday, so I may have forgotten the musical prose tinkering inside my noggin last weekend):

The sun smells like my glass of Brita-filtered water, but sweetened by the perfume of spring, of tulips, hyacinth, and ripe-to-bursting strawberries, all laid out on the prettiest towel on the saltiest beach.

Hmm, smell is tough. :) Give it a shot!

And FLY TO 500 ends soon. Enter here!

-Marie

=IF(AND(U2="enter contest",B4="March 1"),"WIN BIG","very, very sad")

There are SIX days left in the FLY TO 500 Contest. I'm giving away 25 Amazon gift cards, my lovies, so check it out! :)

The Oscars are upon us. James Franco and Anne Hathaway take the stage this Sunday. Who's gonna win!? I admit, I haven't seen all of the movies, but here's a quick run-down of my picks for the five, main categories.

Best Picture: I've watched 5 of the 10 nominees, so of those, it has to be Inception (I really, REALLY liked The Fighter, though)

Best Actor: Colin Firth. I saw The Social Network, but honestly, I liked Jesse Eisenberg better in Zombieland.

Best Supporting Actor: CHRISTIAN BALE

Best Actress: Natalie Portman. Michelle Williams is great (loved her in Dawson's Creek and Brokeback Mountain, I can't lie), so she would be my second choice.

Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo. She takes 'crazy mama' to the next level in The Fighter. Who cares if she posted questionable "campaign" ads. This is about acting, right? Right?!

Who are your choices? Which movie do I need to see like crazy? Take your picks!

-Marie

When Your Body Doesn't Feel Like a Temple

I like fitness.

This is a pretty new thing for me. I started (very) slowly in 2009. Strength training, stretching, cardio. Bit by bit, month by month, bite by ever-conscious bite, I'm to the point where a thirty minute, high-intensity cardio class doesn't leave me in a heaping pile of shaky limbs and hammering heart. I'm now a pacing quasi-hunchback of water-chugging determination and I-am-NOT-tired ferocity.

And I absolutely love it! Turbofire + Shakeology = Awesome!

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Beachbody and get nothing from promoting their products. I just love them!

But here's the point of this post. The weekend before Valentine's Day, I gave myself a few days off from my all-natural, small portion, healthy and life-extending diet to celebrate. And my body didn't feel like a temple after that.

My workouts were crap. My stomach told me (loudly) all day in the quiet office where I work that it was angry, VERY angry, with me. And I felt sluggish, fat, unloved, blahblahblah. You get the idea.

So, what would possess me to do it all again this past weekend?

Ice cream. Yep, it was ice cream. How did you think my body felt on Sunday?

Spoiler alert!

Not like a temple.

So, I am deciding today, this very second, that I will never again use the word 'diet' to describe what I eat. That word denotes a temporary thing, and I want a lifestyle change. I want to be healthy, fit, live to be ninety four (at least), and never worry about a doctor's visit. As much as that Cake Batter ice cream with cookie dough and oreo chunks made me a happy girl (and I mean cloud-nine-thousand-nine-hundred-and-ninety-nine happy), it didn't last and just isn't worth it.

Have you ever done this? Made a plan, no matter the sacrifice (yes, I'm really calling quitting ice cream a sacrifice), because you knew it would make your life better? Your heart happier? Your writing richer? Your day brighter? Your future fireworks-and-sunshine spectacular?

Well, tell me about it!

AND there's seven days left to the FLY TO 500 Contest. Thank you so much for getting through a completely non-writing related post. I don't do it often, but sometimes you need to share the important things. :) Even if they seem less than earth-shattering after typing all these words.

-Marie

My One Hundred, Magical, Meandering Word Review of The Eagle

I've decided this will be a weekly (weekend) feature on The Flying Cheetah. I like to watch movies, I like to practice concise (yet interesting, I hope) writing, and I like to give my opinion (who the heck doesn't, right?). So, here is my < or = to 100 word review of The Eagle.

The Eagle’s not a horrible movie. Forgettable? Certainly. But too much money, talent, and effort are put into movies to call any of them horrible (my opinion).

However…

The beautiful Channing Tatum goes from commander to quasi-invalid to taker of the impossible quest to slave to almost dead to, oh hey, completely fine and able to fight. Inconsistencies, unbelievabilities, and underdevelopment of the best character (Esca/Jamie Bell) abound, plus they eat a raw rat (yummeeee). Few non-American accents are present, and Donald Sutherland uses more contractions than I think a Roman would.

Skip this one and see The King’s Speech.

That's it! If you see The King's Speech, send me your 100 word review, and I'll post it. Unfortuantely, I don't know if I'll make it out to see that one (what with The Adjustment Bureau, Water for Elephants, Sucker Punch, Red Riding Hood, and that Bradley Cooper movie on the way), but I'm on Team Firth for next week's Oscars. :)

-Marie

Did Christopher Nolan help my book?

Inception was beyond words for me, and I'm not just talking about Tom Hardy's performance.

I wrote my book before I found out that dreams are the last thing readers/agents/publishers want to encounter. Well, well, well. That doesn't bode well for me, does it? You see, a couple of my main characters are dead. Way dead. They can't very well pop into the living world and communicate with Kat, so they pull her to them in her dreams.

Let's step to the side for a moment. What do you think of when you hear the word 'dream?' Here's ten off the top of my head (warning: these will not be original):

Inception
Martin Luther King, Jr.
I dreamed a dream in time gone by
Selena
To dream the impossible dream
What Dreams May Come
New Moon
When my cats twitch in their sleep
Giant snakes eating my cat
Dreamlover by Mariah Carey

Quick explanation. Yes, I like musicals. No, I've never seen Selena or What Dreams May Come. Yes, I realize New Moon doesn't have any dream scenes, but I still think Bella 'seeing' Edward is kind of dreamlike, you know? Yes, I've had the dream with the giant snake (woke up bawling my eyes out, seriously).

So, why do readers/agents/editors dislike dreams in books? I've heard that they don't want to invest their attention in filler or something that isn't real/important to the plot. Why should an author never (ever ever) start the book with a dream? Hmmm...this one's tough for me. Some people say to start your book where the story begins. What if that's in a dream? Should a prologue be used in that case?

This isn't me defending my book to the world. Actually, I'm hoping Christopher Nolan changed the way people feel about dreams with Inception. Whether you found it awesome, awful, or just plain confusing, we can all agree that it was original (and original ideas are so hard to find nowadays...have you seen previews for The Adjustment Bureau? yeah).

I'd like to know your thoughts on this one. Do you use dreams in your book? How about reading them? Like or dislike? Why?

We're approaching 50 followers here at the Cheetah, and I'm ridiculously excited! It's been a blast visiting so many blogs, learning the ins-and-outs of blogfests, and trying to squeeze myself into this enormous world of art and ideas. Wow. I'm having a blast!

The FLY TO 500 contest ends at the end of the month, so check it out!

-Marie

Going for Broke, Query Style

If you're a conference person, check this out.

I wanted to do some conferences this year, and had some ideas. I even wrote up the time off requests and put the conference fees into my personal budget (yes, I'm a nerd. It's in right now). Then I read that post at Janet Reid's blog, and I started looking into this whole Backspace thing. Turns out, it sounds pretty awesome, so I'm doing it. My first trip to the big enormous apple! :)

So, why not enter the Shark's contest?

Tell me if I'm crazy, please. I spent quite a bit of time looking over the 'for the win' queries on Query Shark and noticed that some of them nail it by breaking all the rules. Could I do it? Could I pull off clever?

I agonized over it, put together what I'm calling my 'go for broke' query, and mailed it out for the contest. Was I happy with it? Sure. But yikes! Should I regret it? What if I didn't pull it off? --biting fingernails, pacing room, pep talking myself in the vanity miror--

Now, will I send that query to Shelli's contest at Market My Words? No, no, and no some more, but that doesn't mean I'm not a little excited about going for broke. It was the step out of my comfort zone that I needed before diving back into querying Outta the Bag (and reading through it again).

Have you ever gone for broke, query style? Did it work out? Are you doing any conferences this year? Backspace maybe? :)

For extra fun, don't forget about the FLY TO 500 contest. Also, The Golden Eagle was super awesome and made me a button for the Cheetah. I'll put it on the sidebar shortly, but wanted to share now!

And last, the most awesome animal video...wait for it...ever! Are you the sexy dancer, the crazy hopper, or the wallflower in the background? Love it!

-Marie

Does the word 'swoon' make you think of pigs? Hmm...

If you haven't noticed, today's Valentine's Day. Whether you celebrate or demonize it, this day is apparently the third largest consumer holiday after Christmas and Halloween (yikes, I don't have a link to back that up; maybe I read it on Nathan Bransford's blog?). So, what did you buy? My goodies involved DVD's (big shock, huh?) and specialty popcorn, and my body's rebelling against the exorbitant amount of sugar I gobbled over the weekend.

But this Valentine's Day is extra special for me, because it's my first V-day in the blogosphere. Yes, I love that word. Yes, I'm going to overuse it. Yes, you can comment 'shut up and stop using that word.' :) Anyway, V-day = Blogfests, and I'm doing this one. So, here's my 250 swoon-worthy words from Outta the Bag.



“I’ll give you an order, and you obey.” He bit the fleshy lobe of my ear, and I gasped, grabbing onto his arms for support. “Run your hands through my hair.” I dug my nails into his bicep, willing myself to be the defiant woman I’d been before his body touched mine. A lightning bolt of pain streaked through my brain as I resisted, and I brought a hand to my forehead. The pain lessened. When I lowered my arm, it returned worse than before. I heard only Tate’s harsh breathing as I struggled. He trailed a line of open-mouthed kisses along my jaw. “Do as I say, Kat, and it stops.”

I let my fingers brush the hair back from his eyes. It was thick and coarse, so different than I’d imagined, and I indulged in it, scratching my nails over his scalp. He pulled me tighter to him with a whisper of my name, and a wildfire ignited in the depths of my soul.

“Now, kiss me.” His voice was desperate. I forgot my weak protests, my uncertainties. Nothing else mattered as I touched his cheek and pulled his mouth to mine. He tasted as sweet as he smelled, and as he deepened the kiss, pushing his tongue past my teeth, I felt his fingers brush the back of my thigh. I broke the kiss and threw my head back with a moan as he pulled my knee to his hip.


So? All comments are welcome!

Happy Valentine's Day!

-Marie

100 Word Review! No Strings Attached

Here's my weekly movie review in up to 100 beautiful words for No Strings Attached.

Emma and Adam meet at camp as kids, see each other five, then two, years later and start a physical relationship with the promise that it’ll go no further. It’s an oft-used story, I admit, but this one struck a happy chord in my perky, little heart. The main characters' best pals have excellent comedic timing and chemistry. Kelso, I mean Kutcher, plays the in-love-but-hiding-it heartthrob like a pro. The best part of the movie? ‘Wait. If you come one step closer, I won’t be able to let you go.’

Spoiler: she takes that step.

I definitely recommend.

Hope you enjoyed! Have you seen it? What did you think?

-Marie

The Pen (Name) is Mightier?

We are writers.

All of us, no matter what or how we write. The fact is that we are part of an enormous community of people who enjoy putting pen to paper (fingertips to keyboard) to produce something amazing/inspiring/awesome/etc. That is just who we are.

But is it?

You say, yes of course. What the heck are you talkin' about, Marie?

I'm talking about pen names. There are many schools of thought on them. Some people wouldn't dream of writing under a different name. They may want to see their name on the cover of a book when they walk into Barnes and Noble. Maybe they want to rub it in the faces of the people who scoffed their need to write. I don't know.

But other people praise the pen. I know my reasons (current job conflicts, future privacy concerns), but what are others?

Nathan Bransford talks about it here and mentions how to address your pen in your query.

When I was brainstorming my pen, I took Nathan's advice and made sure the domain was available and also googled my ideas to see what came up. My first few ideas struck less than gold, but I knew I wanted to use some part of my real name. I also wanted it to mean something, if only to me.  

So, will you use a pen when you publish (yes, I said when)? What are your reasons? Your motivations?

Don't forget about the FLY to 500 contest. It's open until the end of the month.

-Marie

Personal Anthem (when the Muse needs to blow off a little steam)

If you've visited my profile or hung around the Cheetah for a while, you know I talk a lot of books and movies, but I leave music to others across the blogosphere.

I'm one of those people with about six CD's in my car and a couple dozen songs on my Droid. Classical music and movie scores are some of my favorites. The New Moon score is truly lovely, as is the music from Pride and Prejustice (Keira Knightley version). The live action Peter Pan score knocks my socks off every time (I do believe in fairies. I do. I do!). But if I had to choose, I mean gun-to-my-head choice, there would only be two bands for me.

My Chemical Romance and Queen

I know nothing about the bands besides their music, and that's enough for me. MCR's newest CD, Danger Days..., hasn't left my CD player since I downloaded it. Every morning, my twelve minute drive to work wakes me up and gets my blood moving as I scream/sing along with Gerald and the boys. Okay, so I know a teeny bit about the band besides its music, but that's it. :) Black Parade even inspired my book.

Do I really need to explain why Queen is awesome? I mean, really? Don't Stop Me Now, Good Old-Fashion Lover Boy, Somebody to Love? One (completely fake) word: Awesomological.

To wrap up (because I could go on all day, sing a few bars, and tell you that Kat, my protagonist, loves Queen as much as I do), I think everyone should have a personal anthem. Maybe it's walking music. You know, that tune tinkling around your noggin when you're in the elevator, walking down the street, or typing at your computer. Mine is what makes me smile, makes me remember that a rejection is another step toward my goal, makes me want to keep writing, keep blogging, keep networking, keep jotting down 100 word movie reviews, keep being me. So, what is my personal anthem right now? The one song that can turn my mood completely around no matter what's bothering me?

Sing

What's your anthem right now? How does it make you a better everything?

-Marie

My Heart Belongs to the Boy with the Bread

Bad boys.

We're all attracted to, at a minimum, the idea of 'the bad boy.' Come on. Admit it.

Angelus over Angel. (bad) Damon over (good) Stefan. Draco over Harry. Vegeta over Goku. Pacey over Dawson.

Okay, that last one was pretty weak, but you get the idea. And I may have once again cemented my nerdiness by referencing Dragonball Z. :) Anyway...

We love the imaginary bad boys in books, movies, and television. Is it because we picked the good guy in real life? Maybe. Or is it the idea of changing them? Redeeming them in some way? I don't know. But we (at least I) love them.

Then I read The Hunger Games trilogy, and I fell in love with the boy with the bread. Peeta Mellark. I won't spoil anything, but he is kind, wise, lovable, understanding, encouraging. You name a good quality, and it probably describes him. He's why I gobbled up the three books in about four days (hey, I have to work and sleep at some point). I apologize for neglecting all blogging responsibilities. My manuscript got the cold shoulder as well, so you all aren't alone.

Do I think I'm done with bad boys for good? No. I'll still drool over Draco and curse all that is Goku, but there's a special place in my heart for Peeta. The boy with the bread.

Who are your preferred bad boys? Did you read The Hunger Games? Peeta or Gale?

-Marie

Adorable Cat Video

Okay, here's an adorable cat video.

Hum Flight of the Bumblebee while watching, and it's even better. :)

-Marie

Contest Update!

So, the FLY TO 500 Contest is on for the entire month (who wouldn't want a $50 Amazon gift card for 100 words), but I've expanded the rules.

Here is the post.

The contest used to ask for a book or movie review in up to 100 words. I've expanded that to include music/artist or television show reviews as well, still with the word limit.

Check it out, win some Amazon monies, and have fun with it!

-Marie

The Green Hornet - 100! Word! Review! and other fun

First off, The Flying Cheetah gained its thirtieth follower yesterday. Allow me to squeal in delight.

*Squeal* Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Second, this is a fantastic blog post. Funny, informative, and just all-around well done.

Last, I saw The Green Hornet yesterday, so I wanted to pass along my thoughts in, drum rolllllllll, up to 100 words. Here we go:

Seth Rogen? A super hero? But it works. He’s Britt Reid, an arrogant, quasi-loser who becomes the Green Hornet to stick it to his dead father. Kato, Reid’s sidekick-but-not is the real hero, followed by their pimp (adjective) car, then Cameron Diaz, and eventually Rogen. They act like villains to clean up the streets until the main villain (who's very loveable except when he kills James Franco) tries to kill them and reassert his evil empire.

Laugh-out-loud funny! There’s a gas gun, Rogen’s timing, a decent plot, and tons of explosions and crotch shots. I genuinely liked this movie. J   

Another week, another movie. We all struggled through one heck of a winter storm and can get back to normal (until the next one...next week...hmmm). Let me know what you thought of the movie! FLY TO 500 Contest happening here.

-Marie

Rupert Giles and Meet a Character

Remember Buffy the Vampire Slayer? I realize this is a crazy-stupid question, as we all do, but hang with me.

In the early episodes, Giles had to explain...a lot. So, why was the exposition coming out of his mouth so much better than the exposition shooting from my fingertips? Maybe it was the British accent. Maybe the take-off-glasses-and-pinch-bridge-of-nose moments. Maybe Anthony Stewart Head was/is just so awesome we didn't mind. Whatever it was (by the way, I really think it was that Joss Whedon's world and story were so wonderful we wanted to hear the exposition, my opinion), we got through it, and I loved every minute. Okay, so there were a couple episodes that didn't...wait!...not the point...

ANYWAY, if you had a chance to read my page 99, you were probably wondering what the heck my book's about. :) Yeah, me too! 99 was a breather, unfortunately, but you did get to meet Doc. She's one of the key characters in Outta the Bag, not to mention Kat's entire life after that fateful car crash. Book summary here if you missed it.

Doctor Megan Caste is dead. She's been that way for quite a while, but time doesn't matter much in the Afterlife. When Kat walks through Doc's door, she gets everything but answers. Here's a taste of Doc, and (finally) a tie-in to why I even mentioned exposition.

The man to my right gave me a closed mouth laugh. “Just wait. It’ll get interesting.” He handed me a plastic cup, and I took a wary sniff before passing it back. He grinned (god, those dimples…delicious) before offering it to the woman behind me. She downed the contents in one gulp and crinkled her pointy nose. The movement put a dent in the center of her forehead. Wisps of yellow flew out of her bun as she tried to shake off the taste. 

I was instantly jealous. Long eyelashes, rosy cheeks, and just the hint of a sexy smirk curling her lips. Plus, I could never pull off those knee-high, red boots.

Like a said, just a taste. A nibble really. To leave you with a bit on exposition (this is Doc again, and is that actual plot? GASP):

She walked around her desk and sat on the edge, her heeled feet dangling above the ground. “We talked about my waiting room being an ‘in-between’ of sorts. It is and isn’t limbo, if you know what I mean. When a body dies, the Ace passes through here and waits to move on to a new body. When one opens up…hey, wake up, Kat!” She slammed her hand against the desk. “You realize you’re asleep right now, so why are you yawning? Exposition’s boring, but it’s a dirty necessity.”

 Do you pull off exposition like Rupert Giles? How?! FLY TO 500 Contest going on now!

-Marie

Will New Adult ever make it to the shelves?

I'd written a rough draft of this post last week and shelved it, but Lisa at Read. Write. Repeat and Shelli at Market my Words asked me some great questions yesterday that set the light bulb a'glowin'. :)

When your protagonist is a twenty year old girl-woman questioning her ingrained values, it's tough to choose between Young Adult and Adult. Do I think a high school freshman will enjoy (or care about) reading Kat's issues in college? Maybe. Will a thirty five year old? Again, I say maybe. I'm twenty eight and tend to think I have a lot of my freshman self in me. It battles with the forty year old I sometimes think I need to be to deal with 'big girl' responsibilities. I'm a middle-of-the-roader, and that's kind of what your twenties are like. All my opinion, of course, and based strictly on my own experiences.

So, I starting googling a genre that perches above YA, but below Adult. There's isn't one, but there is. New Adult. It exists thanks to St Martins' Press, but you won't find it labeled at your local Barnes and Noble.

Check out this article and then this one. I know, lots of links, sorry! The long-and-short of them if you don't have time is that New Adult embraces that cranky transition period between teenager and adult. It's basically graduation day. When I gave my valedictorian speech in high school (we already established that I'm a big nerd, right? Right), it was all about Changes. How no matter where we go next, college or the workforce or the military or anywhere else, we all have big LIFE decisions that no one else can make for us. Blahblahblah, not a dry eye in the house, but should the world of reading specifically recognize this period as its own genre?

From a marketing perspective, I say absolutely not. You're telling customers that readers between 16 and 25 will enjoy this book, and now you've seriously limited your potential readers. I do realize that isn't a hard-and-fast rule. I myself love a little Ralph S. Mouse on occasion, but it might take a colossal marketing revolution to create a New Adult shelf.

Now, from the writer's perspective, YES PLEASE. :) Shelli (link above) made an excellent point yesterday that YA usually maxes out at 18 years old. High school. Middle grade is self explanatory, and Adult is, well, everything else, right?

I've gone long, and I apologize, but here's the million dollar question...

How do you pitch/query a New Adult novel when the genre isn't recognized? Comment, comment, comment.

Be safe if you'll be in winter wonderland weather today, and check out my FLY TO 500 Contest if you love prizes!

-Marie

Pay it Forward and Unlikely Best Friends

Shelli at Market my Words is having a spectacular Pay it Forward contest. Check it out!

I'm thankful for my mother on a personal, not authorly, level. She doesn't actually know I've written a book, but I'm positive she would tell me it was wonderful no matter what she really thought of it. As a twenty eight year old, I've passed the point where I think I'm always right (the good 'ole days, you know?) and am inching my way toward realizing Mom's the one who's always right. Things I scoffed at five years ago ring true now, and I can't stop my jaw from dropping each time it happens. Does that happen to you?

My mother is a tremendous human being who gives and gives and gives, and I love her with all my heart. Sappy, but so true. :)

I hope everyone's enjoying this weather. Personally, I loved chipping the ice casing off my car this morning. I'd blame Ohio, but I think the entire Midwest, New England, and Great Plains has to take the fall for this one. Be safe in whatever you do.

And oh yeah! Don't forget to enter my first ever (and so exciting!) contest, FLY TO 500! 100 words could win you a $50 Amazon gift card, and every new follower means more money for the EFRC.


And now, something to make you forget this evil winter weather! :)


-Marie