Cover for Crow's Rest Got a Star In a Contest!

I entered the cover design for Crow's Rest into a monthly contest put on by Joel Friedlander, and we got a Gold Star! That's basically like a runner-up or a special mention.

There were tons of great cover designs at UtopYA Con, too, and it really got that visual-artist side of me going--I'm already sorting through images that might make a good cover for the sequel to Crow's Rest, No Man's Land.

Of course, I should also put some effort into actually finishing NML, but sorting through visual inspiration is a great way for me to jump-start my writing creativity. If it wasn't for Pinterest's issues with copyright and attribution, I know I'd be a Pinterest addict if I joined!

If you'd like to congratulate the cover designer for Crow's Rest, stop by Kelley York's X-Potion Designs page and leave her a happy message!

Welcome to the 2015 YA Scavenger Hunt!

                                                                     TEAM TEAL                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                                   

UPDATE: the YA Scavenger Hunt is closed! Check the YASH page on April 8 for the winners announcement!  

Welcome to YA Scavenger Hunt! This bi-annual event was first organized by author Colleen Houck as a way to give readers a chance to gain access to exclusive bonus material from their favorite authors...and a chance to win some awesome prizes! At this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue for the hunt. Add up the clues, and you can enter for our prize--one lucky winner will receive one book from each author on the hunt in my team! But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 72 hours!

Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are EIGHT contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all! I am a part of TEAM TEAL

--but there is also RED TEAM, TEAM GOLD, TEAM ORANGE, TEAM PURPLE, TEAM BLUE, TEAM GREEN, and TEAM PINK!

If you'd like to find out more about the hunt, see links to all the authors participating, and see the full list of prizes up for grabs, go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page.

SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE

Directions: Below, you'll notice that I've listed my favorite number. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on TEAM TEAL, and then add them up (don't worry, you can use a calculator!).

Entry Form: Once you've added up all the numbers, make sure you fill out the form here to officially qualify for the grand prize. Only entries that have the correct number will qualify.

Rules: Open internationally, anyone below the age of 18 should have a parent or guardian's permission to enter. To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit the completed entry form by APRIL 5, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.

SCAVENGER HUNT POST

Today, I am hosting Janet Gurtler on my website for the YA Scavenger Hunt! A Rita Award Finalist and Crystal Kite Award Finalist, Janet Gurtler's young adult books have been chosen for the JUNIOR LIBRARY GUILD SELECTION and as BEST BOOKS FOR TEENS from the Canadian Children’s Book Center. Janet lives in Okotoks Alberta, Canada with her husband, son, and a chubby black Chihuahua named Bruce.

Find more information by checking out her author website or pre-order her book, The Truth About Us, here!

EXCLUSIVE CONTENT

The truth is that Jess knows she screwed up.She's made mistakes, betrayed her best friend, and now she's paying for it. Her dad is making her spend the whole summer volunteering at the local soup kitchen.

The truth is she wishes she was the care-free party-girl everyone thinks she is.
She pretends it's all fine. That her "perfect" family is fine. But it's not. And no one notices the lie...until she meets Flynn. He's the only one who really sees her. The only one who listens.

The truth is that Jess is falling apart – and no one seems to care.
But Flynn is the definition of "the wrong side of the tracks." When Jess's parents look at him they only see the differences-not how much they need each other. They don't get that the person who shouldn't fit in your world... might just be the one to make you feel like you belong.

And don't forget to enter the contest for a chance to win a ton of signed books by me, Janet Gurtler, and more! To enter, you need to know that my favorite number is 9. Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on TEAM TEAL and you'll have all the secret code to enter for the grand prize!

CONTINUE THE HUNT

To keep going on your quest for the hunt, you need to check out the next author! MATTHEW PHILLION

Tweet #YASH

BONUS GIVEAWAY FROM ANGELICA R. JACKSON

Because she loves giveaways so much, Angelica is also putting up an ARC of Crow's Rest, some bookmarks, spooky wall decals, and a Celtic knot necklace! Click on the picture to see a closeup of the prize pack. Enter through the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Brace Yourself for the YA Scavenger Hunt!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                           TEAM TEAL                                                                                                                               

Hello Everyone! I'm so happy to introduce to you the Spring 2015 YA Scavenger Hunt Authors! We have eight outstanding teams this season. I am going to be a part of TEAM TEAL!

The Scavenger Hunt runs from April 2nd through April 5th, beginning and ending at noon Pacific time on those days.

If you've never been a part of the hunt before you should give it a try! It runs like a giant blog hop, introducing you to new YA authors and books along the way. There are tons of prizes including a grand prize for each team. If you win one of the grand prizes you will get a book from each author on that team! For more information and to make sure you get hunt updates, sign up for news on the #YASH website.

Not only will I be hiding an exclusive video teaser from Crow's Rest, but I will be giving away a Crow's Rest Starter Pack, which includes a signed ARC of Crow's Rest, a set of spooky wall decals for ambiance while you read, and a Celtic knot necklace! And that's a separate giveaway from the ARC that's part of the grand prize for TEAM TEAL, so you have two chances to read Crow's Rest before its release!

You don't want to miss out on this fabulous and fun event, but play fast because the hunt is only live for three days. And now, here are the teams! (Hint: If you click on the image you can get a close up)   

 

I hope you are all as excited as I am!

THE HUNT BEGINS 4/2/15!

Want a Chance to Win an ARC of Crow's Rest?

J.L. Spelbring, a fellow author member of the Spencer Hill Press family, is running the 3rd Annual Holiday Cheer Giveaway--and I've put in an Advance Readers Copy of Crow's Rest!

You could be one of the first to read it (it will ship once the ARC comes out), and there are SO MANY fantastic prizes in this giveaway: books, swag, editor and author critiques, gift cards, etc.

"Three lucky winners will win one of the three baskets filled with books and candy and books and even more candy, along with gift cards, swag, critiques, and just awesome stuff...You can enter every day! The giveaway runs from Dec. 5th to Dec. 19th, 2014, central time."

No purchase is necessary, and you can enter through the Rafflecopter below. Happy holidays from all of us at Spencer Hill Press!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ebb Tide

Back in the Spring of 2010, my short story "Ebb Tide" won 3rd place in WOW! Women on Writing's Quarterly Flash Fiction Contest. Although I've always had it linked on my Short Fiction page, I've never actually posted it here. But I needed another "rerun" post for today, so I'm sharing it now!

Dear Diary,

Dr. Zimmer says I have to keep this journal as part of my therapy; he promised no one would read it. He thinks I have trust issues along with my “fascinating emotional complex.” Duh. I tried to tell him what happens when another person touches me, but he didn’t believe me.

I’ll try again here. Even the lightest brush of another person’s skin opens me up to their deepest sadness. It hits me like a tidal wave before seeping into my every tissue. Then their heartbreak is a part of me as much as it is a part of them, and I can't get rid of it. It’s like a sorrowful osmosis.

I used that word, osmosis, and Dr. Zimmer looked surprised. He’d probably read in my file about the low IQ I’d been saddled with early on, after all the tests ruled out a physical reason for my screaming and thrashing whenever anyone came near me. The autistic diagnosis came later, and I thrived under it, mostly because those therapists respected my physical boundaries as long as I made cognitive progress. And of course I made progress, there was nothing wrong with my brain, other than being cluttered with other people’s regrets.

Although I couldn’t really understand yet, by the time I was three I knew about my Gran’s first child, the one she gave up and didn’t tell her other children about. I saw that my mom had never gotten over her first love, even when he’d married another woman. And that my father knew about the whole thing, but he loved my mother so much he was willing to live with this shadow man lingering in her heart.

By fourteen, I learned to live with these backstories inside me—as long as nobody touched me and introduced new ones. I was doing so well that I got mainstreamed into high school, and that’s when it hit the fan.

Last week, this boy Gerome cornered me and held me down, while his friends gleefully took turns poking me with a finger. It left me raging (I broke Gerome’s nose and some of those poking fingers) and then catatonic, until I woke up in this facility.

Dr. Zimmer let my mom come see me today, and to take away the power of my “delusion,” he encouraged my mom to give me a hug.

She offered me her hand instead. Under Dr. Zimmer’s gaze, I knew I would have to touch her, and it wouldn’t be so bad since I already knew about her lost love.

But that’s not what rushed into me; instead it was her pain that she had this smart, beautiful, funny daughter, and she’d never been able to hold her. I gasped with the shock of it, and Mom let go, apologizing. But I was already stepping forward to put my arms around her, and after a moment’s hesitation, she hugged me back and our shared sorrow flowed away. Out of both of us.

WOW currently has their Spring contest open, btw, until May 31. There's a $10 entry fee if you're thinking of sending something in.

OA Today & A Shoutout for a Special Conference

It's my day on Operation Awesome, and I've posted about cons (conferences and conventions), so click on over and see!

I also wanted to use this space for a couple of reminders:

Firstly, there may still be spaces left in Adventures In YA Publishing's Agent-Judged Pitch+First Page Contest so if you have a finished MG or YA manuscript, maybe you want to enter! I'm one of the judges for the blogger round once again.

Also, our regional chapter (California: North/Central) of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators has a stellar lineup this year for the spring conference. Jay Asher! Nikki Grimes! Agent Tricia Lawrence of Erin Murphy Literary Agency! And so much more. Last I heard, there were still around 40 spaces left, but it usually sells out well before the conference. If you're looking for an information-packed, one-day conference, this is a great choice!

The Glorious Dusting Wand Tree Topper

So yesterday on Twitter, an alumni Operation Awesome operative, Wesley Chu, was mentioned in a contest:

CONTEST: Show Me Your Book Tree. Sponsored by @angryrobotbooks and invented by @wes_chu -- http://t.co/MvVn2fEK1I Get decorating.
— Justin (@jdiddyesquire) December 17, 2013

My curiosity piqued, I went to check it out. Basically, Wes posted a picture of a book tree in his Christmas blog post for Angry Robot Books, his publisher. And then Justin Landon of Staffer's Book Review and Angry Robot decided to challenge readers to make a book tree of their own--with the enticement of prizes to get us off our asses.

Being in the midst of Dreaded Chore Avoidance, I tweeted back to them:

@jdiddyesquire @angryrobotbooks @wes_chu I'm cleaning house today & am embarrassed by overflowing bookshelves.This sounds like a valid use
— Angelica R. Jackson (@angelicarjaxon) December 17, 2013

To which Justin replied:

@angelicarjaxon @angryrobotbooks @wes_chu That's what I'm talking about! Bonus points if you include a cleaning product in the tree. ;)
— Justin (@jdiddyesquire) December 17, 2013

Challenge accepted!

I think that Glorious Dusting Wand Tree Topper is quite fetching, personally. Plus, I avoided chores while I assembled this from beloved (or aesthetically colored) books, and I'll be able to avoid dusting for however long it stays up. Hmm, maybe I'll change out the trimmings seasonally, until it develops its own festive draping of cobwebs and dust--just in time for Halloween.

If you care to enter the contest, follow the link in the first tweet embedded above. Merry Bookimus!

Update: My husband insisted that we add a sign to the precarious book tree. We hope that says, "I dare you, pig (Liesel)!" as Google Translate claims, and not "I am attracted to female pigs" as we fear.

Upcoming Pitch Opportunities

We've missed a few months for the Mystery Agent Contests over at Operation Awesome, but now that the summer is winding down we'll be back on track with agents committed for August, September, and October. So keep an eye on Operation Awesome for details on a wishlist for the August 1 Mystery Agent Contest!

Plus, Adventures in YA & Children's Publishing is running another Pitch+250 Contest, and I've been invited to be one of the judges for Round 1! Here's how to enter (be sure to follow their blog for updates, including the agent judges reveal!):

Submissions will be accepted starting on Wednesday, July 31st at 6:00pm EST time. The submission window will close on August 3rd at 11:00pm EST time, or when we receive 50 submissions, whichever comes first. The entries will consist of a pitch of no more than 100 words plus the first 250 words of your completed manuscript. For your pitch, think logline, not query.

Pitch+250 is open to YA, NA, and MG submissions only. It will consist of 3 rounds of judging. We will accept a maximum of 50 submissions.

Round 1: A great set of bloggers will judge the submissions. The 25 submissions with the highest scores will move on to the next round.

Round 2: YA authors will judge the top 25 submissions. The 10 highest scores will move on to the next round.

Round 3: Agent and Editor judges will score the top 10 submissions.

The top 10 submissions will receive a critique from one of our judges. All 50 entrants will receive scorecards from each round of judging they participate in.

Starting at 6:00 pm Eastern time on Wednesday, July 31st, please send your pitch of no more than 100 words plus the first 250 words of your completed manuscript in the body of an email to 4kidlit (at) gmail (dot) com. We will accept a maximum of 50 submissions. You must include Pitch+250 in the subject line. Please use the following format in the body of your email:

Name:
Title:
Genre:
Email:

Pitch:

1st 250:

Entry for The Writer's Voice: Crow's Rest

So there's this contest called The Writer's Voice being hosted by Brenda Drake, Cupid of Cupid’s Literary Connection, Krista Van Dolzer of Mother. Write. (Repeat.) and Monica B.W. of Love YA where we post the query and first 250 words of a project we'd like to catch an agent's eye. Here's mine!

Query:


Crow’s Rest is a 72,000-word young adult urban fantasy novel with the wry humor of Kiersten White’s Paranormalcy series and the dark fantasy feel of Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely series.

Sixteen-year-old Avery arrives for a visit at her Uncle Tam's, eager to rekindle her summertime romance with her crush-next-door, Daniel. Instead, she discovers Daniel's body has been taken over by a corbin, a Fae which usually crosses into our world by inhabiting crows.

The corbin, Lonan, warns her that some of his kin are no longer satisfied with crow bodies. Or even the occasional accommodating human. They want to come here in their natural forms, with their full, terrible powers intact. It’s happened before, leading to the fall of Rome and the Dark Ages, but this time Lonan has been sent to stop them.

In exchange for Avery’s help with his mission, she insists the corbin brings Daniel back, forcing the two boys to share Daniel’s body. Switching between personalities in an uneasy truce. But once she starts to fall for the charming Lonan, Avery realizes that even if they do save the world, only one of the boys will get sole custody of the body—leaving her heartbroken either way.

Meanwhile, she discovers her family’s roots reach deeper into Faerie than she ever imagined, proving crucial to the survival of both worlds.

First 250:

Mom woke me as we hit the outskirts of Crow's Rest. "Brace yourself, Avery Girl." She said this every time we visited Uncle Tam’s, and it still gave me a shiver.

July air streamed through the car window, coating my tongue with heat and iron-rich dust. Nearly there. . . As we took that last curve on the approach, tree branches arched over the road, blocking our view until there it stood.

A castle, its ruddy bricks warmed by the afternoon light. Looming over the Gold-Rush-era town at its feet, the Wilson School of Industry reformed bad boys for nearly a century before the state abandoned it to vandals and ghost hunters.

The usual mass of turkey vultures and ravens soared above, sinisterizing the turrets even more. Makes my shutter finger drool, if that’s even possible. But no need to rummage for my camera—I’ll have the whole summer to take pictures for my portfolio.

As the Castle receded in the side mirror, I asked, "Is Uncle Tam going to be home, or does he have lessons tonight?"

"He made sure to keep tonight open so we could visit."

I looked at Mom sharply, catching the lines on her brow before she smoothed them into a neutral expression. Hmm, I smell bull, and it’s not coming in through the window.

She’d been acting weird all week, taking hushed phone calls out of the room and kissing the top of my head for no reason.

"Is something wrong with Uncle Tam?"



((What happens next in the contest, you might be wondering? The coaches will select 8 team members (plus 1 alternate) by May 10, then spend the next week and a half helping them put a final polish on their entries.

Voting

On May 20, they'll post our team members’ queries and first pages on their blogs so that the agents can review them))

MORE Pitch Opportunities!

Sorry to yell with that all-caps MORE, but it seems like contest season is upon us! Here are some upcoming chances to pitch your book, in order of their submission periods:

Operation Awesome's Mystery Agent Contest for May will open May 1st; watch for details of the agent's wishlist and genres accepted, which will go up on Operation Awesome in the next week. UPDATE: the May Mystery Agent is looking for Horror, Mystery, Crime, Suspense, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Science Fiction, and Mainstream. Adult/YA (no MG). No romance or religious. Especially looking for YA Horror and Mystery-- think creepy and dark.

The Writer's Voice, a pitch+250 words contest, will have a lottery entry that opens on May 1. There are some rules and guidelines that must be followed, so check out any of the hosting blogs for info. This one is for MG and YA manuscripts.

And there's also a Query Kombat Contest & Tournament starting May 13, where queries and first 250 words will go head to head until one winner is declared. "Submissions for MG, YA, NA, and Adult works will be accepted. No picture books or non-fiction."

Good luck!

Pitch Your MG or YA Now at Operation Awesome

NOT an April Fools' trick! Just another great opportunity to pitch your book to a mysterious agent.

It's going on now and there's room for 75 entries--don't miss out!

Hot Pitch Opportunities

No, this isn't a post about escalating the hot candle wax trick from 50 Shades of Gray by using hot pitch. It's about some opportunities to pitch your book to agents!

But first, some of my own news on that front. Queries for Crow's Rest were sent out last week, plus I made it through to the agent round of Brenda Drake's Pitch Madness--407 people entered, but only 64 were picked. Ha ha, I missed out on some of the decision-torture by being clueless that the judges were tweeting about entries by genre; I went back and looked later and apparently mine was up against a YA paranormal romance and ultimately won the slot. But it was close! I generally don't have as much confidence in my one-line pitches (and this one had a max of 35 words) as my queries, so I think it was the first-page sample that swayed them. Here's the pitch I sent:

Avery wants to evict the creature who has taken residence in her boyfriend's body, but preventing the corbin from fulfilling his mission will plunge the world into another Dark Age.

Our pitch and first page go up tomorrow (mine will be on S.M. Johnston's blog) and agents will be placing blind bids. Then on March 28 they'll reveal the winning bids, plus any ties. It all sounds very complicated, but it's exciting and maddening to be a part of these contests!

If you didn't make it into this one, or found out too late to submit, you can still get in on some of the fun by participating in the Pitch Madness Twitter Party with the hashtag #PitMad on March 29. "So get your 140 character twitter pitch ready. Make sure to include the hashtag #PitMad and try to fit the genre (YA, MG, Adult, NA, and so on) in the pitch. We've had some success stories come out of our previous PitMads so shine up the pitches!" says Brenda.

The other upcoming pitch opportunity is Operation Awesome's Mystery Agent Contest on April 1. Details of the agent's wishlist will go up on Operation Awesome tomorrow, so look for that.

These are a great way to see how your pitch compares to others in your genre (does it stand out, or does it sound too similar?), so I encourage you to enter these pitch contests!

Litreactor's Sci-Fi Writing Challenge

All the info from their website:

"Our sci-fi writing challenge, TELEPORT US, is open to submissions!
 

The time is upon us! LitReactor's sci-fi writing challenge is open for submissions!

So what does that mean?

If you're a writer, you have a month (until February 28th) to submit your story following the prompts we handed out in the beginning of January (which is right here, in case you missed it).

If you're a reader, you can read and rate stories that have been submitted. There's a bunch already waiting for you.
 

To submit or to read, click here. 
 

Remember, the whole point of this challenge is to stretch your writing boundaries, read some cool stories, and meet new and interesting people. That's why the entire thing is open and free of charge—you do not need to be a paying member of the site to participate. This is about all of us having fun and learnin' a little something from each other.

But also it's about winning prizes! We're not announcing everything just yet, but we do want to share this: Some of the top-rated stories will be read and critiqued by authors like Chuck Wendig, Adam Christopher, Kat Howard and Joseph Nassise! Read more about that here. We'll have more to announce soon. Think: Swag. And don't worry, non-writing readers, there'll be opportunities for you to win stuff, too!"


So what are you waiting for--go enter!

Pitch Plus First 250 Contest Today at Adventures in YA and Children's Publishing Blog

If you have a polished young adult, middle grade, or new adult manuscript ready for submission, you might want to get in on the Pitch + 250 Contest on the Adventures in YA and Children's Publishing blog that opens TODAY.

Submissions close when they receive 100 entries or February 9th (whichever comes first), and there are three rounds of judging: bloggers, authors, and agents. Besides getting your work looked at by all those eyes, there are prizes:

"The winner will receive a three chapter critique (30 pages max) by Molly Jaffa of Folio Literary Management.

The 4 runners-up will each receive a one chapter critique (10 pages max) by one of our agent judges.

The remainder of the top 25 will receive a one chapter critique (10 pages max) by one of the judges."

It's a chance to get some valuable feedback on your work, so what are you waiting for? Oh, and the pitch needs to be under 250 words and make sure you put Pitch+250 in the subject line when you submit.

In other news, today is my very first post as a contributor to Operation Awesome! Come join me over there and find out the real stories behind the truths and a lie revealed during the Mystery Blogger introduction. And by the way, my posts on this blog will likely go to every other week to allow for my OA posts every other Monday.

(And if you're wondering what this picture has to do with any of the above, our Operation Awesome mascot is an owl. He is however a cartoon, and not this great-horned owl which I photographed in Alaska.)

2013 First Crime Novel Competition

PLEASE NOTE: I will not be posting the winner here--this is strictly a post letting people know about the opportunity to enter the contest.

So many great competitions this season! Minotaur Books and Mystery Writers of America have opened the 2013 First Crime Novel Competition for submissions.

And they've made an important, 21st century change in their guidelines: they're now accepting electronic submissions! They used to make you mail in an application to get the mailing address for your reader, and that just made it unnecessarily complicated.

What else do you need to know?

• Deadline is December 17
• Must be at least 18
• Must be an unpublished author
• "Murder or another serious crime or crimes is at the heart of the story"
• You must agree to their standard "boilerplate" contract

Full details are at the links above, and good luck if you enter!

PLEASE NOTE: I will not be posting the winner here--this is strictly a post letting people know about the opportunity to enter the contest.

4th Annual Young Adult Novel Discovery Contest

Serendipity Literary Agency and Gotham Writers' Workshop are once again offering the opportunity to get the first page of your young adult novel in front of select editors and literary agent Regina Brooks.

For a $15 entry fee, your first page (250 words) and title will be read by Ms. Brooks to find the top 20 entries. From their website: "These submissions will then be read by editors from five prominent publishing houses.  These judges will whittle the 20 semi-finalists down to five finalists, and each of the five winners will be provided commentary on their submissions.

Here is a list of judges for this year's contest:

Navah Wolfe, Simon and Schuster
Tracey Sherrod, Harlequin Kimani
Krista Viola, Random House
Nicole Raymond, Candlewick
Rachel Griffiths, Scholastic
Aubrey Poole, Sourcebooks
Mercedes Fernandez, Kensington
Nataysha Wilson, Harlequin teen
Laura Whitaker, Bloomsbury
Anna Roberts, Feiwel and Friends

And here's what you could win:
The Grand Prize Winner will have the opportunity to submit an entire manuscript to YA literary agent Regina Brooks and receive a free, 10-week writing course, courtesy of Gotham Writers' Workshop, plus a collection of gourmet teas from Possibiliteas.co.

The Top Five Entrants (including the Grand Prize winner) will receive a 15-minute, one-on-one pitch session with Regina Brooks, one of New York’s premier literary agents for young adult books. They will also receive commentary on their submissions by editors at five prominent publishing houses and receive a one-year subscription to The Writer magazine.

The First 50 Entrants will receive a copy of Writing Great Books for Young Adults by Regina Brooks. (Shipped only to addresses in US and Canada.)


Deadline is November 30 so what are you waiting for? Here's a chance to bypass the query system and get eyes on your first page!

P.S. Perhaps you want to take advantage of Pitch Wars to help hone your pitch? The details and schedule are here, and then go here to find the coaches current wants.

My Name is Angelica, and I'm a YA Addict

Author Beth Revis made good use of her event schedule this summer by scoring signed copies of books by some of her favorite fellow YA authors. And what's more, she's opened up a contest to give away an entire library of said books!


I must admit that I'm a fanatical convert to young adult books. I'd always read them here and there, but at this point I rarely even go into the adult fiction section at a library or bookstore. And even my e-book purchases are about 85% YA, and 15% other (nonfiction and adult fiction).

I do love that YA is full of firsts, and this jaded middle-aged woman can experience them all over again. But I think what keeps me going back to YA the most is the pacing. I've always had a low tolerance for literary fiction because I always felt like I was waiting for something to happen.

YA authors definitely do not have that luxury--if it doesn't hook a teen, they put it down. And interestingly, as a teen I was pretty stubborn about always finishing books. I might start skimming, but I would always want to see how it ends.

It's only as an adult, with more demands on my time plus a greater understanding of what I look for in a book, that I will now set books aside without finishing them. And reading YA has helped me with pacing my own books as well, even if they're not intended for a YA audience.

What about you? What makes you keep coming back to YA?

Winner & RTW: Spookiness

First, let's get to the winner of the signed copy of Behind the Bookcase by Mark Steensland:



Congratulations, Tricia C.! Thanks to all who entered!

And now on to today's Road Trip Wednesday post. Road Trip Wednesday is a "Blog Carnival," where YA Highway's contributors and followers post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on their blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.

This week's topic: Halloween! What's your favorite scary book or movie?

My idea of a scary movie is probably laughable to a lot of people. Or at least to my husband, who still teases me about the time I ran out of the room during a "gotcha" moment in the movie The Changeling. Or to my childhood friend, who loved to torment me about Gremlins when we were in the POOL. A POOL FULL OF WATER.

But when it comes to books, my own brain knows how much I can handle so it fills in "monster" with something appropriately creepy or frightening, but not enough to give me too many nightmares.

So there are a couple of books that I like to read around Halloween, to help set the mood.

I haven't read any of her other books in ages, but The Witching Hour has the power to immediately transport me to another time and place. It's genuinely startling to look up from the pages of this book and not find myself caught in an intense storm in New Orleans.

Carrie Ryan's zombie series is another great Halloween read, for its dark ambiance and themes. There is one bit of creepiness that's almost unbearable (if you've read it, you'll probably agree which part that is) but so incredibly well-written.

What about you? What are your favorite Halloween reads or movies? Feel free to include the link to your RTW post in your comment if you're participating.

Writer's Digest Young Adult Fiction Competition Deadline Extended

Writer's Digest extended the deadline for their Young Adult Fiction Competition to October 31.

That means you still have time to write and polish your manuscript for submission!

Maximum word count is 4,000 and the fee is $20 per entry.

One First Place Category Winner will receive:

• A $500 cash prize
• Win $100 off a purchase at www.writersdigestshop.com
• A copy of the 2013 Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market
• Be promoted in Writer’s Digest‘s May/June issue and on WritersDigest.com

Plus a chance to win the Popular Fiction Awards Grand Prize including $2,500 and a trip to the 2013 Writer’s Digest Conference in New York City.

If you want to try your hand at something other than Young Adult Fiction, they've also extended the deadlines to October 31 in the following categories:

• Science Fiction
• Thriller
• Romance
• Crime
• Horror
• The short story competition has a deadline of November 15.

For more info on these, go to their main competitions page.

Help the Lucky 13s Celebrate

The group of YA authors/bloggers known as The Lucky 13s were awfully helpful with items for the Pens for Paws Auction, so I want to help spread the word about an amazing celebration and giveaway on their blog!

To celebrate us being halfway through 2012--and therefore, halfway to 2013--twenty members of The Lucky 13s are each giving away books that influenced their reading and writing lives. That's right, the winners will receive twenty books, guaranteed to change your life*!

To enter, go to their post announcing the giveaway, and follow the instructions for the widget thingy. I started to type "and may the odds be in your favor" but it sounded too much like I ripped that off from Effie. So I'll say good luck instead!



*Okay, no one made any such guarantee or promise, I was just really excited when I wrote that sentence.