RTW and some news!

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: Who are your favorite literary couples?
You know -- the ones you like by themselves, but LOVE together!



First, some nominations in adult titles: Sookie and any of her many lovers (but especially Eric), Claire and Jamie in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander, and Jack and Eliza in Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson.

For YA: Mary "Jacky" Faber and Jared in the Bloody Jack books, Blossom and Alexander in Ghosts I Have Been by Richard Peck, and Aislinn and Seth from Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series.

What do all these various couples have in common? Each half of the whole is a fully-realized character, with a "real" life taking place offstage. No sitting by the phone waiting for a call for these love interests!

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And now for some news! My video pitch was chosen to be critted for Pitch University's Pitch Evaluation Lab! What's more, I impressed agent Christine Witthohn so much that she asked me to send her the full manuscript of my book!

I would really encourage people to dive in and submit a video--it's a great learning experience, and it just may lead to a request!

P.S. for another example of my burgeoning mad video-ing skills, check out this special video for Valentine's Day

Are You Ready to be Schooled?

Pitch University launches their first "Pitch U Pitchfest Week," wherein agent Christine Wittohn of BookCents Literary Agency will consider your pitches. If a video pitch intimidates you, they've added options for audio and written submissions to ease you into the process.

There are lots of details to get straight, so be sure to read the rules carefully. I recorded a pitch last week that I liked, and after re-reading their rules I discovered that I'd left out the important "completed" tag. So I tackled it again, and I thought I'd post the result today, in case anyone sees some glaring errors I need to fix by Sunday.



And as a bonus, some advice to prospective pitchers on word choice: beware dangerous word combinations like "sets a ship," or you could end up with a blooper like this:


Yes, I said "Olivia Herald sets a shit" before I cracked up. Mom would be so proud.

If you'd like to read the text of the pitch, it's the same one that's on my Novels page above.

O Magazine Wants Poems!

For a special poetry issue of O Magazine, Oprah.com is calling for your favorite poems. They can be your original work, or a poem that particularly moves you.

Open to submissions through February 11, so hurry! Tried to embed a video with an invitation to submit your poems from the guest editor, Maria Shriver, but I'll have to give you the link instead:

http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/Maria-Shriver-Guest-Edits-O-Magazine-Send-Us-Your-Favorite-Poems

Contests Galore!

First, the winner for my First Ever Contest to win some wall candy for your writing space:

Thanks to those who entered and congratulations to Theresa Milstein! Shoot me an email at strikingnotes(at)yahoo(dot)com with your mailing address and your pick for your second photo! Don't forget that you can pick anything from my website

And in other contest news, Shelli on the Market My Words blog is running a Pay It Forward Contest through Feb. 4. In appreciation for all those that helped her along the way, she's offering up a referral to her own agent. Understandably, she's not randomly picking a writer to recommend--Shelli's generously using her own time and effort to find a new voice and help bring some well-earned attention to them. The rules are on her contest link above, but she does ask that you pay it forward by acknowledging those that have helped you along the way.

In my early days, the El Dorado Writers Guild helped me break a lot of newbie habits. They still meet, if anyone else needs an open, caring group. My YA critique group, including Nancy Herman, Rachel Allen Dillon, Christina Mercer, Joe Vollmer, Thelma White, and new member Janelle Weiner are vital. And betas Karla Nellenbach and Alison Kemper Beard have helped me see where I'm being stubborn, and called me on things I was trying to get away with. Whew, where would I be without all of you? Still writing on my own, repeating the same bad habits, that's where!


And lastly, I wanted to remind everyone that Operation Awesome is doing another Mystery Agent contest starting tomorrow, and this time they are asking for a 25-word pitch. So get flexing those pitching muscles so you can be ready to enter--they fill up fast!

A World of Pure Imagination

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: If you could live within the universe of one book, which would you choose?

The world of Harry Potter seems to be the hands-down favorite today! But I'm breaking out of the pack and picking Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Maybe it's because I ate lunch late, thereby getting really hungry beforehand, but that river of chocolate sounds fantabulous right now. That is, if Augustus Gloop didn't pee in it while he was in there.

And all the candy you could eat! I would only change one thing: if Johnny Depp appears in this world, he should be in his Sparrow-persona rather than his uber-creepy Willy Wonka persona.

So what about you; which world would you pick? And don't forget to enter my contest by Friday!

My First Ever Contest! Win Art by Yours Truly!

I was trying to think of a unique prize I could offer as an appreciation for all my followers and friends, and then it hit me--duh! What about one of my prints? A matted 8x10 should be easy to mail (in my experience, people want to pick out frames to match their decor). In fact, 2 pix would be just as easy to mail!

To enter the contest, just leave a comment on this post before Friday, Jan.28, at 5 pm PST; I'll use a randomizer to select a winner over the weekend and post an announcement on Monday, Jan. 31. No requirements about following the blog, although followers, posts, and tweets are always appreciated. Make sure I have some way to contact you, whether it's your profile or your email, and apologies to international folks but this contest is only open to those with a U.S. address. So here's what you could win:

An 8x10 matted print of a photo of the schoolhouse in Bodie that has proven popular with writer-friends and teacher-friends:



PLUS any 8x10 matted pic of your choice from my website!

Maybe you're the flowery type


Or the scenic type


Or more urban decay


ETA: 1/28/2011 @ 5:00 PM PST
CONTEST NOW CLOSED! LOOK FOR THE WINNER ON MONDAY 1/31/2011, and thanks to all who entered!

Know Any Hard-up Writers?

Do you know a children's or YA writer that has a few published books under their belt, but can't quite give up the day job? Perhaps the PEN American Center and its $5,000 Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship can get them a little closer. The best part is that candidates can be nominated by fellow writers as well as editors.

Who is eligible:
A candidate is a writer of children or young-adult fiction in financial need; candidates have published at least two novels for children or young adults which have been warmly received by literary critics, but have not generated sufficient income to support the author. The writer's books must be published by a U.S. publisher.

I only heard about this one a few days ago, so hurry over to their website and submit the info by February 3rd!
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And don't forget to vote on your favorite first line over at the something else to distract me blog. Can you guess which one is mine?