OA Today

I'm over on Operation Awesome today, with a post on pitch opportunities! Click on over and see!

Oops, A Little Late For My Post

Today has not gone as planned! When I realized last night I didn't have a post scheduled for today, I thought "I can do it after I get home from class."

I failed to account for the construction workers picking today to saw the concrete pavers. I stuck it out in my office for long enough to tackle some emails and vital Facebooking, and then fled onto the other side of the house. Where I took advantage of the .99 book-birthday sale for Rachel Harris's My Not So Super Sweet Life and plowed through about half of it.

I did manage to get in a a full workday last Thursday (in spite of more sawing and sledgehammering), and got the bulk of my 1st pass edits done. Can't believe we're already at that milestone in Crow's Rest edits! Though I think since my release date is only 13 months away we're technically behind schedule, lol.

I ended up finishing them over the weekend, only to run into email snafus when I tried to send them back to my editor. So frustrating! But I've discovered (or is that re-discovered?) that nothing makes you feel like a Real Writer than that determination to work in spite of annoyances.

On that note, I need to focus on more bookly things so for May 5th and May 19th I'll be scheduling some Old Favorite blog posts, aka reruns. I'll still be sharing some new content on Operation Awesome over the next month, but look for a new, refreshed muse in June, when I'm not feeling so squeezed!

Official Publisher's Marketplace Announcement for Crow's Rest!

If you followed the link from Monday (it says Sunday, but it should be 4/4), you saw that I announced I've joined the Spencer Hill Press family with my book Crow's Rest! I joined Publisher's Marketplace to do some other research, and was able to find the announcement:

"Children's: Young Adult

Angelica Jackson's CROW'S REST, in which a girl is determined to reclaim her almost-boyfriend from the Fae with the help of the creature who stole his body in the first place, to Owen Dean at Spencer Hill Press, in a nice deal, for publication in May 2015 (World).
Rights: Rebecca Mancini of Rights Mix"

Squee! Now it seems really real! I know that sounds shamefully incoherent for a writer, but we've got to have those moments too, right?

OA Today with a Special Announcement

I'm over on OA today with a special announcement--or at least, special to me! Click on over and see!

The Best April Fools' Day Pranks Come Early

Back in the beginning of March, we sent out a call on Operation Awesome for applications from possible new members. I couldn't resist pranking my fellow operatives with the following entry:

Hello Operation Awesome,

I heard of your call for new members, and I've been an enthusiastic lurker on the blog since the very beginning. I would love to join such an awesome group of bloggers!

I'm currently living in Edinburgh with my husband and three children, though I do travel quite a bit as well. I've written a popular series for children--which spans the length of the school years for several characters--and the novels I've written for an adult audience have gotten some notice recently. I am well familiar with rejections from agents and publishers, as well as juggling the demands of family and book tours, so I believe I may be able to offer some humble contributions to Operation Awesome.

Please let me know if you have any other questions for me, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours in hope,
Joanne "J.K." Rowling

Here are my books in case you haven't heard of them:
Harry Potter series

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (26 June 1997)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2 July 1998)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (8 July 1999)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (8 July 2000)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (21 June 2003)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (16 July 2005)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (21 July 2007)

Other children's books

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (supplement to the Harry Potter series) (1 March 2001)
Quidditch Through the Ages (supplement to the Harry Potter series) (1 March 2001)
The Tales of Beedle the Bard (supplement to the Harry Potter series) (4 December 2008)

Adult books

The Casual Vacancy (27 September 2012)

Cormoran Strike series

The Cuckoo's Calling (as Robert Galbraith) (18 April 2013)
The Silkworm (as Robert Galbraith) (24 June 2014)

After deciding to not to send it from a faked email address, I claimed it came to my personal mail because "she wants to make sure she has a real chance at it before giving out her contact info".

It could happen, right? Why wouldn't JK Rowling decide the next chapter in her life is to join a group blog? Hee hee

OA Today

Oops, almost forgot to post that I'm over on Operation Awesome today, with some tips on writing back cover copy. Click on over and check it out!

Moonflower by Angela Townsend

There's only a week left before the March 31 release of Moonflower by Angela Townsend! I got to read this one last year and it's a great twist on the Chosen One trope:

Natasha remembers little from her Russian childhood, other than the lingering nightmares of her mother's tragic death. So when someone close to her hands her a one-way ticket to Russia, along with the deed to her family farm, and then is brutally murdered, she has little confidence about what awaits her in that distant land.

With doubt and uncertainty, Natasha has no choice but to leave her life in America for an unknown future. Once overseas, the terrifying facts as to why she was really summoned home come to light.

Fact one: Monsters do exist.
Fact two: The only thing keeping those monsters out of the world is an ancient mural hidden below her family's farm.
Fact three: The mural that keeps the evil out of the world is falling apart.
The final fact: It's up to Natasha to restore it and save the world from a horror unlike anything seen before.

Luckily, Natasha isn't alone in her mission. Three Russian Knights are tasked with protecting her from the demons as she restores the mural. And leading the Knights is the handsome and strong Anatoly, who seems to be everything Natasha could hope for in a man. Unfortunately, there is one huge problem. Her Knights are forbidden from having relationships with the artists they protect, and Anatoly is a hardcore rule follower. But rules cannot stop the way she feels.

When a horrifying demon breaches the barrier and pulls Anatoly inside the mural, Natasha can’t help but charge, once again, into the unknown—this time to save the man she secretly loves. Now on the demons’ turf, she risks her own life to free the very one who is supposed to be protecting her. Little does she realize that if she should fail, it could mean the destruction of the very last barrier shielding mankind. Will Anatoly refuse Natasha’s help? Or will he finally realize, when love is at stake, the rules will be broken.

Add it on Goodreads!