March Madness and some giveaway winners!

March Madness has my new writing habit well in place and must say I'm very glad for that. Two hours a day is all about the writing. Researching, revising, re-imagining characters and the list goes on. When I started working full time the hours in the day reduced drastically and I had to re-vision the writing, blogging, reading. One down and the other two to work out in terms the when and how much. Blogging seems to be leaning towards Sundays, big chunks of reading time on the weekends...more time will tell on that.

Part of the blogging I've been doing includes giveaways, which I love love doing. But. I forgot to  announce the winner for one I did a while back (she knows, you all don't).  It was part of the Random Acts of Kindness blog hop hosted by I'm a Reader, Not a Writer. The winner was Lexie @ The Book Bug and she picked Crossed by Ally Condie from The Book Depository.


Next up is the winner of the Judith Grave's book Second Skin. This was for commenting on a guest post Judith wrote on finding the your writer's balance. Congratulations out to Linda Jackson. Just waiting to hear back from her. 

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan

Welcome to another episode of : (*imagine deep echoey voice*) 

As always a shout out to Shannon Messenger who came up with the idea to give MG the attention it so richly deserves. Speaking of attention another shout out to Jill @ The O.W.L.. All this month is March Middle Grade Madness!

Today I'm sharing the Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan. I am thinking many of you are already familiar with it, but just in case some of my newer followers and fans of middle grade fantasy have not...I'm sharing. If you love a hero you can cheer for. A hero you know is a hero before he does and you like high fantasy with some dark and humour, this is for you. It is a perennial favourite of my (former) book club kids, new books in the series snatched up as soon as I put them on the shelf. And read numerous times by those same fans, boys in particular. More from IndieBound on book one, The Ruins of Gorlan:

They have always scared him in the past - the Rangers, with their dark cloaksand shadowy ways. The villagers believe the Rangers practice magic that makes them invisible to ordinary people. And now 15-year-old Will, always small for his age, has been chosen as a Ranger's apprentice. What he doesn't yet realize is that the Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom. Highly trained in the skills of battle and surveillance, they fight the battles before the battles reach the people. And as Will is about to learn, there is a large battle brewing. The exiled Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, is gathering his forces for an attack on the kingdom. This time, he will not be denied.


I adored Will because he was filled with self doubt and didn't realize his own potential even when we could see it. Plus he was afraid of the very men he he was meant to become one of! It hit me in the heart. The kids who read it loved the action, the dark evil, the battles lost, the friendships made, the battles won. Set that all in a dark ages like setting filled with magic and you have a winner beginning to end. And that's only book one!


That's it from me. I'm also over on Shannon Messenger's blog singing the praises of Silverwing, a novel by one of my favourite Canadian authors. See you over there, too!


For more middle grade love and participants check out some of the following:

Jennifer Rumberger-Children's Author
Joanne Fritz-My Brain on Books
Danika Dinsmore-The Accidental Novelist 
Shannon O'Donnell-Book Dreaming
Myrna Foster-The Night Writer
Natalie Aguirre-Literary Rambles
Brooke Favero-Somewhere in the Middle
Ally Beecher- Kid Lit Frenzy
Barbara Watson-Novel and Nouveau
Anita Laydon Miller-her middle grade blog
Michael G-G-Middle Grade Mafioso
Jessica Lei-her blog  
Pam Torres-So I'm Fifty
Akoss-Nye Louwon – My Spirit | a search for the writer in me
Gabrielle Prendergast-Angelhorn
Gina Carey
T.L. Conway

Judith Graves-On Finding Balance in Your Writing Life and Giveaway of Second Skin

Today I am happy to welcome Judith Graves,author of the Skinned series, to my blog. She's here to share her thoughts on finding balance as we blog, write, promote our books, ourselves. It is a tricky thing to do and often I find myself tipping the scales too far one way or the other.

Before I hand over the blog to Judith, though, I want to share a little bit about SECOND SKIN which is the second in her series, Under My Skin, being the first.

The book trailer:

My thoughts:

Just released. Just received a copy from the author...and well. It does not disappoint. In fact I think she upped her game with this one. Smart (a**) heroine with a huge secret (can you say wolven?) that keeps trying to bust out of her skin. She hangs with her friends doing the "usual" stuff- hunting paranorms (demons, vampires, hell spawn, werewolves)  while balancing school, relationships and all the fun of living in a small town that seems to be a magnet for all the baddies. The action is fast paced, heart stopping and heart breaking. Judith found a balance in her writing that I found compelling-kind of like the humour and feel of Supernatural (t.v. series). Speaking of T.V. I think this would translate well to the screen. 

From Goodreads:

With FIENDS like Eryn…

Monsters. Bloodsuckers. The evil. The damned. Eryn McCain knows they exist— she’s been hunting them since she was a child. At sixteen, she’s ready to take on all comers. Being a shapeshifter gives her an advantage when it comes to her unusual part-time job. The hours suck and the pay is, well, non-existent, but bonuses like inhuman strength and night vision make tracking scary beasties a dream come true. Especially in a town like Redgrave.

When an ancient demon targets Redgrave High, Eryn and her crew of hunters must face their innermost fears to prevent the Harvest Moon Dance from becoming one serious Monster Mash. Loyalties are tested and temptations abound. With questions ever brewing, can Eryn share a future with the brooding, noble, human Alec—the hunter after her heart? Or will she succumb to her enemy’s son, Wade, a seductive predator as bloodthirsty as she is?

What happens when you’re both the beauty and the beast?

Alright. Nuff from me. On with Judith's thoughts about finding balance in your writing life! More about her books and the giveaway at end of post.

On Finding Balance:

There are several things I struggle with in life. Constructing killer sentences, avoiding chocolate, and finding that elusive beastie known as BALANCE.

Each day of our lives is filled with things we hope to accomplish and while we’re tackling Today, we add a few dozen goals for Tomorrow. To keep us on track we’ve got daytimers, to-do lists, email alerts, and stickie note jungles growing around our laptops/workstations.

If we’re lucky, we might even build in some family / real life / fun time, although that will be penciled in and likely shifted around – or scratched out. Or forgotten.

The life of a young adult author is a frenzied, multi-tasking, social networking event – every single day. However, several years into this gig, I can finally say I think I have a handle on the whole work life versus social life issue.

At least, I do in theory. There are always hitches in my plans for a balanced day, let alone my hopes for a balanced life. But here’s how I attempt the impossible.

I have a schedule. And most days, I live by it. Rigid, you say? OCD? Perhaps, and yet in the few months since I’ve created this schedule I’ve managed to get more pages written, have more down time, and have been able to focus my attention when with my husband / my hyper labs (rather than obsessing over scenes I could be cranking out), and enjoying my other interests (playing guitar, singing/songwriting) than ever before.

If a few days here or there are wonky, so be it. I ALLOW myself to trip occasionally, as long as I get back up, and back on track.

I offer you my writing schedule in hopes that it helps fellow writers, or any other soul floundering in a sea of TO-DOs:

NOTE: 5am wake up time is usual for me, but might seem extreme to others. J

WRITING DAY SCHEDULE

5-8am: breakfast, reading, exercise

8-NOON: update blogs, answer interview questions, write guest posts/articles, update social media (FB/Twitter, etc.)

NOON-1pm: lunch – play with the pups / take them to mailbox

1-4pm: write (daily goal 3 pages can be on one or spread over multiple projects)

Evening: research, watch film/TV, outline, brainstorm…and live a little.

***

Thanks so much for doing this for us, Judith. Love your writing day schedule and how you do allow yourself the trip ups, but always get back in the saddle...or should say back in the boat! Now, if you'd liked to learn a little more about her, here are the places to go:

Author Website: www.judithgraves.com 

Steampunk series: www.strangewaysnovels.com

Twitter: @judithgraves and @AStrangeways
Blog Tour: Second Skin

To win a copy of Judith's book all I ask is that you comment. If you'd leave some thoughts, tips, techniques on how you find your balance, it will get you another entry. Contest is open until midnight on Monday. Open to U.S. and Canada.

Enjoy your day everyone!

March Madness Day 9 Check-in

As I've been reading how everyone's been doing I'm heartened to see a recurring notion. We get that it's always important keep moving forward. If one day doesn't go so well, we get up and start over the next or know the weekend (or evening, or...pick your best time) is on the way so we can sit down and get even more done. There is also an awareness that, yep, life happens. It gets in the way. So, what do we do? We deal as we need, then step back into the March Madness. It all boils down to moving forward and knowing that each word, each bit of time, each page written or read is moving us towards achieving our goals.

I kind of like how Stephen King put it (and this can be applied to reading that book, writing that post, re-designing that blog, completing that illustration).

“When asked, "How do you write?" I invariably answer, "One word at a time," and the answer is invariably dismissed. But that is all it is. It sounds too simple to be true, but consider the Great Wall of China, if you will: one stone at a time, man. That's all. One stone at a time. ” Stephen King



Onward, I say! One stone at a time Wipsters, one stone at a time. Speaking of, how'd it go this week? I am managing at least two hours each day for blogging, reading, writing. AND-on the writing, I am doing it long hand. _Loving_ it. 


Tomorrow's check-in is over at Jaye Robin Brown's blog HANGING ON TO WONDER. See y'all there and on twitter (#wipmadness). Still time to sign up on Denise Jaden's blog!

Marvelous Grade Monday-Dangerous Waters: An Adventure on the Titanic by Gregory Mone

Yay! Time for another MMGM (brainchild of Shannon Messenger). And I am telling you I loved the book I am about to talk about. Wanted to start reading it all over again when I finished it, actually. 'Course have about a billion other books on my TBR to get to so that will have to wait. Sigh, it is a tough job we have, eh? Reading all these books (not!).

Thanks to Raincoast Books (Canadian Distributor) and Roaring Brook I was provided with an ARC of DANGEROUS WATERS by Gregory Mone. This book will be released MARCH 13! Read and fell in love with it yesterday. It's full of adventure, mystery, attempted murder, crazy stowaway, theft of a valuable rare book and the kind of hero, twelve year old Patrick Waters, you want to cheer for from the beginning. In other words great kid appeal and bang on middle grade feel. And, it's set on the Titanic! Also, needless to say, this is one for middle grade fans of anything Titanic and those who love historical fiction and ones whole love danger, adventure and running for your life. And. (really, could I use anymore "ands"?) The author crosses a number of genres and does it well. I think one thing that could have happened (but did not) is the larger than life setting (after all it is the Titanic) could have overshadowed fictional characters and plot. The author does an amazing job of ensuring that the ship and the real-life characters are only the backdrop or the canvas, if you will, but included enough to make you always aware of just where you were and where the ship was heading. The ship is on a collision course with an iceberg and the MC is on a collision course with that crazy, murderous stowaway.

More from Indie Bound: A stowaway, a stolen book, a murderous villain: an adventure on the most famous shipwreck in history.  The great ocean liner Titanic is preparing to cross the Atlantic. On board is a sinister thief bent on stealing a rare book that may be the key to unlocking infinite treasure, a wealthy academic traveling home to America with his rare book collection, and Patrick Waters, a twelve-year-old Irish boy who is certain that his job as a steward on the unsinkable ship will be the adventure of a lifetime. Disguises, capers, and danger abound as the ship makes its way toward that fateful iceberg where Patrick will have to summon all his wits in order to survive.


More Middle Grade Marvelous to be found:


Jill at O.W.L is running a entire month of Middle Grade fun!
List of regular participants in Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

That's it from me. Enjoy the rest of your Monday, all!

March Madness-Rethinking Goals

A few days into March Madness I realized that I really need to add in my reading and blogging to go with the goal of rewriting HAPPY MEDIUM from scratch. So! Here I go with that. Off the top of my mad head:

BLOGGING

-carry on with Marvelous Middle Grade Monday's. Reading middle grade novels and writing posts to go up every monday. I'd like to try and get ahead of the game and have posts ready to go one or two weeks in advance.

-carry on reading and commenting on the blogs I follow. Up the time to one hour per day. I tried half hour and that was just not enough time

-start new feature called YA ROUNDTABLE. Inspired by a group of writer friends I lunch with. We talk books, exchange books. I can't go as often but I can still share the books I would tell them about if I could go. When possible we'd try to get the round table at one of the restaurants we go to. Most of the ladies I hang with a YA writers (mix of published and not). Hence...YA ROUNDTABLE for a feature.

-get to scheduling more OH MG YA CANADA posts for March and April in preparation for my OH MG YA CANADA week long reading challenge end of April.

-get blog re-designed in terms of content and for gorsh durn sakes get tags organized and consistent (I mean really!)

READING

-ARC's get caught up with the back log, especially NET GALLEY.
-books authors provided for review (have a couple)

Realistically some of this will spill into April, but I shooting for the stars so I can land on the moon!

March Madness Friday Check-In

Greetings all! This is going to be a rather quick check-in post. Had a computer issue that left me scrambling a bit to get a post put to you. Here is to all of us up and runnin like mad. Writing, blogging, reading, or all three! How did your first day go? Mine was interesting. Have a mentor in my wip. She was good. Until, as I started digging into her backstory, I realized she is in fact bad. Very very...BAD. Happy Friday! I am off to calmly calmy figure out what up with computer.

If you are interested in still signing up, there is time. Head over to Denise Jaden's blog and read all about it.

And here is the list of your weekend check in hosts.


Saturdays – Jaye Robin Brown
Sundays – Shari  Green will host at http://sharigreen.wordpress.com/blog/

Okay. I am done talking. This time for sure. All best as you write, read 'n' blog into the weekend.