Happy New Year!

Well, i'm a bit early! But i've just gotten back from holiday in Taupo and will probably be busy come new years' so i'll do it early :)

Also i would like to take the opportunity to congratulate my friend and fellow writer Nicole MacDonald on being a newly published author! That's right, her book The Arrival (BirthRight Trilogy) is available now on Amazon.com for the kindle!
CONGRATULATIONS!

Now, an intro:

The Arrival starts with a love spell, cast to find friends each a soul mate. It works...but no the way the girls anticipated.
Thrown into a different world, in a different time, they encounter danger and near death, having to fight for their lives before they even know where they are. Holding their own, barely, until a group of Griffons arrive bearing their soul mates.


And now, my review :)

Nicole has a unique writing voice and style. You will enjoy reading from the viewpoint of many of the characters within the story which brings a richness and fullness to complete your reading experience. 
It has rich and descriptive detail, various points of view, conflicts, bloodcurdling battles, magic, fantastical creatures and a subtle layer of sexual tension to keep you going to the very end....where you realise you just HAVE to have the next installment.
Gripping and emotive, this story will leave you begging for more and thinking about it long after you have finished reading.
Go buy it now, experience the magic of Nicole MacDonald!

When one door closes....AND Merry Christmas!

... a window opens creating a hurricane of ideas!!.
Why, after having finished and submitted my story, do i have a sudden very visual scene spring into my head?
I already have about fifty other ideas, clamouring for attention and to be written - and i'm not even supposed to be writing next year!
I'm starting my early childhood degree and my husband has requested i focus entirely on that and not writing. Well, ahem, you can't stop the writer within!

So, my goal over the week i am away for Christmas is to sort through my TBW (to be written lol!) pile and get started on the most pressing. Because let's face it, i AM a writer and i will always have another story to write, pottering away in the background until it is finished. Who says i can't do two things at once???

What are you doing over the Christmas break? Are you waiting to hear on a sub? Or are you starting a brand new story?
Have a merry Christmas.

xxKerrin

I've hit send!

For the final SYTYCW challenge, that is!
Man, i feel a tad sick and whole lotta nervous!! :D  Guaranteed to get a reply by Jan 31 2011.

Good luck to anyone out there with a submission. It is so nerve wracking. I've checked and re checked both synopsis and chapter 1 at least 10 times for spelling, missing words etc. But i bet i'll find more - so guess what? I'm not going to read those bits until i hear back!

And yep, it's for Billie and Cooper's story.

Length confusion, and another tip!

That is, the length of the double spaced synopsis - get your mind out of the gutter! ;)

So usually synopsis' are accepted at 2 double spaced pages, but i've been informed (okay, so i doubt you just a little Lacey!) that up to 5 double spaced pages are allowed for the SYTYCW final challenge.

I've just posted a question about it on the reminder blog post, but if anyone else can confirm it that would be great!


Okay, a tip: From Writers Digest.com

Here are 10 keys to creating a successful synopsis.

1.  Do keep in mind that this is a sales pitch. Make it a short, fast and exciting read.

2.  Do establish a hook at the beginning of the synopsis. Introduce your lead character and set up a key conflict.

3.  Do remember to always introduce your most important character first.

4.  Do provide details about each of your central characters (age, gender, marital status, profession, etc.), but don’t do this for every character—only the primary ones.

5.  Do include the characters’ motivations and emotions.

6.  Do highlight pivotal plot points.

7.  Do reveal your novel’s ending.

8.  Don’t go into detail about what happens; just tell the reader what happens as concisely as you can.

9. Don't inject long section of dialogue.

10. Do write in the third person, present tense, even if your novel is written in a different point of view.

1. 
   

Synopsis tip

Yep, i've nearly finished mine. Will be printing it out and going over it with highlighters and pens to find all the internal and external conflicts, make sure it's only following the internal growth of each character but including enough punch to grab the editor's attention. Tough.

Here's a tip/info i gleaned from the wonderful Michelle Styles:

There are five things you need to include in any synopsis

1. The setting -- specifically where does the action take place?

2. The main characters -- what are their major motivations or conflicts both externally and internally.

3. After the magic words, When the novels begins, you tell your main story. If this is a romance, you are telling of the growing attraction and the set backs the couple encounters on the way. If it is a saga, you are telling the story of one woman’s growth arc..

4. The Back Moment. -- how does the story reach its climatic moment, what happens

5. The Resolution, the happy ending. Tell the editor how the story ends.

Do you have any tips to add?

Book Review

Yep time for another review!
I've just finished a story written by one of the newest writers to Harlequin, Maisey Yates!
I follow her blog and she is one open and talented young lady!

I enjoyed her first book, His Virgin Acquisition, but unfortunately i didn't feel it when the hero realised he loved the heroine.

No such problem with Maisey's second book: A Mistake, A Prince and A Pregnancy.

The instant attraction between Maximo and Alison is blistering, as is their fight to stay in control of themselves and not give into the fire burning within.
This story packed a passionate punch, the characters are loveable (just love an artist hero :D not to mention a strong heroine!), and totally relatable, even if he is a prince he still had the same conflicts of a normal man. The set up is awesome, Pregnant by a mix up at a fertility clinic, love it!
Read this one, you won't regret it!

So, what have you read in November that has you gushing??