It's cover reveal day!

Decadent Tease is unveiling all the fabulous covers for their new line! Come over and check them out! (As of this posting, the links from the main page weren't working, but my reveal page link is http://decadenttease.com/1-cursed-cover-reveal/

Besides the covers, you can enter to win all sorts of goodies! Each author is hosting a giveaway. Come over and join the party!

Countdown to launch begins!

I'm so excited that my paranormal, Cursed, will spearhead the launch of Decadent Publishing's new Tease line!

Here's the short blurb:

Ten days of freedom. That’s all Fate had allotted me each year. In the streets of Venice, I could walk among them. Mingle. Belong.

During Carnevale, they had no idea who I was. What I was.

For ten days, it didn’t matter.

Until I met her.

Watch my blog for news: http://catemasters.blogspot.com Lots of fun events are in the works!

Do You Know Any Teen Writers?

Writers Jill Williamson, who has many published and forthcoming YA novels has joined author Stephanie Morrill to publish a book for teens on getting published. Teens can also hang out at the Go Teen Writers website to discuss writing, find out about writing opportunities, and learn from published authors.

Here's the blurb for Go Teen Writers:

Whether you’re just starting to write your first story or you’ve finished and are wondering how to edit, this book will help you learn how to perfect your craft and get your project ready for publication. Click to learn more.

Includes tips for:

-Getting published, finding the right agent, book surgery, thicker plots, deeper characters, richer settings, weaving in theme, dealing with people who don’t get your writing
Find this book at your local bookstore, or…
On ebook at: Amazon.com • BarnesandNoble.com • Kobo

If you know a teen writer, this makes a great gift. But you don't have to be a teen to appreciate the book. Even adult writers (including published authors) can learn from the many tips Jill and Stephanie have put together. It's not a refresher on the basics, but instead it gives many great hints on how to improve saggy middles, how to brainstorm plot ideas, and how to deal with people who don't understand your desire to write.

We're thrilled to be the first stop on an exciting blog tour for Tameka Fryer Brown, who is launching her book, MY COLD PLUM LEMON PIE BLUESY MOOD. With a title like that, you just know it’s going to be a great read. In fact, I was so struck by the title that it was the first thing I asked about when I interviewed Tameka:  



I adore your title, Tameka, and the way you play with words. I'd love it if you could talk about how you come up with your creative ideas and then pull them together in such a lyrical way.

Thanks, Laurie. It is a pretty cool title—but I can’t take sole credit for it. My agent, my editor, the art director, sales and marketing...all of us were involved. It was a major team effort. I suppose my ideas come to me much the same as most writers’ do: an interesting turn of phrase, human behavior, song lyrics, memories, even dreams—these are all things that have influenced stories I’ve crafted. The lyrical part, I suppose that’s just a characteristic of my personal voice as an author.

 Even when I’m not attempting to write in rhyme, my stories tend to emerge in some poetic fashion. For example, MY COLD PLUM LEMON PIE BLUESY MOOD (Viking Children’s) came out as free verse—and when I say “came out,” I mean that literally. One day I was being self-reflective, acknowledging that my behavior that day was due to my being “in a mood.” Immediately it struck me that this would make a great title or first line of a picture book (first lines and titles are what usually come to me initially). Once I sat down to write the story, the words just started flowing.  

Here’s a sneak peek at the book trailer:

 

Can you tell us a bit more about your other books--published and in process?  

AROUND OUR WAY ON NEIGHBORS’ DAY (Abrams, illustrated by Charlotte Riley-Webb) is my debut title. I describe it as a love story between a young girl and her close-knit, multicultural neighborhood. MY COLD PLUM LEMON PIE BLUESY MOOD (Viking Children’s) is my second book. It’s illustrated by Shane W. Evans, winner of last year’s Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award, and I am extremely excited about it! I fell in love with the sketches when I first saw them, and the finished artwork does not disappoint. The pictures are so colorful and lively—I believe kids are going to adore them as much as I do! I am working on another picture book project, but I’m keeping the details a secret for now.

Can't wait to see that secret project go public. And how lucky you are to have two talented illustrators for your books. I loved the art in Shane W. Evans’s award winning title, Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom, which is quite different from his work on your book. But both of these books have amazing illustrations. And Charlotte Riley-Webb has a wonderful vibrant style in your book as well as in her many other titles, including Sweet Potato Pie and Our Children Can Soar.

***  
Everyone always enjoys hearing authors’ success stories. Can you tell us yours?

I decided to pursue children’s book writing after being a stay-at-home mother for about eight years. I felt it was time for me to get back to some type of cerebral pursuit and, having read tons of wonderful and not so wonderful picture books during that time, I was sure I could write some pretty good ones myself. Of course, I had to learn what “pretty good” was and was not, but I do believe my hard work and persistence are finally paying off.  

And I don't know about you, but I always enjoy seeing pictures of an author as a child. Tameka was kind enough to supply a picture of her as a youngster and as a fifth grader. I'm betting she was a talented writer and storyteller even then.

 For more about Tameka Fryer Brown you can visit her website or visit her Facebook page. And be sure to follow her whirlwind blog tour this month.

Techies, Artists and Dreamers

One of my New Year's resolutions was to update my website, which has grown tired. Step one was some new photos. Step two was contacting my webmaster - the one who put the site together for me while he was still in college, before he secured a full-time job with a tech giant in California - to see if he had time to tackle some changes.

I chose my photographer and my webmaster for several reasons. Budget was definitely a contributing factor, as was loyalty (my web guy is my friend's son, and my photographer is the daughter of our youth minister), but the fact that they're both enthusiastic, talented and just starting out was important to me as well.

As writers, we're always putting ourselves and our work out there, hoping someone will give us a chance, waiting to see our byline and our work published for all the world to see. We count on someone giving us that opportunity to show what we can do.

Recently, my first novel was accepted by a small press, Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. I was over the moon, and not just because I got a book contract, but also because of who offered it to me. Although I'm just at the beginning of this publication journey, I feel as though I've entered into a partnership. I didn't sign on the dotted line, drop off my work and go on with my life. I get to be a part of this process during the entire time my book is under construction. Maybe that's the norm - I don't know - I'm new to the fiction publishing game. All I know is that I like the rules I'm playing by.

If  you're not a hands-on person, you might choose a different path. And perhaps I'd love simply writing a check and handing off my website to someone who knows more about this stuff than I do (and that would be practically anyone!), but I doubt it. I like knowing that I'm supporting those brave enough to spread their wings and fly toward their dreams, and I certainly appreciate the support of those who do that for me.

Free Book This Weekend

Denise Jaden's  book Writing With A Heavy Heart: Using Grief and Loss to Stretch Your Fiction is free on Amazon Kindle on Feb. 9-10, 2013.

Here's the link:
http://www.amazon. com/Writing- With-Heavy- Heart-ebook/ dp/B009DRLA32

If you're a writer, here's one book you won't want to miss.

Black HIstory Month Begins Today

 

To celebrate, I'm posting about The Brown Bookshelf and their special project for February.
The Brown Bookshelf was founded  to raise awareness of wonderful and exciting African American voices in children's literature. Since 2008, one of their initiatives has been 28 Days Later, a month-long showcase of the best picture books, middle grade and young adult novels written and illustrated by African Americans.





The 2013 list has been selected and these authors and illustrators will be featured during February:

Feb. 1 – Malaika Rose Stanley (MG)
Feb. 2 – Christian Robinson– (Illustrator)
Feb. 3 – Alaya Dawn Johnson – (YA)
Feb. 4 – Glenda Armand – (PB)
Feb. 5 – Glennette Tilley Turner – (MG)
Feb. 6 – Traci L. Jones – (YA)
Feb. 7 – Brynne Barnes – (PB)
Feb. 8 – Brian F. Walker – (YA)
Feb. 9 – Veronica Chambers – (MG)
Feb. 10 – B.A. Binns (YA)
Feb. 11 – Donna Washington – (PB)
Feb. 12 – Alice Randall and Caroline Randall Williams – (MG)
Feb. 13 – Octavia Butler – (YA )
Feb. 14 – Ann Tanksley – (Illustrator)
Feb. 15 – Lyah Beth LeFlore – (YA)
Feb. 16 – Tololwa M. Mollel – (PB)
Feb. 17 – Arna Bontemps – (MG)
Feb. 18 – Jasmine Richards – (MG)
Feb. 19 – James Ransome – (PB)
Feb. 20 – Ashley Bryan – (Illustrator)
Feb. 21 – Nalo Hopkinson – (YA)
Feb. 22- Daniel Minter – (Illustrator)
Feb. 23 – Angela Shelf Medearis – (PB)
Feb. 24 – Linda Tarrant-Reid – (MG)
Feb. 25 – Willie Perdomo – (PB)
Feb. 26 – Chudney Ross – (MG)
Feb. 27 – Becky Birtha – (PB)
Feb. 28 – Jaime Reed – (YA)

For more information about the authors and their latest creations, check out 28 Days Later every day this month. You can read more about the founders of The Brown Bookshelf here.

Things Don't Have to Be Complicated

Just received word that my combination artwork/6-word bio is being published by Smith Magazine in the book Things Don't Have to Be Complicated. As a grad student, I was eligible for the competition. I'm amazed at the profound insights from students of all ages. Their wisdom (and accompanying artwork) is well worth the purchase price. You can grab a copy at the Smith website or at iTunes or Amazon.

Here's the blurb for the book:

"What would you say if you had just six words to define your life? ....Ernest Hemingway was once challenged to write a novel in just six words. His heartbreaking result: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”  

Giving the form a personal twist, Smith reimagined the six-word novel idea as the Six-Word Memoir, challenging contributors to create a half-dozen words of self-reflection. The constraint, it turned out, fueled rather than inhibited creativity....

Inspired by Six Words’ popularity in English classes and art classes alike, Smith recently called for submissions for illustrated Six-Word Memoirs, in which he asked students, whether in grade school or grad school, to create a piece of artwork that enhanced their memoirs. The voices in Things Don’t Have to Be Complicated are younger than those of previous memoirists, but no less profound: “Said he loved me, he lied.” “Two girls, both of them me.” “Big dreams, big heart, big mouth.” “I’m a Muslim, not a terrorist.” “Life is better with headphones on.” This book contains dozens more. At its core, the Six-Word Memoir offers a simple way for anyone of any age to try to answer the question that defines us all: Who am I?"

If you wrote a 6-word memoir, what would it say?

No words needed...

It's That Time of Year Again - Part 2

In addition to voting for our favorite authors in the Preditors and Editors poll (see Cate's post below), it's the time of year where we all make resolutions and set goals. One week into the new year, some of us have probably already broken some of our resolutions, but if we set our goals in a way that makes them clear enough to be broken down into bite-sized pieces, we're more likely to get where we want to go.

If you're looking for a way to make that happen, take a look at my article on SMART Goals on the Institute of Children's Writers website. You don't have to be a writer to set goals.