Secrets to the industry - ssshhhhhh!

Ha! I thought that would get your attention!

I have come across a few things I think are interesting for writers and bloggers alike:

1) The Hopefuls - Chandler Craig over at Fumbling for Fiction is posting anonymous interviews (called The Hopefuls) These interviews are with different writers that solely discuss their journey to getting an agent or a book deal. The posts are all inspiring no matter where you are in the process.

2) Book Blogger Appreciation Week is rather more than an ordinary award. It's
an organized week long thing in September, encouraging blogging community, spearheaded by My Friend Amy. Here's the link! The first Book Blogger Appreciation was observed in the fall of 2008 and occurs every September. If you decide to submit your posts as requested, you will then be in the running for shortlisting, and if you make the shortlist, you can be voted the Best Kidlit Blog! YOu can register as a reader or a blogger.

You can also nominate your favorite blogs for an award!

Amy was interviewed about the blogger week here.

You can also follow the group on twitter.

3) Kidlitosphere Fall Conference (2009 -Washington DC) - I've mentioned this before but Kidlitosphere is a community of reviewers, librarians, teachers, authors, illustrators, publishers, parents, and other book enthusiasts who blog about children's and young adult literature. The have just opened up registration for their annual fall conference. The 2009 conference will take place in Washington, DC, on Saturday, October 17th. Go check out the schedule and agenda. They also have a Facebook group.


Hope you find these helpful!

Kidlitosphere - Community for bloggers

Have you guys heard of Kidlitosphere? It is a community of bloggers that act as a support system for BLOGGERS in the KidLitosphere. KidLit bloggers are authors, librarians, reviewers, moms and dads, teachers, and more.

They also have an annual conference - this year's is in Washington DC in October.

Here is the group - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Kidlitosphere/ The listserve discusses more about blogging and not so much about kid literature. But for you avid bloggers - its a way to meet other bloggers.

here is the web site where you can learn about events (local and annual) - http://www.kidlitosphere.org/KidLitosphere_Central/Welcome.html

Join us!

Book Contest Extravaganza

Lisa's Fabulous Book Contest Extravaganza!
Dec. 17th, 2008 at 7:36 PM

Lisa Schroeder, author of I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME, is celebrating the release of her upcoming YA novel, FAR FROM YOU, and hosting a contest with LOTS of great prizes!For three days leading up to the book’s release date of December 23rd, you can watch VLOGs and hear some excerpts read from the book.

The VLOG schedule is as follows:
Sunday, December 21st – Liv’s Book Reviews - http://livsbookreviews.blogspot.com/
Monday, December 22nd – What Vanessa Reads - http://whatvanessareads.wordpress.com/
Tuesday, December 23rd – Lisa Schroeder, author - http://lisa-schroeder.livejournal.com/ ANDhttp://myspace.com/writerlisa

Help spread the word, and you might win a fabulous prize!Copy and paste THIS entire blog entry into your blog between now and December 21st, then come back to Lisa’s blog at either Livejournal OR Myspace and leave a comment with the link to your blog and you will get TWO enteries to win a number of prizes.

Wondering what you might win?

Here is the list (there will be multiple winners):
~ An Advanced Review Copy of THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH, by Carrie Ryan
~ An Advanced Review Copy of SOMETHING, MAYBE, by Elizabeth Scott
~ Young adult novel GIRL, HERO by Carrie Jones
~ Young adult novel, THE POSSIBILITIES OF SAINTHOOD by Donna Freitas
~ Young adult novel, UGLIES by Scott Westerfield
~ Pair of YA fairy tale retellings by Cameron Dokey (BELLE and BEFORE MIDNIGHT)~ TWILIGHT movie soundtrack
~ $15.00 Barnes and Noble gift card along with some Harry & David’s chocolate moose munch
~ And of course, a signed copy of FAR FROM YOU

For more chances to win, watch one or all of the VLOGs and leave a comment on that vlogger’s page, and you get another entry. That means if you post the schedule on your blog AND comment on all three VLOGs, you can have FIVE entries for the contest!A live drawing with winners announced will be done by Lisa Thursday morning, December 24th, in a special holiday VLOG.

Kidlitosphere Poetry Friday - My Road Less Traveled

I am trying something new!

Kidlitosphere

I just joined the "Kidlitosphere" world where I am hoping to make some new blogging friends and begin building a followship for my blogs and join a community of fellow blogging children's writers.

Can't hurt right? It's like going to school and wanting to make friends. I don't know any published writers and I don't really have any writer friends (except my great critique group) and I love to talk about writing. I have found that now I am blogging, - I want people to visit me. I want them to read my thoughts and love to read theirs.

Anyway, Kidlitosphere has a theme every so often and members blog about it.

At first I thought - Poetry - maybe this one is not for me.

But then I remembered, I started writing poetry when I was about 8. I filled a whole book with my poems and my favorites.

My Favorite Poem

I always loved Robert's Frost's The Road Less Traveled otherwise known as The Road Not Taken http://www.bartleby.com/119/1.html. Somehow it has ended up being a theme of my life. "I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference."

I started out on the "The Road Always Taken" and it was a corporate one. I climbed up the ladders of Accenture and became a VP at Bank of America. I always knew I was not truly happy but I made alot of money so I felt I had nothing to complain about.

Several years ago, I found myself pulled into a political windstorm that eventually led to the death of my corporate career. At first, I was devastated but I soon remembered praying for a way out, a new life, a clean slate. I found myself at a crossroad.

Did I take the one with "grassy and wanted wear" and revive my corporate career of mileage points and buzz words in Ann Taylor suits and great shoes?

OR

Did I investigate the "one bent in the undergrowth" by creating stories and using my imagination all while sitting comfortably in cargo pants and Payless flip-flops?

I chose the "Road Less Traveled".

My Published Poem

And Ironically, the first published piece I have is that one of my poems was chosen by Editor Andrew Karre at Llewellyn for the Deluxe Edition of Laurie Faria Stolartz's Blue is for Nightmares. http://lstolarz.livejournal.com/ (whose boosk are a great read). I thought I would include - my first published work :)

a student in life, a witch at heart, a legacy in magic, spells ala carte.

nightmares so real I can feel a breath, whispering warnings of imminent death.

white lilies line a jagged path, showing the way to evil’s wrath.

cards reveal the ace of spades, dooming a friend to live her last days.

words on notes strewn in red, ghosts from the past fill my head.

following intuition deep in my heart, flames of betrayal flickering in the dark.

finally escaping the pain of one less friend, yet knowing the nightmare may never end.

I guess my new journey along an overgrown path has begun. I know I will find my way and have a great adventure. I know it will an exciting and fullfilling one (I cant even imagine what it will be like when I get published:) ......

And I know it is on "The Road Less Traveled".