Awesome client, awesome new book!

Y'all know I'm an editor by trade. For now, that's still the job that pays the bills, and I'm so excited to help promote a book by one of my first clients and our good bloggy friend Elle Strauss (link).

After being agented a while, Elle decided to take the leap into self-publishing, and now she's one of the Indelibles (link) and has a slew of amazing books for readers of all ages.

Her latest book, which I had the pleasure of editing, PERCEPTION is due out in September, and today I'm thrilled to take part in the cover reveal.

PERCEPTION is a young adult science fiction-romance, and I've got to tell you guys, it is awesome. It's one of those books that I had to remind myself I was working on. (I kept wanting to race ahead to see what would happen next. Good stuff!)

Here's the scoop:

Seventeen year old Zoe Vanderveen is a GAP—a genetically altered person. She lives in the security of a walled city on prime waterfront property alongside other equally beautiful people with extended life spans. 
Her brother Liam is missing. 

Noah Brody is a natural who lives on the outside. He leads protests against the GAPs and detests the widening chasm they've created between those who have and those who don’t. He doesn't like girls like Zoe, and he has good reason not to like her specifically. 

Zoe’s carefree life takes a traumatic turn. She’s in trouble and it turns out Noah, the last guy on earth she should trust, is the only one who can help her.

PERCEPTION is a (SF/mystery/romance) Young Adult novel that takes place in the not too distant future in a world changed by climate extremes, natural disasters and impending wars, and where scientific breakthroughs cause class divisions—both financially and philosophically. It explores the clash between faith and science and how differences can separate us as enemies or ally us as friends. And in some cases, even in the midst of betrayal and personal crisis, there’s room to fall in love. This is the first book in a planned three-book series.

 You can "like" Lee Strauss on facebook and mark PERCEPTION to read on Goodreads.

Lee Strauss is also known as Elle Strauss (for her lighter YA titles) You can find her at www.ellestraussbooks.com

PERCEPTION will be for sale on Amazon and at other e-retailer stores SEPTEMBER 12!

So keep your eyes out for this one, reader- and writer-friends! And have a great weekend~ <3

Same Bat Channel...

Tune in tomorrow for a special post. In the meantime, I #amediting.

But there's so much happening this week. Be sure and stop by WRiTE CLUB on DL's blog (link)! Get feedback on the first 500 words of any writing sample by going head to head against another writer.

And don't forget the largest, free online Kidlit writing convention is happening right now.

Have your query critiqued, first pages reviewed, get feedback from real ninja agents and participate in online chats... Did I mention it's FREE?

Check out WriteOnCon (link)!

I'm back tomorrow; have a great day, reader- and writer-friends! <3

TKP: Yoda and Being Available

It's time for another The Kindness Project post!

Lately, I've been thinking about something that I think falls under the heading of "kindness." It's the concept of being Available.

What does that mean? Well, let me tell ya!

I've got two daughters, and they take up a lot of my time. A lot. Both when they're with me and when they're not.

I think about them, analyze how I've handled situations, how I could've handled situations differently. Beat myself up a lot...

I also have this publishing career I'm trying to build. Writer-friends, you know how much mental and emotional investment that requires.

Recently, I was asked, "How do you balance it all?" My answer was, "Not very well." (But I'm trying!)

If I'm going to write, edit, revise, and make deadlines, I've got to be able to spend big chunks of time being unavailable to people--including my family. And that bothers me.

So I've been thinking about those times when I am available. And I've been trying to focus very hard on really being available, 100 percent.

That means not letting my mind drift to my email inbox or to the next scene in my WIP when, for example, my daughter is describing all the different characters and their relationships in Fairy World. (Her make-believe play world.)

Or not letting my brain obsess over whether I should even bother with finding a new agent right now, or whether I should just go with the book deal, see what happens, and then decide... or whether I should self-publish the MS my critters/betas loved but editors didn't buy...  or whether I should (insert obsessive publishing conundrum here) when, for example, JRM is describing a legal situation that's on his mind.

In other words, during those times when I'm physically available (or claim to be), I've been trying very hard to stay mentally available as well. To focus on the people I love and to give the book biz a rest.

Source

Once again, it all circles back around to Yoda and being a good Jedi. A Jedi is not always looking to the future, right? S/he focuses on the here and now.

"Do or do not. There is no try."

(Am I the only one who has this problem?)

Either way, that's my contribution for this month: When we're with our friends or loved ones, do them a kindness and BE with them. Who knows, it might even turn out to be a kindness to ourselves!

Have a great week, reader- and writer-friends! Be sure to visit the other TKP posters listed below~ <3

MSFV Winner: J. Anderson Coats

Hi, guys! Welcome to a special edition blog tour to help spread the word about the Miss Snark's First Victim blog contests and do a little publicity for the winners.

J. Anderson Coats (link) is another writer who credits MSFV with giving her publishing career a boost. (My story was on David Kazzie's blog yesterday, link.)

Coats's debut novel The Wicked and the Just was published in April 2012 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

The MSFV Secret Agent contests are free and open to all writers (link). We hope you'll visit, participate, and we we wish you much success on your path to publication.

Now for the interview!

Coats

J. Anderson Coats has dug for crystals, held Lewis and Clark’s original hand-written journal and been a mile underground. She writes historical fiction set in the middle ages that routinely includes too much violence, name-calling and petty vandalism perpetrated by badly behaved young people. Her work is represented by Ammi-Joan Paquette of the Erin Murphy Literary Agency. The Wicked and the Just (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012) is her first book.

How did participating with MSFV blog get you where you are now?

For the longest time, I admired the Erin Murphy Literary Agency from afar, but since they’re closed to unsolicited queries, I never got the chance to approach them.  However, my stalking of MSFV paid off one day when Ammi-Joan Paquette opened submissions just for readers of Authoress’s blog for a two-week window at the end of February 2010. I leaped at the chance and emailed her a query within ten minutes.

What followed was a nine-month courtship of sorts in which I made revisions with the full expectation that it would end in the “thanks but no thanks” email.  But that “no” never came, and the ink wasn’t quite dry on my agency contract when W/J sold to Harcourt.  It was something like ten days between being unagented and my first sale--quite a whirlwind!

Now I’m part of this rapidly-growing and friendly cohort of other MSFV success stories, and I’m sure glad to have the company as we all move forward in our careers.

Who are your biggest literary influences, and/or what are a couple of your favorite reads?

I love Margaret Atwood’s world-building and Terry Pratchett’s playful, clever voice. I love Toni Morrison’s intense, rhythmic prose and Umberto Eco’s eye for detail.  I’m in awe of Laurie Halse Anderson’s ability to tap into the lived experience of young people.

Some awesome things I’ve read lately are AMELIA ANNE IS DEAD AND GONE by Kat Rosenfield, THE TRUE MEANING OF SMEKDAY by Adam Rex, and PREGNANT PAUSE by Han Nolan.  I read like a buzz saw, and I’ll stick with just about anything that can surprise me.

Your book, The Wicked and the Just, came out Spring 2012. Congratulations! Tell us about it!

The Wicked and the Just takes place in 1293-1294 in north Wales, ten years into English rule. Cecily is an unwilling transplant to the English walled town of Caernarvon, and she’d like nothing better than to go home.  Gwenhwyfar, a Welsh servant in Cecily’s new house, would like nothing better than to see all the English go home. The ruling English impose harsh restrictions and taxation on the Welsh, and conditions in the countryside are growing desperate. The rumors of rebellion might be Gwenhwyfar’s only salvation--and the last thing Cecily ever hears.

The book is set in 13th-century Wales. What attracted you to this time and place?

Medieval Wales doesn’t get a lot of attention despite the fact that it was a complicated, dynamic place. The native rulers managed to resist outright conquest by their English neighbors until 1283, but then the victorious English fast-tracked a series of castles and walled towns to maintain control of the area and the people.

What interested me was this question: Even when granted a lot of special privileges--including significant tax breaks--how did English settlers live in a place where they were outnumbered twenty to one by a hostile, recently subjugated population, and how did the Welsh live so close to people who’d done the subjugating, especially given the burdens placed on them by their new masters?

What's next for you? Do you have another book in the works or coming soon?

I’m working on several projects right now. One is a companion novel to The Wicked and the Just, which follows Maredydd ap Madog, whose father is the ringleader of the rebellion of 1294, as he negotiates the future his father wants for him and the future he wants for himself.  Then there’s a standalone book that’s set in twelfth-century Wales about a girl con-artist, a warband, an abduction, a badly-timed war, and a charismatic but mercurial king’s son.

I don't know about you guys, but I think the 13th Century has never sounded so cool! Thanks, Jillian! And here's where you can buy The Wicked and the Just:

Powell's  ~  Indiebound  ~  Barnes & Noble  ~  Amazon

Tomorrow, Jillian will interview J.M. Frey, author of The Dark Side of the Glass (which I read and loved), on her blog (link). We hope you'll join us, and catch the whole tour!

David Kazzie	@davidkazzie	1-Aug
Leigh Talbert Moore	@leightmoore	2-Aug
J. Anderson Coats	@jandersoncoats	3-Aug
J. M. Frey	@scifrey	4-Aug
Elissa Cruz	@elissacruz	5-Aug
Amanda Sun	@Amanda_Sun	6-Aug
Kristi Helvig	@KristiHelvig	7-Aug
Leah Petersen	@Leahpetersen	8-Aug
Monica Bustamante Wagner	@Monica_BW	9-Aug
Emily Kokie	@emkokie	10-Aug
Monica Goulet	@MonicaGoulet	11-Aug
Peter Salomon	@petersalomon	12-Aug
Sarah Brand	@sarahbbrand	13-Aug
Angela Ackerman	@angelaackerman & @writerthesaurus	14-Aug
Tara Dairman	@TaraDairman	15-Aug

Have a great week, reader- and writer-friends! <3