Melissa Foster's Awesome Support Team

Sometimes, but not very often, I find myself in the right place and time. It just so happens I was fortunate enough to be on Facebook when Melissa Foster from the World Literary Cafe put a call out to bloggers for a very special event.

Now, anyone who knows me, knows I'm the shy sort. All of my Author Spotlights have been about writers who I knew from Facebook and ICL. So, really, I have all my lovely writing friends to thank for letting me interview them, thus giving me the courage to sign up for this upcoming event. Thank you, Courtney Rene, Kim Curley, Angelia Almos, Claudette Young, Rebecca Besser, and Lena Coakley.

So what is this special event, you ask? Melissa Foster's Awesome Support Team will be hosting a Best Indie Book Festival featuring the five finalists in Literary Fiction and Thriller areas of the Kindle Book Review's Best Indie Book Awards! We'll be hosting author interviews and there will be special giveaways from September 12th through September 19th. 

I have the honor of interviewing Kathleen Shoop on September 16th. Squee!!

Sign up for e-mail notifications at the top of this blog, and follow me on Twitter, and Facebook. I wouldn't want you to miss this event!

And for all my author friends, here is another fantastic FREE event for you. Did I say this was FREE? Yes, it's free. 

(Click here to register!)

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Author Spotlight--Lena Coakley

www.lenacoakley.com

My Bucket List

by Lena Coakley

Aspiring novelists put so much of their energies into the dream of being published that when it finally happens, there is sometimes a letdown. Unpubublished authors might find this hard to believe, but it certainly happened to me. After the book launch and the tweeting and the first flurry of reviews, I realized that getting published didn’t make me a different person, or solve any of the problems I was secretly hoping that it would. In fact, now there was something missing. I had lost the number-one goal on my bucket list—writing and publishing my first novel—and it left a hole.

By necessity, writers are a self-motivated bunch, which is why it’s important that we keep moving the finish line forward for ourselves by making new goals and finding new dreams. Now that I’ve written and published my first novel, the #1 item on my bucket list has changed to:

--#1 Write and publish an even better novel. 

Since I have my first speaking engagements coming up in the fall, my #2 had better be:

--#2 Learn to speak in front of a crowd (gulp!).

But life isn’t all about work! There are places I want to go and experiences I want to have that have nothing to do with my writing. For the next eight of my top ten, some I expect to cross off my list this year, some may be on my list for many years to come (like #7 for instance), but the important thing is to keep replacing them with other goals and dreams so that I’m always moving forward.

--#3 Learn another language.

I’m always making half-hearted attempts at this one, and over the past two years have taken introductory courses in everything from Spanish to ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. (Really!) But I have a “sticking to it” problem. Maybe Mandarin?

--#4 Get my diving certification.

I’ve always loved snorkeling and after taking a submarine trip in Cozumel a few years ago, I decided that SCUBA diving is something I’d really like to try.

--#5 Go to the Galapagos

--#6 Go to China (#3 will come in handy!)

--#7 See a narwhal.

This has been on my bucket list since I was eight years old and my grandmother took me to the Cloisters Museum in New York to see the narwhal horn that was mistaken for a unicorn horn.

--#8 See the northern lights. (This can probably be done in conjunction with #7.)

--#9 Volunteer on an archeological dig. (Mostly because I’m a huge fan-girl of Time Team.)

--#10…

All right, I don’t usually tell this one since it’s a bit cheeky, but here goes: My final and (until now) secret goal is to have a book on the New York Times bestseller list—

—which brings me to my conclusion: Dream Big!

What’s on your bucket list?

Lena Coakley was born in Milford, Connecticut and grew up on Long Island. In high school, creative writing was the only class she ever failed (nothing was ever good enough to hand in!), but, undeterred, she went on to study writing at Sarah Lawrence College.

She became interested in young adult literature when she moved to Toronto, Canada, and 

began working for CANSCAIP, the Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers, where she eventually became the Administrative Director.

http://lenacoakley.com/witchlanders/

Witchlanders, her debut novel, was called “a stunning teen debut” by Kirkus Reviews and was the winner of the SCBWI Crystal Kite Award for the Americas region. She is now a full-time writer living in Toronto.

Fun Facts about September

I usually post on Mondays, but since next week is Labor Day, I decided to post today. I have an awesome Author Spotlight for you all on Tuesday, so I couldn't very well wait too long to do a post on September. I wouldn't want you all to miss out on some fun holidays!

(Source)

September, the ninth month of the year, is one of four months that contain 30 days. September begins on the same day of the week as December, and no other month ends on the same day as September. 

In Latin, septem means 'seven.' September was the seventh month of the Roman calendar until 46 BC, when  the first month of the year was changed from March to January. 

September starts the academic year in many countries in the Northern Hemisphere, but I know a few states in the US that start in August. 

American Football starts the collegiate and professional seasons in September. (Go Steelers!)

Those born in early to mid-September are under the sign of Virgo, and those born in the later part of the month are born under Libra. 

September's birthstone is the sapphire, and the birth flowers are the forget-me-not, morning glory, and aster.

National Month for:

Potato

Chicken

Rice

Mushroom

Biscuit

Honey

Better Breakfast

Emergency Care

Sight Saving

Piano

Self-Improvement

Women of Achievement

Courtesy

International Square Dance

Cable TV

Classical Music

September is also 'Be Kind to Editors and Writers Month.'

Famous Author Birthdates:

September 1, 1875--Edgar Rice Burroughs

September 2, 1820--Lucretia Hale

September 13, 1916--Roald Dahl

September 15, 1789--James Fenimore Cooper

                                  Tomie DePaola

September 21, 1866--HG Wells

September 29, 1923--Stan Berenstain

Bizarre Holidays: (There are so many this month, but these were some of my favorites.)

2nd--National Beheading Day (Thankfully, we don't celebrate this one.)

3rd--Skyscraper Day

        Labor Day in the US

5th--Choose Pizza Day

6th--Read a Book Day

        Fight Procrastination Day

7th--Neither Rain or Snow Day (We'll see, won't we?)

9th--Teddy Bear Day

        Grandparents Day (I'll be celebrating this year!)

10th--Sewing Machine Day

          Swap Ideas Day

11th--911 Remembrance Day

12th--Chocolate Milkshake Day

          Video Game Day

13th--Positive Thinking Day

14th--The day Francis Scott Key wrote The Star-Spangled Banner

          Cream-filled Donut Day

16th--Stay away from Seattle Day

          Collect Rocks Day

          Step Family Day

          Women's Friendship Day

18th--Play-doh Day

19th--Talk Like a Pirate Day (Aaargh, Mateys!)

22nd--Hobbit Day

          Dear Diary Day

          Elephant Appreciation

23rd--Checkers Day

          Dogs in Politics Day

24th--Festival of Latest Novelties (this sounds like fun!)

25th--Comic Book Day

26th--Pancake Day

          Good Neighbor Day (Be a good neighbor and make pancakes for the lady next door.)

28th--Ask a Stupid Question Day

29th--Poisoned Blackberries Day (!)

30th--Mud Pack Day

There you have it. Lots of stuff going on this month!

Have a wonderful holiday weekend and don't forget to stop by on Tuesday to view this month's Author Spotlight!

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Stolen Time

(Sundial in Hampton Court Garden, UK)

I swore I wouldn't do the conference this year--I didn't have time! But at the last minute, I posted my work, The Clover Key. For two days, I obsessed over the con--stalking agents, entering events, reading and critiquing other writer's work, all while pretending to work at the shop.I received only a few, but nonetheless great, comments that I'll put to good use when I revise again. I even met another writer from Madrid whose work-in-progress is patiently waiting in my e-mail inbox for a critique.

After putting everything on hold to write a synopsis, craft a query, and doing some last minute revisions, I felt a little deflated. Not everyone loved my work, and none of the Ninja Agents that attended asked for a partial. They didn't even make any comments! I didn't win a professional critique or even a door prize, but my skin is another layer thicker. That should help, right?

WriteOnCon is over, but there are still things going on over there. All of the events are archived, so if you sign up, you can read interviews by authors and agents.

Do you know what else helps? Having my daughter Amanda come home for 10 days in between semesters. It was a spontaneous visit and those kinds of visits are always fun. She was ecstatic when she got to finally meet and hold her new nephew Caleb Robert. I think she enjoyed her visit--we did some shopping for baby clothes, bedding for her new mattress in her first-ever apartment, school clothes, and of course, school supplies. She got to see one of her best friends, and also got some pampering from Mom and Grandma.

(Amanda and I)

Then, last week, Amanda, my mother, my sister, and I took a road trip down to Virginia to see my brother and sister-in-law's new home and to meet their first child--my niece Jane Alexandra! We spoke in high sing-songy voices and coohed and aahed for a few days.

(Jane Alexandra, Amanda, and I)

On Friday, I brought Amanda back to the airport and cried while she went toward security. Once she was out of view, I dashed home to prepare for the next day. On Saturday, John and I invited his two sisters and his two Buchanan (yup, just like the Buchanans in my YA novel!) cousins, along with their significant others, for a get-together at our home.

Now, it's Sunday afternoon. Piles of laundry and mountains of mail stare at me while I write this post. It will all get done eventually. I'm exhausted. I crammed so much into the last 10 days.  I drove over 1000 miles, across 4 states. I spent too much money on babies, my daughter, and food. I got zero writing accomplished and my e-mail inbox has grown to over 800 messages. I just know there's a ton of paperwork waiting for me at the shop.

The past 10 days wasn't always fun. Amanda's flight to New Jersey was delayed. Again. We hit so much traffic on the way to Virginia that a 5 hour trip turned into 8 hours. I slept on sofas and air mattresses and spent way too much time in the driver's seat of our Suburban. When we returned to New Jersey, Amanda's iPhone was stolen which prompted a trip to the Bayonne Police Department. Stress and lack of restful sleep caused frayed nerves and snippy attitudes.

But I also received and gave lots of hugs. I sat around the table with both families, eating big meals and exchanging stories. I laughed almost to the point of crying. I met new people and snuggled with babies. All of those memories, ALL of them will last a lifetime.

I always complain that I never have enough time, but last week, I made time--I snatched it from thin air, and there were a few moments when I stopped it in it's tracks. No, there's never enough time to do everything we want to do, but time with family is so precious, sometimes you just have to steal it.

We've all stolen time. What did you do with yours?

FREE Kid's Literature Writing Conference!

That's right, I said FREE!!! You can pitch your novel, have an agent read your query, and have peers critique your work, all for FREE while sitting at home or in your office.

WriteOnCon is an online writing conference for Children's literature writers that is taking place this coming Tuesday, August 14th and Wednesday, August 15th. There will be workshops, interviews, live events, and agent panels.And Ninja Agents will be lurking around and reading queries! Who knows, your query may spark an agent's interest. They just may ask for a sample!

Now, I know this doesn't give you much time, but if you write novels for YA or MG, or picture books, you should register and try to get your work posted. Even if you don't have a completed manuscript, there are so many awesome forums to use. You can get a critique, critique others, learn from published authors and learn what agents are looking for. At this price, you can't go wrong!

Visit WriteOnCon NOW and browse. Read their Full Schedule. Register and learn. Find and friend me (denise616) I'll see you there!

My Idea of a Perfect Day

By the lake--

(Source)

Under the shade of a willow tree--

                                              (Source)

Reading a book--

(Source)

Or writing a story--

(Source)

Time is irrelevant.--

(Source)

What would your perfect day be like?

Spreading The News--Another Contest...

I received an e-mail this morning from The First Line Literary Journal. They are running a contest and I just had to pass it along to all my wonderful followers. Here you go:

The First Line First Line Contest

To celebrate our 15th year, we’re giving you a chance to inspire the world. Send us your best (original and unpublished) starter sentences, and we’ll pick four to use for next year’s first lines.

You have until August 31st to submit. The winners will receive $50 and five copies of the issue that was inspired by your first line.

The rules:
1. Sentences must be your ORIGINAL, previously unpublished creations.
2. You may submit up to two (2) sentences for consideration.
3. Send entries in the body of an email to: contest@thefirstline.com. Do not send attachments.

4. Include your email or mailing address for notification.
5. All entries must be received by 6 p.m. (EST) on August 31, 2012.

Oh yeah, there’s NO entry fee.

Good luck!