Bitter End

Jennifer Brown has done it again!


I received my ARC in the mail last week, but was in the middle of another book, so I didn't get to crack Bitter End open until Sunday.

Here's my review:

Wow!

Okay, :) here's more:

Ms. Brown has taken another challenging subject -- relationship abuse -- and woven a story that is poignant, tragic, and gut-wrenching.

The story revolves around Alex, a senior in high school, who along with her two best friends (one a girl, the other a guy) is planning a graduation trip out to Colorado (the place her mom was headed before being killed in a tragic accident). But then, Cole starts at Alex's school, and she falls for him.

Hard.

Everything seems good about this new relationship at first, but little ugly jealousy heads start popping up and Cole starts to do things that go way beyond acceptable. But by the time Alex realizes she's being abused (physically and emotionally), she is so in love with the guy that she starts making excuses for him.

I read way too long into the night last night just to finish it. Trust me, the ending did not disappoint!

Way to go, again, Ms. Brown!

It was really fun to read the credits and see TS Ferguson's name (the editor who just free-lanced my book) there with a big thanks to him. Good job, TS!

Bitter End comes out in May. Publisher's Weekly gave a great review (and starred it) this week. Here's the link, if you're interested:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-316-08695-0


What's Up with Pearl Edda?

The agent emailed yesterday with a request for the most recent recent recent copy. I sent it last night. Fingers and toes still crossed. Seriously, it is in such a good place right now.

Hope. Hope. Hope.

It still needs a title.

Frost, Edda, and Messing with Fate are the top three choices (at least for me).

Flirting

I've just finished reading (for the second time) Flirting in Spanish by Susan McKinney de Ortega. This soon-to-be-published book is a beautiful and true love story that transcends cultures, age, and economic stations.

At thirty-three, Ortega runs from a life of affluence, fame, and tragedy to find herself in Mexico. She struggles to make ends meet while working odd jobs, and eventually becomes an English teacher at a high school.

There she meets Carlos, an extremely poor nineteen-year-old student, who captures her heart and brings her out of a deep pain that she has hidden for years. Together, they find how love has no boundaries.

I wish every woman had a Carlos. Every woman deserves to have a man like him.

Seriously, I cannot wait until Flirting... is on the shelves in bookstores everywhere (and until I can buy it for my friends).

And to answer your question...Yes, I do have my own "Carlos" aka the love of my life, Mark (to whom I've been married for almost twenty years).

*sigh*

On another note...

The edited version of Pearl should be back in my hands tonight.

Tonight!

I'm so excited, I can barely stand it!

Questions whirl in my head...

What has been changed? Have any characters been axed out? Is it tighter? Polished? Ready to go?

How will I ever get anything done at work today?

Hmmmm....

Maybe I will have to blog again tomorrow.

UPDATE: Okay, so I started this blog last night, and don't know how to change the date on it. Really the MS will be in my virtual hands tonight, Monday. Blame this all on Daylight Savings Time. :)

agents, and publisher, and facebook, oh, my...

Authonomy Update: 43!

agents, and publisher, and facebook, oh, my...

Pearl has had quite the roller coaster ride in the last couple of weeks.

First, I skyped with an agent and talked through Pearl's first chapter. He had read it and critiqued it, and this was a culminating exercise.

He had good things to say about the premise and had some insights on the writing (simpler is better). I think the meeting went well, but since he doesn't agent fantasy, he won't be picking up my book. Bummer. He seems like a really nice guy and would be good to work with.

So, these are some things I learned from the process:

1. Know your agent: This critique came from a seminar in Montana, and it was a very last minute submission, so I didn't have time to research Mark and find out if he would be a good fit for the book. Although, as stated, he was nice, if he doesn't rep my genre, he doesn't rep my genre.

2. Time is relevant in the publishing world: I submitted the first chapter in May, and didn't get the critique until last week. I totally understand the chaos of life and especially summer, but it seemed like a long time to wait. To his defense, he did apologize. To mine, I should realize that these things take time.

3. Simple is better: I had decided to add a bunch of things to my first chapter and it got bogged down. It really did. My husband in his infinite wisdom told me that I needed to go back to when I first wrote and look at the freshness of it. I did that and realized it was pretty good. With a couple of tweaks, it is back to the original. Simple.

Next on the ride:

I received a really nice rejection letter from an agent. Truly nice. In fact, she said she was probably crazy for rejecting it and gave me several things that she saw to improve, and I had an aha moment. I wrote back and thanked her (which you should always do), and she wrote me back (which they never do) and told me if I revise, to let her know. So now, I need to decide: To revise or not to revise, that is the question. Or aye, that's the rub.

On the same day she rejected me, a small publishing company asked for a full manuscript.

So here are the stats:

1 agent critigue
1 agent semi-sorta rejection
1 publishing company ask

Oh, and I also had another agent ask for the first 50 pages, so add 1 partial to the list. Annnnnddd....I now have 158 fans on my FB page.

Pretty good couple of weeks, I'd say.

chase

Authonomy Update: 65

I entered the skiing chase scene (rewritten and edited) in a contest. Here's the scene (and the word cloud). Skis is the number one word in the scene.

I think contest would be the number one word on my blog.

Nope Authonomy. Nope Pearl. :) Have a lovely day!


Skiing Chase Scene • Pearl Edda


I whacked Iven with my ski pole. Right across his cheek.

Not very ladylike, I know, but I was ticked. I mean, we’d avoided each other all week, and had just patched things up when he pushed me – after insulting my skiing. Really? Like skis hadn’t been strapped to my feet every winter since – I don’t know – forever?

He didn’t look fazed. Instead he perused the darkening mountain behind us. “We need to go, Mia,” he said, rubbing the pole-inflicted welt. “Now.”

And then the egomaniac reached toward me again.

I harrumphed, planted my poles, and propelled myself down the slope. Keenly aware that he pursued me. Mad that I was a little pleased.

Traitor heart.

Olivia and Tait had already veered off onto a little used run, a drainage that cut through the forest and narrowed into a chute, and I shot off the lip, dropping down after them. Towering pine trees clustered together on either side of the trail, only allowing light to sneak through in muted patches, and I could barely track Olivia’s bright red jacket as it darted through the murky labyrinth.

Iven skied, wordlessly, beside me. The forest, too, was still, and the only sound came from our skis schussing in sync. I almost laughed from the stupidity of it all when I sensed something behind me. Its cold, dark shadow curled around my boots like wisps of smoke. It squeezed my ankles – firmly, once – and then backed away.

What the crap?

I looked toward Iven, but he grabbed my arm. “You said you could ski, Mia,” he hissed through clenched teeth. “Do it now. Like your life depends on it.”

He again pushed me, and I surged forward. This time he didn’t follow.

My hammering heart shot into my throat, and I brought my skis together while bending my knees. I realized the moguls of our previous run were nothing compared to the speed of the trees coming at me now. As boughs slapped me, their snowy blankets exploded, peppering my body with icy crystals.

Knowing better, a lot better, I ignored the cardinal rule of every horror movie ever made and glanced back. My entire body heaved as I immediately faced forward again, gasping in short, staccato bursts, while rapid-fire questions erupted in my brain.

What the heck? What the heck? What the heck is THAT?

I forced myself to keep on top of my skis, but a numbing breath streamed up my back. A low growl and what sounded like the snapping of teeth followed, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood straight on end.

The owner of the shadow had arrived.

And I was alone.


Bwahahahahahahhaha (Okay, I just tacked that on at the end. :))