New Beta Readers

WINTER ON BRIMSTONE HILL has reached that point. You know, the one where I send it out to be read by awesome people so they can help me make it the fantastic novel I want it to be. That means one thing (or seven, depending how you see it)--BETA READERS!

Let them introduce themselves:

Ally

Ally didn't send me her bio (or if she did, I lost it), so I'll introduce her. If I were Ally, I'd say, "I'm Ally. Y'all need to know one thing 'bout me: I eat raw eggs and guzzle root beer." Actually, Ally would NEVER say that. I took some creative license here. :)

Chris

I'm Chris and I'm self-diagnosed as being allergic to fun and free time.  In that lack of free time, I teach kids how to do martial arts, collect books that I want to read in a pile on my desk, and wear polos.  Despite my self-proclaimed aversion to fun, my claim to infamy is being fan of terrible jokes that don't really make people laugh...just question why they agreed to hear yet another bad joke.

Hannah

Along with reading, I enjoy hiking, knitting, farming, and travelling. I'm a glass half-full type of person. My dream is to live on a farm and to dabble in many different hobbies and skills.

Hope

I am "Baby B" out of a set of triplet girls.  In my spare time I love listening to music (specifically twenty|one|pilots and Jack's Mannequin), reading, and exercising.  I will attend Framingham State University in the fall where I will study Spanish and secondary education.

Jackie

My name is Jackie and I really like driving with the windows open. My hobbies include breakdancing and Tae Kwon Do.

Kim

Hey there I'm Kim and I love hockey and country music. I bet a lot of people just groaned at the fact that I like country music. I love to read and am known to sit down and finish a good book in one day if I get the chance. I'm also a tree hugging  environmental science geek so please reduce, reuse and recycle :)

Query Kombat 2014

I got into Query Kombat!

Query Kombat? What's that, you say? Check it out here.

Thanks to SC's vote of confidence, I'm on team #writerbees. Check out my entry "Loving Logic" on June 1st. Follow the contest on twitter at #QueryKombat.

Look! I'm on the list!!!

MSFV Drop the Needle Contest on Anger

If you write and you've never heard of Miss Snark's First Victim, a blog by the currently anonymous Authoress Anon, then you're missing out on some great writing and critiquing opportunities. With the exception of the Baker's Dozen--a yearly contest--all her contests are free, and they're excellent ways to connect with fellow writers and receive feedback on your own writing. Go there.

Last week, she called for entrants for her Drop the Needle Contest, this time looking specifically for 400 word scenes from novels in which the characters exhibited anger. I was lucky enough to have a scene near the end of WINTER ON BRIMSTONE HILL chosen. 

One commentator wrote: "This is really great -- so much tension! The dialogue felt very realistic, too. I wish I could keep reading!" Take a look for yourself and let me know if you agree. Although, SPOILER alert. (Yeah, it gives away a huge chunk of the ending.) Any and all suggestions are welcome!

Oh, and I plan to introduce my new beta readers in the next week or so. I so so so look forward to working with them to make WINTER the best it can be. :)