NYT bestselling author Brenda Novak is hosting her annual Online Auction to Benefit Diabetes Research. My late stepmother suffered diabetes, so Brenda's legendary auction is close to my heart.
How does it work? Well, it's a bit like any other online auction. You pick out a tantalising item, place a bid, and if you're the highest bidder by the closing date, the item's yours. Categories are geared toward both readers and writers.
My agent, Robin Rue of Writers House, is giving away an evaluation of a book proposal - with a one-week response time - to the highest bidder. Read all the details here.
Robin's uber assistant, Beth Miller, also has a crit on offer. I owe Beth so much. She plucked my query from the inbox of an agent who'd left the agency, and passed my work on to Robin. Now she reads draft after draft of my manuscripts and always has sage advice. Love her to bits, I do.
From Historical author Anna Campbell, one of my fabulous CPs and a double-RITA finalist, you could win a detailed critique of a partial ms. Now, Anna has really helped me come a loooong way as a writer since we met in 2002. I know she'll modestly deny this, but she's responsible for taking me from first-round contest flunkee to Golden Heart finalist. Place your bid now!
Author Mari Mancusi (of BOYS THAT BITE fame) is offering a 30-page YA manuscript critique. Check her out her auction page here.
You can also bid for appraisals from senior editors at major publishers, autographed books, a one-night stay at Nora Roberts's new Maryland inn (which her publicist told me about at last year's San Fran conference!) - items on offer are mind-boggling.
Happy bidding!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
The New Three 'R's: Reading, Writing and Recession
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that reading is a "low-cost escape from the recession." People are being more careful about spending, they're less extravagant, and thankfully they're rediscovering relatively cheap entertainment in the form of books.
What are people reading to take their minds off the new three 'R's? A fourth 'R', actually. An interesting article popped up in the New York Times on how, in this economic climate, romance novels are outselling other genres.
Vampire books are not dead--at least in Australia. Stephenie Meyer alone seems to be propping up sales.
Do you have any clever ideas on low-cost or no-cost entertainment to keep your mind off the global financial crisis? Has the GFC influenced your buying decisions?
Oh, and a HUGE shout out to my CP and good friend Stephanie Kuehnert, whose first book, I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE, has been nominated in the YA category of OKRWA's National Reader's Choice Awards! Well deserved, I might say! Good luck, Steph!
What are people reading to take their minds off the new three 'R's? A fourth 'R', actually. An interesting article popped up in the New York Times on how, in this economic climate, romance novels are outselling other genres.
Vampire books are not dead--at least in Australia. Stephenie Meyer alone seems to be propping up sales.
Do you have any clever ideas on low-cost or no-cost entertainment to keep your mind off the global financial crisis? Has the GFC influenced your buying decisions?
Oh, and a HUGE shout out to my CP and good friend Stephanie Kuehnert, whose first book, I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE, has been nominated in the YA category of OKRWA's National Reader's Choice Awards! Well deserved, I might say! Good luck, Steph!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Retail Therapy
In case you haven't heard me moaning on Facebook and Twitter, I am sick with an annoying cold. I've spent the last couple of days seeking treatment at UK-based online bookseller The Book Depository. They may not yet have the range my other haunt has, but they do offer FREE DELIVERY anywhere in the world and I'm told their service is quick.
So I added inches to my YA TBR pile with HEARTBREAK RIVER by Tricia Mills, INVISIBLE TOUCH by Kelly Parra (who recently signed a film option for her first book, GRAFFITI GIRL), WHAT WOULD EMMA DO? by Eileen Cook and MISS MATCH by Wendy Toliver.
This is in addition to the books I bought at bricks'n'mortar stores during the contagious phase of my cold - TANTALIZE by Cynthia Leitch Smith and POLAR BOY by Sandy Fussell.
I really have to hold back now, 'cause the commenters over at the We Love YA blog gave me a ton of recommendations and I want to read them all.
Which books have you bought lately? Are you actively buying books to keep the sellers and authors in business?
So I added inches to my YA TBR pile with HEARTBREAK RIVER by Tricia Mills, INVISIBLE TOUCH by Kelly Parra (who recently signed a film option for her first book, GRAFFITI GIRL), WHAT WOULD EMMA DO? by Eileen Cook and MISS MATCH by Wendy Toliver.
This is in addition to the books I bought at bricks'n'mortar stores during the contagious phase of my cold - TANTALIZE by Cynthia Leitch Smith and POLAR BOY by Sandy Fussell.
I really have to hold back now, 'cause the commenters over at the We Love YA blog gave me a ton of recommendations and I want to read them all.
Which books have you bought lately? Are you actively buying books to keep the sellers and authors in business?
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Group Hug!
This past week has been a blur of work, chocolate and work. And I've been very remiss in telling you there's a new group blog in town - a blog I belong to. We launched We Love YA on Monday. By "we" I mean a fab group of Australian & New Zealand YA writers - Amanda Ashby, Diane Curran, Kiki Lon, Natalie Hatch, Sara Hantz and me. There's still time to catch Amanda's first post and win yourself a copy of her ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEWBURY HIGH.
On Good Friday, join me for an interview with Walker Books Australia publisher Sarah Foster, who'll tell us about the market on this end of the planet. Post a comment there for your chance to win a book by CBCA Book of the Year nominee, Sandy Fussell.
On Good Friday, join me for an interview with Walker Books Australia publisher Sarah Foster, who'll tell us about the market on this end of the planet. Post a comment there for your chance to win a book by CBCA Book of the Year nominee, Sandy Fussell.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Gold Rush!
I am having a very shiny, golden birthday week. The lovely Trish Milburn phoned me at work this morning with the amazing news that I'm a Golden Heart finalist for best unpublished manuscript in the YA category. (Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!)
If you followed this post on my postal debacle, you'll understand how much this means to me. Without my dad backing me up, my entry might not have made it to the RWA office in time, so to be among the finalists after all that drama is surreal.
Congratulations to my fellow finalists in the YA field: Amanda Brice, Elizabeth C. Langston, Addison Fox and Shoshana Dawn Brown. I'm told we're all in for a golden ride until the awards ceremony in July. I'll be saving all my gold coins so I can make it to Washington, DC.
I'm also soooo happy that my good friends Christine Wells (Historical) and Tina Ferraro (YA) have finalled in the RITA Award for published authors. Both of these mega talents so deserve to be recognised.
What's your good news for the week?
If you followed this post on my postal debacle, you'll understand how much this means to me. Without my dad backing me up, my entry might not have made it to the RWA office in time, so to be among the finalists after all that drama is surreal.
Congratulations to my fellow finalists in the YA field: Amanda Brice, Elizabeth C. Langston, Addison Fox and Shoshana Dawn Brown. I'm told we're all in for a golden ride until the awards ceremony in July. I'll be saving all my gold coins so I can make it to Washington, DC.
I'm also soooo happy that my good friends Christine Wells (Historical) and Tina Ferraro (YA) have finalled in the RITA Award for published authors. Both of these mega talents so deserve to be recognised.
What's your good news for the week?
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Renovate or Detonate
Mr Authorness and I currently renovating our lovely 19th-century terrace house. Like many houses of this vintage, the ground level has a lean-to addition, built generations ago to accommodate a large family. We're systematically ripping this eyesore down. I can't wait to attack the old bathroom with a sledgehammer. It's tiled in five shades of brown, and we suspect the caramel-coloured bathtub was installed directly over a dirt floor back in the '70s. To me, it's the worst bathroom in the developed world. But I shouldn't complain, because the cliche really is true--there's always someone worse off than you:
Thursday, February 26, 2009
The Cult of the Zombies
The super talented and hilarious Amanda Ashby is having a monster blog bash to celebrate the release of her second book, THE ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEWBURY HIGH.
She very kindly invited me to guest-blog over at her place this week. You can catch me there on Friday if you're in the Northern Hemisphere or Saturday for those Down Under. (I think that's right. The whole time diff thing is so confusing!) Please come along, comment and win stuff! Actually, you should visit Amanda's blog every day for the next week and catch up with some amazing YA authors.
She very kindly invited me to guest-blog over at her place this week. You can catch me there on Friday if you're in the Northern Hemisphere or Saturday for those Down Under. (I think that's right. The whole time diff thing is so confusing!) Please come along, comment and win stuff! Actually, you should visit Amanda's blog every day for the next week and catch up with some amazing YA authors.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Happy Feet?
I have never had a professional pedicure. I'm not ashamed. My toes aren't hairy or scary, I promise. And after watching this pedicure procedure, it's unlikely I'll ever go to a salon where the employees are fish.
This kind of reminds me of Flintstones technology (you know, dinosaurs that double as vacuum cleaners and bulldozers) but a million times creepier. If you live in Florida, relax, 'cause the state's Board of Cosmetology has just banned so-called Dr Fish from practising.
I love how the woman in the video says it's like getting a massage. Hmm, I've never been nibbled on at a salon, but I guess I've led a sheltered life. Do you have a spa war story to share?
This kind of reminds me of Flintstones technology (you know, dinosaurs that double as vacuum cleaners and bulldozers) but a million times creepier. If you live in Florida, relax, 'cause the state's Board of Cosmetology has just banned so-called Dr Fish from practising.
I love how the woman in the video says it's like getting a massage. Hmm, I've never been nibbled on at a salon, but I guess I've led a sheltered life. Do you have a spa war story to share?
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Fire and Water
Koala facts:
* There are normally approximately 80,000 koalas in the Australian wild. About 15,000 live in the southern states, which have been devastated by fires.
* Koalas normally have a slow metabolic rate and sleep up to 16 hours a day.
* These marsupial mammals are normally most active just after sunset.
* They normally eat up to 500 grams (over one pound) of eucalyptus leaves each day. The high water content in these leaves means koalas rarely drink.
But this koala's normal life, like so many others, has just been turned upside down:
The firefighter in the pic, David Tree, said Sam the koala chugged three bottles of water. "I could see she had sore feet and was in trouble, so I pulled over the fire truck. She just plonked herself down, as if to say 'I'm beat'," Mr Tree said. "The most amazing part was when she grabbed my hand. I will never forget that."
The Herald Sun newspaper is selling this photo for $20. All proceeds go to the Country Fire Authority. Click here for details.
* There are normally approximately 80,000 koalas in the Australian wild. About 15,000 live in the southern states, which have been devastated by fires.
* Koalas normally have a slow metabolic rate and sleep up to 16 hours a day.
* These marsupial mammals are normally most active just after sunset.
* They normally eat up to 500 grams (over one pound) of eucalyptus leaves each day. The high water content in these leaves means koalas rarely drink.
But this koala's normal life, like so many others, has just been turned upside down:
The firefighter in the pic, David Tree, said Sam the koala chugged three bottles of water. "I could see she had sore feet and was in trouble, so I pulled over the fire truck. She just plonked herself down, as if to say 'I'm beat'," Mr Tree said. "The most amazing part was when she grabbed my hand. I will never forget that."
The Herald Sun newspaper is selling this photo for $20. All proceeds go to the Country Fire Authority. Click here for details.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Victorian firestorm
Many of us here in Australia are reeling over the devastation caused by a huge firestorm sweeping through rural areas in the state of Victoria. It's estimated the human death toll will reach 200--it currently stands at 131. Countless livestock and wildlife have also been killed or injured. Adding to the grief is the suspicion that some fires were deliberately lit.
The government has pledged immediate financial help to victims of the fires, but you can also assist by donating.
Click here to donate to Wildlife Victoria.
According to Yahoo7, Bendigo Bank and the Red Cross are accepting donations. Or you can make a pledge at any Bunnings hardware store or at National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank or ANZ bank branches.
Photo: Mick Tsikas/Reuters as seen in the New York Times.
The government has pledged immediate financial help to victims of the fires, but you can also assist by donating.
Click here to donate to Wildlife Victoria.
According to Yahoo7, Bendigo Bank and the Red Cross are accepting donations. Or you can make a pledge at any Bunnings hardware store or at National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank or ANZ bank branches.
Photo: Mick Tsikas/Reuters as seen in the New York Times.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)