A few weeks ago I went a friend's party. Well, it was really her childrens party, but that is where I met cookbook author, Rosemary Donnelly. I actually met her many many years ago when I was a teen. I hung out with her nephew and his friends. (although she doesn't remember me.)
Well, how often is it that there are two authors at the same party when it has nothing to do with books. I think pretty darn rare.
It was such a pleasure to chat with Rosemary about her new cookbook. I enjoyed listening to her stories, such as her fun photo shoot. (You have to check out her Cougar pictures.) She has a great personality, and I know by browsing her website, it shows.
I think Cooking with a Cougar comes out right after Christmas and the only place you can purchase it is from her website. (I think? Could be wrong.)...
So if you want some great receipes, and a fun time reading. I highly recommend her "Cooking with a Cougar" cookbook.
Rosemary's website is: www.cougarinstincts.com
Wishing you luck, Rosemary!!!
Happy Holidays,
Dawn Chartier
www.dawnchartier.com
NOT AN ANGEL, coming out in 2010 with The Wild Rose Press
www.thewildrosepress.com
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
TIPS FROM THE SLUSH PILE BY SARA MEGIBOW
TIPS FROM THE SLUSH PILE by Sara Megibow The end of the year is a nice time to celebrate success stories!In early 2007, I read a query letter in the slush pile from a writer by the name of Sarah Rees Brennan. The query letter piqued my interest and we ended up asking for sample pages and shortly thereafter for the full manuscript.
To make a long story short, THE DEMON’S LEXICON by Sarah Rees Brennan was one of our debut novels this year and was recently named one of the Best Young Adult Books of 2009 by Kirkus Magazine. I mention all this because success stories do happen — successful authors are pulled out of the slush pile, tremendous books are bought by amazing publishing houses and these gems are read by delighted fans. Sometimes the process may seem daunting or overwhelming but as a writer-on-the-agent-hunt you are already one step ahead of the person who has already quit trying.
Hopefully this tip will help. Instead of breaking down my thoughts on query letters, I’ve decided to post the original query letter by Sarah Rees Brennan. Kristin frequently posts clients’ query letters on our website, so if you want to read more, go to the Nelson Agency FAQ page.Anyway, here it is — enjoy!
Dear Ms. Nelson and Ms. Megibow:
I am a big fan of Ms. Nelson's blog and the dedication and positive attitude obvious in every post.
I would like you to consider THE DEMON'S LEXICON, my YA urban fantasy set in modern-day England. The manuscript is complete at 75, 000 words.What would be the first word to come to mind about the runaway romance between a beautiful, headstrong woman and a darkly fascinating magician?
For Nick, it's 'embarrassing', since said beautiful, headstrong woman was his mum. 16 year old Nick has been brought up on the run from the darkly fascinating magician after things really didn't work out between him and Nick's mother. He resents his mother for the predicament they're in, and he was mostly raised by his older brother, Alan.Nick has also been brought up knowing that there are certain people who have limited magical abilities. Some of them, the magicians, increase these magical abilities by summoning demons who give them more power - in return for the magicians giving them people to possess.
The other magically gifted people have considerably less power and rely on magical trinkets and information, exchanged every month at a 'goblin market.' As the only people who know about the magicians and their victims, they do try to control things, but it's an endeavour that is not going well.Nick, who can summon demons and is pretty handy with a sword, is mostly concerned with just getting by, but his life is greatly complicated by the advent of his brother's latest crush.
Not only is she a little too attractive for Nick's peace of mind, but she has a boy in tow who bears the marks of demon possession. Added to that the fact that Nick has started to suspect that Alan, the only person in his life who he trusts, has been lying to him about a few very serious things, and not only Nick, but everybody else, are in for some surprises.
I have a popular online blog, some contacts in the writing and publishing world. I want to move ahead on this with an agent, and I also want an agent for the long term, for negotiation and guidance - in fact, everything it says on the tin - that is to say, your website.
Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing back from you.
Yours, Sarah Rees Brennan
Sincerely,Sara Megibow
(Thanks again Sara for allowing me to post your words of wisdom!)
Good luck to all aspiring writers and authors in the year 2010!!
Happy Holidays,
Dawn Chartier
http://www.dawnchartier.com/
http://www.thewildrosepress.com/
NOT AN ANGEL, coming out in 2010 with TWRP
To make a long story short, THE DEMON’S LEXICON by Sarah Rees Brennan was one of our debut novels this year and was recently named one of the Best Young Adult Books of 2009 by Kirkus Magazine. I mention all this because success stories do happen — successful authors are pulled out of the slush pile, tremendous books are bought by amazing publishing houses and these gems are read by delighted fans. Sometimes the process may seem daunting or overwhelming but as a writer-on-the-agent-hunt you are already one step ahead of the person who has already quit trying.
Hopefully this tip will help. Instead of breaking down my thoughts on query letters, I’ve decided to post the original query letter by Sarah Rees Brennan. Kristin frequently posts clients’ query letters on our website, so if you want to read more, go to the Nelson Agency FAQ page.Anyway, here it is — enjoy!
Dear Ms. Nelson and Ms. Megibow:
I am a big fan of Ms. Nelson's blog and the dedication and positive attitude obvious in every post.
I would like you to consider THE DEMON'S LEXICON, my YA urban fantasy set in modern-day England. The manuscript is complete at 75, 000 words.What would be the first word to come to mind about the runaway romance between a beautiful, headstrong woman and a darkly fascinating magician?
For Nick, it's 'embarrassing', since said beautiful, headstrong woman was his mum. 16 year old Nick has been brought up on the run from the darkly fascinating magician after things really didn't work out between him and Nick's mother. He resents his mother for the predicament they're in, and he was mostly raised by his older brother, Alan.Nick has also been brought up knowing that there are certain people who have limited magical abilities. Some of them, the magicians, increase these magical abilities by summoning demons who give them more power - in return for the magicians giving them people to possess.
The other magically gifted people have considerably less power and rely on magical trinkets and information, exchanged every month at a 'goblin market.' As the only people who know about the magicians and their victims, they do try to control things, but it's an endeavour that is not going well.Nick, who can summon demons and is pretty handy with a sword, is mostly concerned with just getting by, but his life is greatly complicated by the advent of his brother's latest crush.
Not only is she a little too attractive for Nick's peace of mind, but she has a boy in tow who bears the marks of demon possession. Added to that the fact that Nick has started to suspect that Alan, the only person in his life who he trusts, has been lying to him about a few very serious things, and not only Nick, but everybody else, are in for some surprises.
I have a popular online blog, some contacts in the writing and publishing world. I want to move ahead on this with an agent, and I also want an agent for the long term, for negotiation and guidance - in fact, everything it says on the tin - that is to say, your website.
Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing back from you.
Yours, Sarah Rees Brennan
Sincerely,Sara Megibow
(Thanks again Sara for allowing me to post your words of wisdom!)
Good luck to all aspiring writers and authors in the year 2010!!
Happy Holidays,
Dawn Chartier
http://www.dawnchartier.com/
http://www.thewildrosepress.com/
NOT AN ANGEL, coming out in 2010 with TWRP
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Recap on Sola's November Meeting with author, Robin Wells
Robin did a excellent job at our last month Sola-RWA meeting. She went over a lot of things that are so important to all writers. Here is a recap on a "few" items she mentioned.
Significant Details is something that reveals characters, such as, tapping fingers, rolling eyes, blinks too much. There are a lot of other details you can add to your story such as something that illustrates a theme to the book (symbolism) like, the weather, mountains, a streetcar, etc. or you could add something that means a lot to the character, ex: a ring the characters mother gave her. This item could trigger an emotional response.
Details can be: A thing, a person, a action or a place. But, make them important to the character. Something emotional will go a long way.
Details should be strong verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs.
Robin gave us an assignment as well, you might want to try it out.
Your character opens a closet. What does she or he find? What does it mean to them?
There are tons more details that power the significant details, but this will get you started. If ever you have the chance to buy Robin Wells books, she will give you many examples, and a enjoyable read too. Her next book I believe is How To Score.
Significant Details is something that reveals characters, such as, tapping fingers, rolling eyes, blinks too much. There are a lot of other details you can add to your story such as something that illustrates a theme to the book (symbolism) like, the weather, mountains, a streetcar, etc. or you could add something that means a lot to the character, ex: a ring the characters mother gave her. This item could trigger an emotional response.
Details can be: A thing, a person, a action or a place. But, make them important to the character. Something emotional will go a long way.
Details should be strong verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs.
Robin gave us an assignment as well, you might want to try it out.
Your character opens a closet. What does she or he find? What does it mean to them?
There are tons more details that power the significant details, but this will get you started. If ever you have the chance to buy Robin Wells books, she will give you many examples, and a enjoyable read too. Her next book I believe is How To Score.
Monday, November 23, 2009
TIPS FROM THE SLUSH PILE by Sara Megibow
I love Sara's tips (agent with Nelson Literary Agency) on query letter submissions, so here is her November tip. I hope you aspiring authors/authors learn as much as I do from her.
TIPS FROM THE SLUSH PILE by Sara Megibow Happy Thanksgiving!
I’ve been reading the query inbox for almost four years now. Hard to believe isn’t it? In that time, there is one trend that I can count on - the days right after any holiday tend to see a huge influx of query letter submissions. That’s exciting — it means there are tons of great projects on their way to my desk in the next two months! Really, it also means that writers are taking their holiday time to polish up their manuscripts, put together their agent list, and submit their work.
So, with that in mind, here’s my radical query letter suggestion for the month. Try preparing two or three different versions of your query letter. Maybe one has a lighter tone to it, maybe one includes more detail on the plot. Spend some time getting query letter help where you can (I tend to recommend evileditor.blogspot.com). Then, send the most compelling version to your top ten agents. If you are getting 2-3 requests for sample pages per 10 submissions, GREAT! If not, send version two of the query letter to your next ten top agents. See where I’m going with this? It’s a way to gauge what works best for your story.
Now, here’s the super secret insider tip that makes this exercise really worth it. If you’re not getting requests for sample pages from version one or version two — pull out version three and resubmit it to some of your top agents again. Resist the temptation to open your resubmission with, “I submitted this project to you a month ago, but I’ve revised my query letter and I would like to submit it again.” Simply resubmit it as if it were the first time.
Trust me, with 200 query letters coming in per day, I’m not likely to remember your first query letter. Also, it’s totally professional and appropriate to approach us again if it took that extra step to perfect your craft.Happy Holidays! If you choose to use the holiday breaks to write, then I look forward to seeing your work in 2010!
Sincerely,Sara Megibow
Thanks for allowing me to post this Sara.......and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!! Gobble Gobble...
Hugs,
Dawn Chartier
Not An Angel, coming out soon with The Wild Rose Press
www.dawnchartier.com
TIPS FROM THE SLUSH PILE by Sara Megibow Happy Thanksgiving!
I’ve been reading the query inbox for almost four years now. Hard to believe isn’t it? In that time, there is one trend that I can count on - the days right after any holiday tend to see a huge influx of query letter submissions. That’s exciting — it means there are tons of great projects on their way to my desk in the next two months! Really, it also means that writers are taking their holiday time to polish up their manuscripts, put together their agent list, and submit their work.
So, with that in mind, here’s my radical query letter suggestion for the month. Try preparing two or three different versions of your query letter. Maybe one has a lighter tone to it, maybe one includes more detail on the plot. Spend some time getting query letter help where you can (I tend to recommend evileditor.blogspot.com). Then, send the most compelling version to your top ten agents. If you are getting 2-3 requests for sample pages per 10 submissions, GREAT! If not, send version two of the query letter to your next ten top agents. See where I’m going with this? It’s a way to gauge what works best for your story.
Now, here’s the super secret insider tip that makes this exercise really worth it. If you’re not getting requests for sample pages from version one or version two — pull out version three and resubmit it to some of your top agents again. Resist the temptation to open your resubmission with, “I submitted this project to you a month ago, but I’ve revised my query letter and I would like to submit it again.” Simply resubmit it as if it were the first time.
Trust me, with 200 query letters coming in per day, I’m not likely to remember your first query letter. Also, it’s totally professional and appropriate to approach us again if it took that extra step to perfect your craft.Happy Holidays! If you choose to use the holiday breaks to write, then I look forward to seeing your work in 2010!
Sincerely,Sara Megibow
Thanks for allowing me to post this Sara.......and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!! Gobble Gobble...
Hugs,
Dawn Chartier
Not An Angel, coming out soon with The Wild Rose Press
www.dawnchartier.com
Friday, November 20, 2009
Author Robin Wells at Sola's November Meeting
This Saturday, author, Robin Wells presents: "Under The Skin and Straight to the Heart--Touch Your Readers' Emotions with Significant Detail."
Here is Robin's Bio:
When Robin Wells sold her first romance novel in 1995, her family celebrated at a Chinese restaurant. Robin’s fortune cookie read, “Romance moves you in a new direction.”
And it certainly has! Robin has since written sixteen critically acclaimed romantic comedies that have been translated into seventeen languages. Her books have won the National Golden Heart Award, two National Readers’ Choice Awards, the Award of Excellence, the Golden Quill, and the Holt Medallion. In addition, her books have been listed on Waldenbooks’ Top Ten Bestseller List.
Robin’s latest book, How to Score, was published last June and was a finalist for another Readers' Choice Award and Holt Medallion. Her next book, Still the One, will hit bookshelves in May 2010.
Robin was born in Waco, Texas and holds a B.A. in liberal arts from the University of Oklahoma. Before becoming a full-time writer, Robin worked as an advertising and public relations executive for a major hotel chain. She lives with her husband, two daughters and a dog named Winnie the Poohdle in Mandeville, Louisiana.
Come and learn from Robin's presentation on Saturday November 21st. 11:00am at the East Bank Library on W. Napoleon Ave.
See ya'll there,
Dawn
Here is Robin's Bio:
When Robin Wells sold her first romance novel in 1995, her family celebrated at a Chinese restaurant. Robin’s fortune cookie read, “Romance moves you in a new direction.”
And it certainly has! Robin has since written sixteen critically acclaimed romantic comedies that have been translated into seventeen languages. Her books have won the National Golden Heart Award, two National Readers’ Choice Awards, the Award of Excellence, the Golden Quill, and the Holt Medallion. In addition, her books have been listed on Waldenbooks’ Top Ten Bestseller List.
Robin’s latest book, How to Score, was published last June and was a finalist for another Readers' Choice Award and Holt Medallion. Her next book, Still the One, will hit bookshelves in May 2010.
Robin was born in Waco, Texas and holds a B.A. in liberal arts from the University of Oklahoma. Before becoming a full-time writer, Robin worked as an advertising and public relations executive for a major hotel chain. She lives with her husband, two daughters and a dog named Winnie the Poohdle in Mandeville, Louisiana.
Come and learn from Robin's presentation on Saturday November 21st. 11:00am at the East Bank Library on W. Napoleon Ave.
See ya'll there,
Dawn
Monday, November 9, 2009
My favorite Louisiana TV commercial
I just wanted to share my favorite Louisiana cajun commercial. I love this man's voice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyssygCAV90
Hope it works.
Enjoy!
Dawn Chartier
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyssygCAV90
Hope it works.
Enjoy!
Dawn Chartier
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