Happy July 4th week, everyone! And so another crazy summer begins. The relaxing
days of summer do not exist in my world. Try writing even a grocery list in a house full of teenagers. An idea for
another middle-grade novel popped into my head. But I am undecided as to the genre. It could go full blown
contemporary mystery or a sci-fi. Weird. I know. I'm only in the brainstorming
stage, but one thing I’m pretty certain of is the setting: Chicago. I can’t
stop thinking about my favorite city. Here are some more pics from my visit
last month:
I’m feeling hopeful and jittery this month. My MG mystery that was picked for the Query Kombat contest last month got knocked out in round one.
I thought I made my query clear that it was told from a dual POV, but the
judges were confused. At least, Michelle Hauke believed in me and gave me a
chance by picking me for her team! I received great feedback and encouraging
words from everyone. Moving on. I decided to enter my MG mystery into another contest, “page 70
pitch” hosted by Lara Willard. Why not, right? We’ll see how that one goes.
I've always wanted to take a photo of Calder's Flamingo. As my hubs was flying fast in the Mini Cooper, we passed the Federal building in Chicago. I stuck my hand out of the sunroof and snapped a few pics. They may not be perfect, but I succeeded!
How about you? Enter any writing contests this summer?
Putting the parking brake on your writing for now? Losing your mind with a house full of
kids or pets or imaginary characters in your head?
I'm on vacation this week and will try to respond to comments and visit blogs as soon as possible!
I'm on vacation this week and will try to respond to comments and visit blogs as soon as possible!
No contests planned, but I am promoting the new book I just wrote. This is the last summer before my first kid starts school, so I'm sure I'll have completely different opinions on this season starting next year. :-)
ReplyDeletewww.cdgallantking.ca
It's a lot of work promoting your book. Good luck! Yes, you will;-)
DeleteMichelle is awesome!!!
ReplyDeleteI haven't entered any contests before, but I probably should one of these days. :)
Good luck with yours!
Yes, she is! It is a lot of fun, but do your homework before you enter! I'm nervous about tomorrow--the results of Lara's contest will be in. *bites nails*
DeleteGreat post! Your new idea sounds like it will be a fun novel. The summer is zipping by too fast for me. There's one contest I've entered every year for the past five years (it's an annual one so I always just submit my newest stuff) and I totally missed it. Flew right by and I didn't even realize I'd missed the deadline until 3 weeks later. Gotta love the business of summer. :D
ReplyDeleteThanks! I hope so:)
DeleteDon't you love that Shiny New Idea stage! Good luck with your brainstorming and the contests!
ReplyDeleteYes, I have a houseful of teenagers -- my daughters, their friends, boyfriends. We have a pool, and apparently my husband and I are "chill," so this is the house they all want to hang out at. We make a grocery list every single day. No sooner do we get back from the store than there is a new list started.
But I am getting my writing in. I guess that's why I'm chill. Because I stay out of the kids' way while I'm writing. :)
Yes, I do. Thanks!! We have a pool too. Must be a teenager magnet!
DeleteGood luck with that contest.
ReplyDeleteGo science fiction. (No, I'm not biased...)
Thanks! I just might go for it!
DeleteOoo, MG Scifi mystery set in Chicago. I'm thinking of this one great novel I read that I got from Amazon as part of their one great novel every month for Prime members thing they do. It was about a teenage time traveler who got to visit the World Fair and deal with this serial killer while she was there. Can't remember the name of the novel, but it was an awesome all-of-the-above, with a dash of historical fiction too. Watch it will come to me as soon as I finish this comment.
ReplyDeleteAnne from AnneHiga.com
Sounds good to me!
DeleteGood luck with the new contest! I'm not one for contests myself, but I am busy with kids and summer events. :) Hope you stay on top of things!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Always busy:)
DeleteI haven't entered it yet, but I've got a short. It's almost ready. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnna from elements of emaginette
Why do you have to decide now if it's contemporary or sci fi? Why not let the story go where it goes and decide on genre later?
ReplyDeleteGreat pics.