Setting The Scene

Photo Credit: Debbie Johansson

I’m posting over on the Novel Clique blog again today. This weeks topic: setting and/or world building. Hope you drop by and leave a comment.

Thanks for your continued support.

p.s. Only 44 days left before the official Edge of Truth release! Time is a flyin’!

Advertisements

Who Tells The Story?

Photo Credit: Jenny Kaczorowski

Hey Everyone!

It’s my turn on the Novel Clique blog today. Please pop on over to read my post on Point of View.

Next Thursday, I’ll post about the reviewer/writer relationship and expectations. I hope to get tons of feedback from those of you who have written a book review(s) or thought about writing a review.

Thanks for your continued support! ~ Natasha

Seeing Is Believing, Or Is It?

Hey Everyone!

I’m posting over on Novel Clique, my critique group’s blog, today. Please pop on over to read my post on Suspension of Disbelief in movies. Next week, I’ll be posting on Monday with my Top 10 Favorite movies. Click here (and scroll down) to join the fun!

Thanks for your continued support!

Let’s Get Organized

Novel Clique, my writer’s group, determined 2012 the Year of the Agent. It went amazingly well, so we designated 2013 the Year of Social Media. We all plan to develop websites, continue to build our individual blogs, as well as the Novel Clique blog.

We’ll be busy, but maintaining a social media presence doesn’t have to be stressful. We sat down with our editorial calendar and brainstormed topics. Now, we have our group’s weekly blog posts planned for the year. It really took the stress out of figuring out what to write.

This morning alone, I changed topics three times. In an effort to find a balance between writing and the real world, we’re starting the Let’s Get Organized blog hop.

The rules are simple:

1. Create a 4-6 week editorial calendar (here’s a cool template). If you post more than once a week, feel free to cut this time-frame in half. Unless, you’re up for the challenge.
2. Publish the schedule to your blog. As with exercising, people tend to stick to goals when they’re held accountable.
3. Tag three bloggers to join in the fun, then contact them to let them know about it.

The party starts February 21, 2013. In the meantime, mark your calendar, grab the badge for your blog to help spread the word and start brainstorming topics for your editorial calendar.

****NEW****

If you want to join the party, please sign up using the Linky Tool below.

Powered by Linky Tools

Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…

2013 Goals + Early Birds

Photo Credit: Kristin Nador

It’s good to return to the blogosphere! I’ve missed connecting with my readers, though I did visit a few of you during my hiatus. I noticed many of you are setting goals for the new year, some more challenging than others. 2013 promises to be a busy, and hopefully exciting, year for me.

With that in mind, here are some of my 2013 goals:

• Blog revamp. I like the look of my blog, but I’m ready to take it up a notch. Luckily, my critique group is right there with me, and we all plan to create new websites. We will learn together.
• Interviews & Guest Posts. As part of the revamping, I plan to interview my readers and host guest posts by people in various stages of the writing journey – newbie, experienced, published, etc. I’ll have more details later. If you think you might be interested, I’m starting an early bird interview & guest post sign up list. 
• Writer’s Retreat. Every year, my group takes a time out from family, friends, cyberspace, etc. and focuses solely on writing. I always look forward to this bonding opportunity.
• Join the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. I can already put a check mark by this one (I’m #292). The first Wednesday of every month IWSG creates a safe haven where writers can express their doubts and concerns, as well as offer support and guidance to each other. I have a feeling I’m going to need this group.
• Book release Blog Tour. I’m both excited and nervous about the upcoming (06.06.13) release of Edge Of Truth. Thanks again to everyone who participated in the cover reveal. Now, I’m recruiting a team to help with the book blog tour from June 6 to June 27. If you’re interested, here’s the early bird Edge of Truth blog tour sign up form.
• Start a Newsletter so readers can stay up to date on contest, giveaways, tours, appearances, my next book etc. If you’re interested, please fill in the early bird Newsletter sign up form.
• Last, but not least, something my critique group calls a pleasure goal. This is something that has nothing to do with writing. I plan to master baking gooseberry pie between now and December 2013. This was one of my mama’s favorite pies. I baked one for Christmas 2012. My siblings were kind enough to eat it and not make faces. I’m determined to do better next year, and welcome any tips.

How about you? What are some of your goals for 2013?

Conference Afterglow

Novel Clique + First Tuesday members

I can’t even begin to describe how awesome OWFI 2012 was. There were a number of informative workshops. I listened to Chuck Sambuchino discuss “Perfecting Your Pitch”, attended session where agents and editors fielded questions from the audience, heard what editor Melissa Frain had to say about genre fiction, listened to a paranormal panel discuss the supernatural, and watched Carolyn Wall ‘fall into’ her characters to demonstrate how to discover voice.

WordWeavers Bartlesville + Me

It was wonderful to see the familiar faces of my Word Weaver friends, as well as  meet new people. I had a chance to meet Rebekah Loper, a blogger encountered through the Platform Building Campaign, face to face.

Though, the thing that sets OWFI apart from many other conferences is the opportunity to attend Buzz Sessions with speakers/presenters. My critique group and I (along with a few other attendees) had the opportunity to hang out with agents Lousie Fury, Emmanuelle Morgen, and Jessica Sinsheimer and discuss things like market trends, the benefits of

Agent side of Agent/Editor panel

acquiring an agent, what to expect in an agent/author relationship, and that some agents actually visit blogs as well as search Twitter and Facebook of potential clients before making offers. *waves hello*

The keynote speaker Steven James had me laughing so hard I snorted during the ‘JOY’ part of his speech. Long story short, bad things aren’t a travesty for writer’s, it’s material. He also read snippets of rejections letters, which were funny in retrospect.

On both Friday and Saturday, I had the opportunity to pitch my YA paranormal novels EDGE OF TRUTH and BLINK to three agents. All asked for material. My critique partners also successfully pitched their work to agents.

Novel Clique post Awards Banquet celebration

The conference ended with an Awards Banquet on Saturday. Everyone in my critique group placed in one category or another. My short story ZOMBIE KIBOSH CREW earned 2nd Place in the YA Short Story category (find extended, published version on Kindle or Nook or print).

Overall, I’d say OWFI is an excellent conference and attendees get so much back for the conference cost.

Have you been to a conference lately? Which one and what did you like about it? Or perhaps you’re planning to attend a conference in the future? How did you decide which one?