Posts
Who Review: Nightmare in Silver
15 hours ago
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
I'm Still Here!
Happy almost-Wednesday!
It feels like I've been on a blogging vacation or something, what with helping DL Hammons host WRiTE Club and letting other writers do all the work for me :D Quick reminder that the competition is still going on, so please stop by DL's blog to cast your vote! It's more important than ever since each round is bringing the contenders closer and closer to the agents and editors who will judge the final match.
Things have been going well in my neck of the woods! I've been preoccupied with car shopping for a couple of weeks, since a mechanic told me that my old one could kick the bucket at any time and I wasn't crazy about the idea of it disintegrating on the highway during the drive home for Thanksgiving. So, I went out and bought a new one! I got a decent deal for it, too, since I researched the crap out of the whole process, being 1) type A and 2) paranoid that the salesmen were out to get me (partially true; they are only out to get my money). So thanks to that and some very car-savvy friends, I am now the owner of a shiny, safe Toyota and can drive anywhere without the fear of having to pull a Fred Flintstone.
In terms of writing, the spanking new middle-grade version of PPP is in the hands of my critique partner and a few trusted readers! As soon as they give me the yay or the nay, I'll be resubmitting to the interested agent OR doing some more edits/touch-ups before I resubmit. This will all happen in early December, I hope. The other partial request I was waiting on turned out to be a dead end, but no biggie! I think PPP was always meant to be for younger readers, and I'm so excited about this new version that it makes perfect sense to me that people hesitated about it as a YA. The good news is that my query letter appears to be doing its job. So, thanks, query letter!
Contrary to my Tweets, I didn't get to peek at ELEGY last week after all - even though I was very inspired by everyone doing NaNoWriMo. I didn't participate this year, since I already put down 35K words in August for Camp NaNo, but that's no excuse not to write my brains out. So this weekend, I'll put my feet up and read what I have written. I'm hoping that the time spent apart and distracted by PPP will help me see this WIP more clearly and fix what needs to be fixed.
Anyway, thought I'd just check in quickly and let you know that I'm still here! Hope you're all having a great week so far!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
23 comments:
Hey Julie! I've been doing my best to keep up with the Write Club voting.
Glad you have a new car. That Toyota will last forever.
And good attitude about the queries!
Good work making those changes to PPP! Once it's in the interested agent's hands, you might get a very special Christmas gift this year!!
Glad you were able to use that Type A personality and paranoia to good use, especially when shopping for a car as a girl can cause one to have oodles of paranoia when it comes to sales folks.
Also glad PPP is making much progress with its changes.
You've been busy :)
Nice to have ya back ;)
A Toyota will run forever! Glad to hear you've been busy in a good way!
I don't know much about cars seeing as how I only drive twice a year when I visit my parents, since they don't have public transportation where they live. But it sounds like you got a good car! And I think it's good to take a blogging break every now and then; I've done it before, and it gives me a chance to come up with more stuff to blog about.
I had a YA manuscript that changed to MG, too! My agent thought it made a better MG than YA -- and as soon as she said it, I knew she was right. I made some changes before it went on submission, but it needs more. Luckily, I have a wonderful editor to guide me through what still needs to be done.
I am really enjoying the changes. How about you? Did you have to kick any parts to the curb that make you a little sad? I had one or two.
Good to see you're still around, Julie! I hope the new car proves to be a good investment. In my experience, I wouldn't trust a car salesman to be trying to get the best deal for me. The best car-buying experience I ever had is when I went to the dealership, found the car I was interested in, researched its history, and then arranged a loan from the bank. The whole purchase transaction took less than 30 mins with no sales pitches or negotiations because I knew what I wanted and had already worked out the finance arrangements.
I wish you every success with PPP! :D
I like your picture!
Congrats on your sparkly new car and sparkly new manuscript. Hope you get good feedback!
Glad to see you check in outside of Write Club. Sounds like you've got a lot of good things going on!
Now you know how I feel! :)
You should have my PPP notes by this weekend...promise!
Isn't getting a new car SWEET!! :)
So exciting about PPP! Fingers crossed for your resubmittal to the agent! :)
I have a Toyota. I hope you don't have the same problem with the doors that we did. The very expensive problem. That our warranty no longer covered. But other than that, we love our van.
That's awesome about the query, Julie. Sorry about the dead end with the R&R, but at least you're happy with the stronger ms. :D
Enjoy your new car! Fingers crossed for you for the agent.
Hey Julie! Glad to hear that PPP is getting good feedback, and I hope you are able to get it published soon! Best wishes with Elegy and all your writing!
Yay on the new car!! As someone who spent many years praying my car would start as I turned the key in the ignition, I know how wonderful it is to get a car you can trust. So one more time, yay on the new car!!
Have a safe and wonderful time with family over T'day. I can't wait to hear more about Elegy and PPP.
I love to hear what's going on!! Woohoo for a great query. :-) Happy Thanksgiving!
Cool! Congrats on the new car. I drive a Toyota too, and I put a ton of miles on my car for work. 3000-4000 miles a month. It's been a workhorse.
I know I've told you this before, but I REALLY love your profile pic.
Julie! I haven't been by in way too long, girl!
Sounds like your revisions are going well, and congrats on the new car! I hope you find that distance from Elegy when you're reading! Have a great weekend!
Talk about business, and here I thought I was up to my eyes in awesomeness. Keep those queries rolling, and btw, I tagged you in today's blogfest! :)
Congrats on the new car! I also tagged you in today's blogfest! ;)
I'm impressed! Buying a car as a female is one of the most intimidating things to me because I hear how much sales people discrimahate and will majorly rip us off. I definitely would bring a hard-hitting guy with me if I had to buy a new one - I'll have to get tips from you on how to go about it!
Alex: Hey there! Glad you're keeping up with the voting. And yep, that is what everyone tells me about Toyotas! I sure hope it's true!
Laura: That would be the BEST Christmas of my life, no contest!
Angela: Oh yeah, I couldn't sleep properly for a week before car shopping because I was so stressed out. Glad it's all over!
Monkey: Thank you, it's really nice to be back :)
Stephanie: That's what they tell me! I hope it comes true :D
Workaholic: Absolutely. I have a million ideas for blog posts all of a sudden!
Dianne: I'm so glad you liked the way your MG turned out, even though you had to (painfully) cut out a few parts you loved! I did want my character to be 16-17 because she's embarking on a new career after school and looking for who she wants to become, but I decided - why not have all that, even if she has to be 14 now? My world, my rules. So I just watered it down a little bit, but the same themes are there.
Colin: I don't trust salespeople either, but I did do a ton of research so I made sure to get the best deal in the area. I also brought some secret weapons... friends who know the business almost inside and out!
Theresa: Thank you so much, I hope I get good feedback as well!
Nicole: Always! But it's a good thing :)
Don: TOTALLY sweet. And re: notes on PPP... YAYYYYYY! *fist-bump*
workofheart: Thank you so, so much! All of my limbs are crossed :D
Stina: Oh, the R&R is still on - that is who I'm submitting to next month. It was just another person who requested a partial and decided not to go for it :) Thanks for the encouragement! And sorry to hear about your Toyota... my mom had a brand-new Honda that gave her endless problems. It's the luck of the draw, I think.
Nick: Thank you!!! I think it will definitely help to have so many fingers crossed for me :)
Tyrean: You are sweet, thank you very much for your encouraging words. I'm excited, no matter what happens!
Connie: Totally. I had a lovely car before, but it was just so rusty underneath from all the snow/salt we get up here. Not to mention scary whenever I went over a bump in the road! I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving yourself!
Jessica: Thank you!! Happy Thanksgiving <3
Jay: Holy moley, that is a lot of miles. Glad your car was dependable and reliable! That's really all I need, no bells and whistles - just a car that will take me anywhere I want to go safely!
Daisy: I've missed you!!! I've been so busy that I haven't been keeping up with blogs, but I've been thinking about everyone, including you. Hope you're doing well and that you're having a great weekend <3
David: You ARE awesome!!! Thanks for tagging me. Hope things are going great with WOVEN!
Kimberly: Thank you, blogfest queen! *huggles*
Sophia: Oh, don't you worry, I brought the big guns. One of the friends who came with me is a professional mechanic. He saved me from buying a car that had had its bumper replaced - something I (or anyone not in the biz) would not even have noticed. Just know exactly what you want, know what your budget is (and keep it secret from the salesmen - never name a number) and bring savvy friends. That's it!
Post a Comment