Reviews of Girl in Motion

I wanted to share this yesterday, but I worked late, then there was some Good Friday after hour drinks to be had, a nap because I was going to a show in Seattle and then I didn't get home until like 1 am. BTW, if you like good music and like good country, like old country (because I'm not a country music fan, but I like me some classic stuff like Americana stuff) and some bluesy country and rock, you should check out Clear Plastic Masks and Hurray for the Riff Raff. Effingfantastic stuff.

Also, while you're there checking those out on Youtube, you should check out my latest vlog, Glamorous Life of a Midlist Author, Episode 3.

Okay, back to these reviews. In a word, they were pretty awesome. The first reviewer was not as glowing as the second and that's fine. I've not read the manuscript in a while and though I disagree in some respects (awkward sentences, it's more of a voice thing, but maybe if I rework them, I'll see the light), I'm sure others are spot on, so here is the first review:

ABNA Expert Reviewer

What is the strongest aspect of this excerpt?

The author uses good details that add to the emotion of the piece - like the moment when the narrator sees the undertakers rolling her mother out in a black plastic bag with the zipper down the front. The specificity of certain moments in the excerpt allow us to more clearly see and understand the characters. The description of the urn, how Chelsea straps it carefully into the front seat of the car before she leaves - all of these are the moments that make this book seem emotionally moving. I think the author could have more of these moments and further develop the ones s/he already has

What aspect needs the most work?

I think this text could use a couple rounds of editing. There are some awkward sentences, for example: "I slept when she finally died after just three months, and I was glad for it" and "I like how Idgie and Ruth stood up for what was right and by each other in the hardest of times."

I also feel that there are moments where the author doesn't fully develop the scene, character, or dialogue. Often the writing feels like a series of "and then this happened, and then this" without a lo of developed scenes. The strongest moment is when the George's come to take the body, because here we have an emotional scene that has good attention to detail. More moments like this.

What is your overall opinion of this excerpt?

Overall I think this is a fairly strong premise and excerpt - I'm interested in Chelsea and her future with her unknown father. I think it could do well in the Young Adult genre. I do think it could benefit from some more (fairly substantial) editing to further develop the characters and scenes.

 

Review #2:

ABNA Expert Reviewer

What is the strongest aspect of this excerpt?

"Girl in Motion" is an excellent portrait of a sixteen year old girl confronting the death of one parent and her attempted reconnection with her noncustodial parent. Having lost my father when I was seventeen gave me greater insight into this topic and to the emotions expressed in the excerpt. The author's depiction of Chelsea's reaction to the undertakers is exacting and could only have been written by someone who has experienced a similar event or who is extraordinarily empathetic.

What aspect needs the most work?

"Girl in Motion" was another excerpt that I found so compelling that I was unable to find any significant weakness needing additional work. The author captured the characters' attitudes and emotions quite well. Individuals' reactions to various challenges and conflicts were genuine and were those most would also experience. If one thing might add to the piece, it would be helpful to know the cause of Chelsea's parents' divorce and the reason for her lack of contact with her father.

What is your overall opinion of this excerpt?

I thought "Girl in Motion" was an excellent piece of writing that promises to develop into a fine work of young adult fiction. The situations in this piece are ones many teens confront; the reactions true to life; and the outcome uncertain - as in life. The characters are relatable and appealing. Their resilience is part of the story and their eventual triumph is something the reader hopes will occur. 

 

 Needless to say, I'm very happy with these reviews I've received. You can now

go read and review my excerpt of Girl In Motion here, and I would love if you did because I believe they are taken into some kind of account during the contest.

 

Next step: Top 25 (Semi-Finalists) announced June 13th at ABNA. The Semi-Finalists will be determined by ranking each Quarter Finalist Entry based on the average Judging Criteria score given to each Quarter Finalist Entry by Publishers Weekly. We reserve the right to advance fewer than 5 Entries from each Category to the Semi-Finals if, in our sole discretion, we do not receive a sufficient number of eligible and qualified Entries.

 

There you have it. 

I'm Entered

Last night I entered the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA) contest. For those of you who've never heard of it, it's a contest that Amazon has put on for the last five years for writer to win a publishing contract. They used to partner up with Penguin, but now, since they've started their own publishing company, are doing it on their own.

The contest is a little different than in the past. They used to give away two awards, one in general fiction, one in YA, I believe both winners got a contract and a $25,000 advance.

This year  one Grand Prize winner will receive a publishing contract with an advance of $50,000, and four First Prize winners will each receive a publishing contract with an advance of $15,000.

They've expanded the categories to include five genres: General Fiction, Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror and Young Adult Fiction. You can view the official contest rules, or read details on how to enter.

Back in 2007, this was my first venture into a writing forum and meeting other writers. I will say, it was one of the best things I ever did. I made so many friends from all over the country, many of them I'm still tight with.

If you have a finished novel between 50-150k, you may want to enter. They take unpublished or self published books as entries. Take a look. What do you have to lose.

Teen Read Week: Favorite Teen Books I've Read This Year

This year I've not read as much as I would have liked to, but I've read a bit. Come on though! I've been revising two books, trying to find an agent, keep up with two teenagers, including teaching one to drive, and have taken on more projects than any normal human should.

BUT, I have read some, and of these some, here are my favorites:

Love and Leftovers by Sarah Tregay. This is a novel in verse about a girl forced to move to a beach home with her mother after her parents split. She's having to come to terms with the move, making new friends, her relationships back home, her mother's depression, and the reasons behind her parents problems. It's very moving and Sarah's poetry is flowing and beautiful. It was so good I read it in one day.

The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges. This is the first in a trilogy, in fact the second just came out recently (like 9 days ago). Admittedly, you need to be patient in the beginning because while it's paranormal it's authentically historic and introducing the characters and getting used to the way they interact takes a little getting used to, at least for me. Once the story got into full swing, which is about a necromancer in Russia having to deal with all sorts of paranormal creatures as well as coming to terms with her own gift (or is that a curse?), I couldn't put it down.

Okay For Now by Gary Schmidt. The book is astounding. It's about a boy struggling to get along in a new town, new school with a jerk brother, an even jerkier dad, a sad mom, and another brother coming back forever injured from Vietnam. He finds solace in the library among Audubon's birds.

The Wicked and the Just by J Anderson Coats. I'm not a historical fiction person, in fact, I'm not sure I've ever read a historical fiction book in my life. Once I picked this one up though, I couldn't put it down. I'm also amazed by how much research had to have gone into this novel. It's apparent that Ms. Coats did her homework. As she describes it, Medieval Girls Gone Bad. Love it.

Breaking Beautiful by Jennifer Shaw Wolf. I've always loved mysteries. I devoured my way through Agatha Christie, Dennis Lehane, and Harlan Coben novels. So bring mystery to YA and I'm all over it. Allie is in a car crash which kills her boyfriend, but she can't remember a thing. Through the book, and as her memories start coming back to her, we're given glimpses of her abusive relationship, and start to wonder, as Allie does, if she had something to do with the accident.




Velveteen by Danny Marks. This book is awesome. Velvet is murdered by a serial killer then lives her afterlife in an ash covered Purgatory. What she really wants to do is haunt her killer to death, instead she's stuck trying to find a way to stop a soul rebellion before it destroys the world of the living. She's got her work cut out for her. Tim Burton should make this into a movie. But one of his good movies, not one of his bad movies.



 Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I don't think I really need to say anything here. LOVE.

I've read lots of other good books, but these are the ones that are stand outs for me this year. Tomorrow I think I'll talk about favorite YA books EVA!!!

Don't forget my Drabble contest ends tonight at 5 pm PST! I've got some good entries. It's going to be a tough competition!

Teen Read Week: Author Visit Fun! And don't forget my drabble contest!!!

For Teen Read Week I was invited, along with Helen Landalf (Flyaway), Kendare Blake (Anna Dressed in Blood and Girl of Nightmares, and Chelsea Campbell (The Rise of Renegade X) to the Burien Library. We introduced our books, and read a little bit. We had a great crowd of teens there, readers and writers alike. They asked a bunch of great questions about our books, our writing process, and the publishing process. It was a lot of fun. I love doing visits with teens and writers.

Tomorrow night I get to go to the Olympia Barnes and Noble with Helen, Marissa Meyer (Cinder), Kiki Hamilton (The Faerie Ring and Torn Wing), Kevin Emerson (The Oliver Nocturne Series), and Mikko Azul (Askari). It starts at 5:30, so if you're in the area, come on by.

I've spearheaded many events for our local young adult and middle grade writers. We'll soon have a website up and running. If you're interested in having a group of writers come to your book store, library, school, or book club, send me an email.

For more information on Teen Read Week visit the website.

And don't forget to enter my Drabble contest if you haven't, visit the contest post for details. There are GREAT prizes to be won!!

Teen Read Week Contest is ON!!

My Halloween/Drabble contest has begun. If you didn't read my blog last week, I'm giving away some great prizes, and today I'm sweetening the pot for all you writers out there.

First off, I will once again explain Drabble. A drabble is a short work of fiction, exactly one hundred words in length (I may be lenient with that), not necessarily including the title. Here's a site that talks a little about drabble, and here are some examples.

I'm giving away a signed ARC (Advance Reader Copy) of fellow 2k12er and Apocalyptie Danny Mark's Velveteen, which is truly awesome. I've read it, I love it. So will you. I'm also giving away a bit of a marred copy (it's got the title page ripped out because I messed up on the spelling of someone's name) of Never Eighteen, also signed. I have a Never Eighteen poster I will sign. I'm throwing in Never Eighteen and Velveteen bookmarks, and a bunch of 2k12 and Apocalyptie swag.

And I"m ADDING...your choice...a query critique or a 10 page manuscript critique. I know 10 pages doesn't seem like a lot, but you can actually get a good sense of a person's writing in 10 pages. Okay? 

Where do you send your entry? Click here or send it to meganbosticbooks (at) gmail (dot) com. (you know, replace the stuff in parenthesis with the symbols. I'm shutting it down 5 pm Thursday, announcing the winner Friday right here on my blog. Maybe on my Youtube. Probably on my Facebook. More than likely on my Twitter.

Get on it folks, I already have one entry!!!

F³A: Contest Next Week: Win Danny Marks Velveteen Arc!!!

I'm announcing this now so you can get your thinking caps on because it's a writing contest. Don't worry. You don't need to write much. It's a Drabble contest. What's Drabble you say? Well let me tell you. A drabble is a short work of fiction, exactly one hundred words in length (I may be lenient with that), not necessarily including the title.

What will you win? As I said in the title, I've got Danny Marks ARC of Velveteen, signed. I've got a messed up copy of Never Eighteen, and when I say messed up, it means I messed up on the signing (spelled the name wrong) so I ripped that page out. So I will now sign it to you. I also have a signed Never Eighteen poster and Velveteen and Never Eighteen bookmarks and other swag.

Why am I holding this awesome contest you ask? Well in honor of Teen Read Week of course. And what is Teen Read Week?  It's a program put on by the Young Adult Library Services Association. It's a time to celebrate reading for fun and encourage teens to take advantage of reading in all its forms —books and magazines, e-books, audiobooks and more — and become regular library users.

So, how do you enter? Write a piece of Drabble with a Scary/Halloween theme, it can be scary, funny, gross, whatever. Send it to my email meganbosticbooks (at) gmail . com Monday-Thursday of next week. All entries must be in by Thursday 5 pm Pacific time. I will announce the winner on my Friday morning blog.

Spread the word. I'd prefer not to get 2 entries.

Friday Scribbles

Next Pandora Song: The Way We Get By by Spoon

Book of the Week: Velveteen of course

Netflix of the Week: Friday Night Lights Season Three. Will Smash get in to Texas Tech? Don't tell me.

Quote of the Week: "People want to know why I do this, why I write such gross stuff. I like to tell them I have the heart of a small boy... and I keep it in a jar on my desk." ~ Stephen King