You may have noticed something different around here. LOL I've had several people mention how hard it is on the eyes to read against a black background. I loved the drama of it, but decided I needed to change my site's colors. Sigh.
That said, I hope it's easier on your eyes and mine. I need to see the opthamalogist....
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Hook Problems?
Go to Pen Perfect Associates and put your hook into Lea Schizas' "Your Hook Posts." She has agreed to do a critique. Also, make sure you check out her other blogs as she's got SEVERAL awesome sites, all with great information. As soon as my toddler allows, I'm going back to read through more of Lea's posts.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Children's Literature Links and Reviews
I’ve done some surfing recently and found several links that might be of use to those of you who write or are interested in reading juvenile works with Asian and/or multi-cultural leanings.
Stacy Whitman has an incredible list of multi-cultural reads (mostly juvenile literature, although not entirely) and I’m going to have to read a whole lot more just to play catch up! Check it out.
Tu Publishing is pleased to announce that we will be officially open for submissions from writers on Jan. 1, 2010. We are a small press focusing on multicultural fantasy and science fiction for children and young adults. We are specifically looking for novels for readers ages 8 to 18. (Though we intend to expand to chapter books in the future, we are not looking for them at this time.) We are a royalty-paying (on retail) publishing company.
Chasing Ray seems to be a site dedicated to reviews of children’s literature and the above link page is all about books with Asian settings. He’s also done a review of “Shine, Coconut Moon."
Cynthiea Leitich's site brims with links to children’s resources both educational and fictional. It’s an amazing site if you’re a writer/reader of juvenile material with Asian leanings.
I plan on posting all of these links on my sidebar for future readers, but they're so good I also wanted to draw attention to them. Enjoy!
Stacy Whitman has an incredible list of multi-cultural reads (mostly juvenile literature, although not entirely) and I’m going to have to read a whole lot more just to play catch up! Check it out.
Tu Publishing is pleased to announce that we will be officially open for submissions from writers on Jan. 1, 2010. We are a small press focusing on multicultural fantasy and science fiction for children and young adults. We are specifically looking for novels for readers ages 8 to 18. (Though we intend to expand to chapter books in the future, we are not looking for them at this time.) We are a royalty-paying (on retail) publishing company.
Chasing Ray seems to be a site dedicated to reviews of children’s literature and the above link page is all about books with Asian settings. He’s also done a review of “Shine, Coconut Moon."
Cynthiea Leitich's site brims with links to children’s resources both educational and fictional. It’s an amazing site if you’re a writer/reader of juvenile material with Asian leanings.
I plan on posting all of these links on my sidebar for future readers, but they're so good I also wanted to draw attention to them. Enjoy!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Time to Think
This is a list by Angela James of Carina Press. They are reasons why editors pass on manuscripts. Keep in mind, I just copied her bullets. To read the editors' in depth responses, select the link. The list does make you stop and think, "Could this be a problem?"
1. The manuscript doesn’t catch the reader’s attention from the start.
2. The story doesn’t stand out as fresh or unique.
3. The author has included too many unimportant details and not enough important details
4. The writing just isn’t there
5. The voice of the manuscript/characters doesn’t work
6. The reader can’t connect to the characters, they’re not fully realized or believable
7. The story requires too much suspension of disbelief
8. The manuscript starts well but doesn’t follow through
9. Unnecessary subplots
10. The conflict wasn’t sustainable
1. The manuscript doesn’t catch the reader’s attention from the start.
2. The story doesn’t stand out as fresh or unique.
3. The author has included too many unimportant details and not enough important details
4. The writing just isn’t there
5. The voice of the manuscript/characters doesn’t work
6. The reader can’t connect to the characters, they’re not fully realized or believable
7. The story requires too much suspension of disbelief
8. The manuscript starts well but doesn’t follow through
9. Unnecessary subplots
10. The conflict wasn’t sustainable
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Two of a pair
Elana Johnson is cosponsoring a contest with Shelli at Market My Words. Check her out as soon as you can. She's also given a link to another contest. Many thanks to these ladies and their generosity!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Contest at Market My Words
For all of you who don't frequent Shelli Johannes' site (and why don't you?), check it out this week. She's got two different contests running, but both involve give aways and agent critiques. A word for the wise, though. Make sure you visit on Monday and return every day this week as it will increase your chances of winning. :) Good luck to all of us!
Gung Hei Fat Choy!
Happy Spring Festival, all! I had hoped to have a new book review prepared by tomorrow as my New Years gift, but familial health issues have decreased my reading time. That said, have a great holiday, open up those Hong Bao envelopes and toss some lettuce into the next lion's mouth you see!
Saturday, February 6, 2010
More Exciting News!
My friend, Laura Manivong, has her first book coming out in March. "Escaping The Tiger" is a fictionalized account of her husband's escape from communist Laos in 1992. I can't wait for the book's release as I've only seen one chapter (which enthralled me). Check out the Kansas City Star's interview of Laura and her husband, Troy, or you can return here in a few weeks for my own interview with Laura.
Correction: This is her first novel. :)
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Stoked
I've kept quiet about some of this until I knew it would happen. Several months ago I discovered a favorite author of mine, Guy Gavriel Kay, has his next novel, "Under Heaven" coming out and it's set in Alternative World Tang Dynasty China. Once I recovered from shock (he's always stayed in Europe before) I contacted his press agent and was given the go ahead to receive a galley for review purposes. The reviews will go up in China History Forum Online's newsletter, The Historical Novel Review site (where I currently have "Ransom" by David Malouf reviewed), The Ron Empire, my facebook account, She Writes, GoodReads and anywhere else I can think of to put it. It hasn't arrived yet, but I feel like a bird of prey hovering over my mailbox.
It did not come this morning. I hope it arrives by Friday as I will have two hours of mine-all-mine reading time that morning. Can we say excited? I thought we could. :)
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