Pitch Descriptions

The following links were tossed around on the Agent Query SF/Fantasy author's group today and I thought I'd share. The first one helped me redefine my pitch, so check out this link.

This is a list to some great, practical advice if you're about to go pitch.

An Answer

If you've seen my post called Praising God, you know I've had some self-doubt (and lack of faith issues) recently. I wanted to share the devotional that came up this morning and filled me with a renewed sense of hope and purpose:

"He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it." Philippians 1:6.

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming. ;D

Successful Auction

I just received the following from Mr. Kay's publicist and thought I'd share with you all:

Toronto – March 26, 2010 To celebrate the launch of Under Heaven, Guy Gavriel Kay’s much anticipated new novel, Penguin Group (Canada) announced earlier this month that the first book off the press, autographed by the author, was up for bids on Ebay.com. Signed and verified by the publisher, it included a product identification slip and letter from the printing press identifying the book as the first copy printed in Canada. The auction wrapped up with a bid of CDN $535 submitted by Neil Negandhi of Toronto.

Negandhi, a long time fan, has also won an auction of the first copy/first edition of Kay’s Lord of Emperors in 2000, and another for the first copy of Ysabel in 2007. “I’m really looking forward to diving into another one of Kay’s beautifully constructed stories, this time half a world away in ancient China. Supported by fascinating characters and settings, Kay’s thoughtful writing always elevates his work into memorable explorations of ideas,” he raved.

Kay will match the winning bid and Penguin Group (Canada) will contribute $500 for a final sum of CDN $1570 to be donated to Indigo Books & Music, Inc.’s Love of Reading Fund. The fund directly supports high-needs elementary school literacy programs across Canada.

Earlier this month, Penguin Group (Canada) launched www.guygavrielkay.ca, a website dedicated entirely to Kay’s oeuvre, and featuring an array of music files, artwork, and downloadable wallpaper and posters, plus a first chapter excerpt of Under Heaven, a journal by the author, Twitter and Facebook links, book synopsis, and Canadian tour information.

Under Heaven is on-sale in Canada this week. Inspired by the glory of Tang Dynasty China in the eighth century, Guy Gavriel Kay melds history and the fantastic into something both powerful and emotionally compelling. Under Heaven is a novel on the grandest narrative scale, encompassing the intimate details of individual lives in an unforgettable time and place.

Guy Gavriel Kay is the author of ten previous novels and an acclaimed collection of poetry, Beyond This Dark House. His work has been translated into twenty-two languages and has sold over two million copies worldwide. Kay has twice won the Aurora Award, is a three-time World Fantasy Award nominee, and is the recipient of the International Goliardos Award for his contributions to the literature of the fantastic. He is currently writing the screenplay for the second of his novels in development for film. Last Light of the Sun has been optioned by Chartoff Productions and Ravinett Productions.

Contests and Stuff

Okay, I know I JUST changed my look, but then blogger updated itself. What do you think? Did I keep "striking" and "dramatic" as well as "readable" this time?

It happened this morning in part because blogger Christina Farley was kind enough to comment on my article yesterday, so I thought I'd pay her a long overdue visit. What should I find when I arrive, but a wonderful little shopping spree give away. Select the link on her name or in the title and see what neat things she's bought for her readers from the market in Insadong.

What does that have to do with a giant Budhha on my page? Christina has just updated her site, reminding me of how many times I wished blogger gave you greater flexibility - before they gave us greater flexibility. LOL

Be careful of what you wish for?

An Interview with Laura Manivong

Laura Manivong is the author of “Escaping the Tiger,” a historical upper middle grade novel due out from HarperCollins Children’s Books on March 9, 2010. The story is loosely based on the experiences of Laura’s husband and his family who spent time in refugee camps in Thailand after fleeing Communist Laos in 1987.

VLD: Since I know where you got a lot of your information, I’ve often wondered how much did you rely on his and their memories and how much of your imagination did you put in?
LM: The plot is completely made up but there are a few scenes for which I relied heavily on my husband’s experiences. Attempting to cross the Mekong River in a sinking canoe, which is how the novel opens, is one. I needed to know how far sound would travel, the temperature of the water, how people were positioned in the boat, the landscape of the bank, and so on. It’s those sensory details that are difficult to find in a google search. There’s also a scene with a turkey that anyone who’s ever thrown a ball through a window can relate to. And if the scenes in the book aren’t true to life for my husband’s family, they are true to someone’s experience.


VLD: Obviously, it’s an exciting story, but what was the core element that made you decide to write it – especially as fiction. You could have done it as a memoir, for instance.
LM: My friends made me do it! I didn’t grow up knowing I’d be a writer, but when I’d tell people bits of my husband’s background, the common response was, “That’d make a great book.” I wrote it initially as a picture book, and when an editor rejected it saying the story was good but the protagonist was too old, I decided to turn it into a novel, which ended up being an eight-year process (child bearing included). As far as making it fiction, I’m not sure it started that way. I have drafts in my drawer that are more true to life, but I kept running into problems with the timeline. My husband was a prisoner of war in the Laotian “seminar” or Communist re-education camps as a young boy, then he was an illegal resident in Thailand working in factories as a tween, then a refugee in his late teens. Such a long time frame was overwhelming, so after many, many attempts, I ended up focusing on the refugee storyline.


VLD: I know Lian Hearn and Alma Alexander have both mentioned that they sometimes felt presumptuous to write about a culture in which they don’t belong. Did you find it difficult or problematic to write about this place?
LM: I find writing in general difficult and problematic! But sure, I worried about doing the story justice. I’ve never been in a refugee camp or nearly drowned in a river, but I can pick the brains of those who have. As writers, we hear all too often to “write what you know,” but I think it’s equally import to “write what intrigues you.” Someone smarter than me said to write the book that you’d want to read, and I think that’s sound advice.

VLD: What was the hardest part of writing “Escaping the Tiger?”
LM: Gosh, do I have to pick only one? The kids, the full-time job, the laundry, the lack of confidence. But almost every writer has those challenges, so my answer for this question has to be picking my husband’s brain. Without his memories, I had nothing, and I was asking him to relive a lot of pain, often at inopportune times. He’d be in the middle of a favorite TV show and a steaming bowl of rice noodles, and I’d run downstairs and say, “Hey, tell me again about the mosquitoes in the latrines.” He claims I even woke him up in the wee hours of the morning begging for details, but I’ll deny that to the death!



VLD: Do you have any tips or resources for other writers, particularly those of us who use an Asian setting?
LM: I’m not sure what writers did before the internet but there is an abundance of information to get you started. I didn’t have the opportunity to visit Laos, but I was able to see settings, how the people interact with each other, their environment, etc. It was better than nothing!


VLD: If you could ask your readers one question about this book, what would it be?
LM: What I want kids in particular to come away with – without sounding too didactic – is to be open-minded when you meet someone who’s different. Take the time to stop and wonder: what is this person’s background? How has their life been different from mine? What can I learn from them? If someone has an accent or speaks broken English, it doesn’t reflect on their intelligence. In my husband’s case, it’s because he was a prisoner of war from 1st through 5th grade and never had the opportunity to go to school outside those confines. Imagine what it would be like to start life over in a country where not only do you not speak the language, but the alphabet is not even recognizable.


VLD: What’s next?
LM: I’m writing a young adult novel set in the Arizona desert. There are wolves, a curse, a tangled romance, and three generations of brothers who’ve all died without explanation.

VLD: Do you think you’ll ever return to another Asian setting?
LM: I can’t see it happening now, but I never thought I’d write historical fiction either. I won’t say it’s never going to happen. There are just too many ideas in the pipeline to think about that now, although my husband wants me to write about his re-education experience in the Communist seminar camps. That’s where his father spent twelve years in prison at a labor camp. It was where the Communists forced people to go after the war to try and get them to re-think their belief system.

VLD: That would be very powerful, too.
LM: Yeah. That would take the same hair-pulling as the first novel and I don’t think I have time to do it right now. But yes, it would be powerful.

Laura, I look forward to whatever you come out with next. Thank you so much for talking with me! Laura’s blog and book trailer can be seen at http://lauramanivong.com/.

Butterfly Award

I received this award several days ago now and I wanted to say a belated thank you to Suzette Saxton and her sister, Bethany Wiggins for giving it to me. It's supposed to go out to cool, inventive sites and I do know more than a few now:

Rick at The Public Query Slushpile has a blog that does an enormous service to those of us struggling to write query letters. Submit your query and find out if it works for John Q.(for Query) Public.

Sandi Rog at The Book Doctor also gives awesome feedback in a variety of ways and from a variety of voices including Dave King's. He's the co-author of "Self-Editing For Fiction Writers" and if you haven't read it, you need to.

The Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood gives great advice on a daily basis.

Ray Rhamey at Flogging the Quill is tough, but GOOD. He'll help you whip your opening 17 lines into memorable art.

Authoress at Miss Snark's First Victim has provided thousands of people with insight through her contests and a few blessed readers have found agents.

Obviously, I like these sites because of how much information and assistance they give to others. If you know of similar sites, let me know! I like posting the links on my sidebar, for one thing. :)

Polish Your Pitches

Coming soon to a blog near you is the opportunity to pitch Jason Yarn at the Paradigm Literary Agency. Take a look at the Query Tracker Blog and get out the minwax.

Personally, I need to take my thumb drive into the shop and see why it won't let me access anything. My computer won't read it. I guess I'll take the laptop in, while I'm at it!

Leigh Michael's Writing Between the Sexes Class

I just spoke with author Leigh Michaels about a conference she spoke at a year ago where she talked about the differences between how men and women think. She gives a great talk and I'd recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity to attend. She said she's offering another Writing Between the Sexes seminar next month for the FFP chapter of RWA, and maybe later in the year for Carolina Writers online. There’s a link to the first one on the homepage of her website.

I contacted Leigh because of CNN article by Louann Brizendine where she discusses how the male brain works.

Praising God

And now for something completely different, I needed to praise God this morning. Perhaps not for anything specific, at least not writing-related. But I don't do it enough and this week has been hard, so I will thank God for helping me get through it without complaining or crying THAT much.

I still have my family, we have our jobs, our health and our home.

If I have to be a one-hit wonder, I will still write. Please, Lord. Help me to do your will and enjoy doing it. Amen.

Book Review: Escaping the Tiger

Escaping the Tiger is the story of Vonlai Sirivong, his sister, mother and father and is based on the first hand experience of the author’s husband.

Twelve-year-old Vonlai wakes one night when his father shakes him and says, “We’re crossing tonight.” Vonlai and his family paddle, then swim for safety across the Mekong river from communist Laos into Thailand. As Laotians say, “Escaping the tiger to face the crocodile.” The refugee situation in Thailand leaves Vonlai and his family in fear for his sister’s safety from the camp guards and in constant hunger for both food and a home.

There were so many gorgeous, touching moments in this book, it’s not fair to share just one. However, I hate spoilers, so I picked the following passage. It was the first, but not the last time I cried. Early on, we learn of Vonlai’s dream to become an architect like his father was before the war. His father’s book of western architecture was a prized possession until the communists learned of it through Vonlai’s indiscretion and they burned the book:

"From then on, his father stopped telling stories about America, but Vonlai repeated the old ones to himself and drew the pictures in his mind so he wouldn’t forget. And Vonlai did dream, while vowing never to betray Pah’s trust again. He dreamed of one day seeing those architectural marvels with his own eyes. Building a life for himself as strong as skyscrapers, double-decker bridges, underground trains, and soaring highways that looped up and around one another like ribbon on a gift."

Those desires and dreams are difficult to hold onto when a month in the camp turns into a year, then four years. Vonlai makes friends with Colonel, a kind old man with hideous war wounds earned from the Pathet Lao communist guards in Laos. Colonel teaches Vonlai how to survive hell and still cling to his dreams. Their interaction remains true throughout the book and moved me to tears. Have I mentioned how much I love books that elicit strong emotional responses?

“Escaping the Tiger” is among the most uplifting pieces of literature I’ve been privileged to read and I want to thank the author and her husband for sharing the tale.

Chase The Dream Contest Winner!

I'm so excited for my friend, Vicki Bendau. Not only did she win this year's Chase Dream contest, but her book, "Hooves of Thunder, Hearts of Silk" is set in 1226 A.D. Monogolia, east of Samarkind on the Silk Road.

I've got a link to her interview with contest administrators Leigh Michaels and Rachelle Chase in the title of this post. See this link to view her entry. Congratulations, Vicki!

Haikus Wanted

For all you who write Haiku:

Mayfly
Randy & Shirley Brooks started editing Mayfly in 1986 as a new approach to publishing haiku. We announced that we would publish an issue after we had acquired the quality haiku needed. All submissions are judged competition style, together before each issue. We are now biannual, publishing an issue every summer and winter.

We feel it is the duty of the editors and writers to make careful selection and proper presentation of only the very best, the most evocative, the truly effective haiku. We publish only 14 or 15 haiku per issue, but each haiku is printed on its own page. The writer is paid $10.00 per haiku.

Beth Revis's Book Deal Celebration Contest

That's right, the internet is full of good news this week. To enter a contest that's made for readers AND writers, go to Beth Revis' site. She's got separate prizes for one writer and one reader. The contest ends April 3rd.

Under Heaven Is Under Auction

I just received the following from Guy Gavriel Kay's publicist. I wish I could bid on this book, but I know it's beyond me. If you can't pay your bills on time, you really shouldn't bid on a book. No matter how much you might REALLY want to.

To celebrate the worldwide launch of international bestseller Guy Gavriel Kay’s much anticipated new novel Under Heaven, Penguin Group (Canada) is auctioning the first book off the press anywhere in the world, autographed by the author. Signed and verified by the printer and the publisher, this first copy includes a product identification slip and letter from the printing press identifying the book as the first copy printed in Canada. The auction begins March 18, 2010 on eBay, and closes March 25, 2010.

All proceeds from the auction will be donated to Indigo Books & Music, Inc.’s Love of Reading Fund. The fund directly supports high-needs elementary school literacy programs across Canada. Guy Gavriel Kay will personally match the winning bid to a maximum of $1000 (CDN). Additionally, Penguin Canada will match the winning bid to a maximum of $500 (CDN).

Under Heaven will go on-sale in Canada on April 3 and April 27th in the U.S. Inspired by the glory of Tang Dynasty China in the eighth century, Guy Gavriel Kay melds history and the fantastic into something both powerful and emotionally compelling. Under Heaven is a novel on the grandest narrative scale, encompassing the intimate details of individual lives in an unforgettable time and place.

Earlier this month, Penguin Group (Canada) launched a website dedicated entirely to Kay’s oeuvre, and featuring an array of music files, artwork, and downloadable wallpaper and posters, plus a first chapter excerpt of Under Heaven, a journal by the author, Twitter and Facebook links, book synopsis, and Canadian tour information.

What moves you?

I heard an article on NPR about the death of a middle-eastern singer named Umm Kulthum. I've never heard of her before, at least not that I know of, but I found the reactions of her fans fascinating. They speak of being "transported" by her songs. They'd leave after a performance and not know where they were.

Does anything move you this much? Books do it for me - sometimes. Movies and music even more rarely. Maybe part of why I love research and writing so much is because THAT is what transports me.

I've had a character in the back of my mind for sometime and the late Ms. Kulthum may well help me to understand who my character is. I think I'll go request some music from the library. Who knows, maybe I'll end up in the land of my character's birth. ;D

Links to publishing and more

I wanted to put up the following links in case anyone's interested:

Crossed Genres is now accepting short story submissions for material set in Asia. I've put the link in their name. You have until March 31st, so it's crunch time.

Later addition to the post: The link to Women of History leads to a vivid description of Asobi women in Japan and what they did or might be paid to do. It's short, but fascinating and who knows where ideas come from? Sorry I didn't explain the link more!

This article discussses The Man Asian Literary Prize and how it's no longer for unpublished authors. The prize used to be awarded to an unpublished citizen of an Asian country, but apparently the "unpublished" part is no longer true. The author of the article is optimistic about the change, but he was also a winner of the prize. From the viewpoint of someone still trying to break out, (but not living in Asia and therefore uneligible) the change saddens me. I hope someone else steps up to help those authors who looked at the Man Asian prize with longing before 2010.

Excerpt Monday

Okay, for anyone who has seen my empty blog post for the last three hours, you may wonder where my mind was. I had to create the blog post on Friday so that I could send them my link. I put it on the "timed" feature and completely forgot how busy my weekends - especially Sundays - can be. Fast forward and we're now two hours late putting our child to bed and I've got 150 emails waiting for me since Friday night. (Did I mention weekends are busy?) I just found the email link reminder and remembered that I decided to finally commit to an Excerpt Monday event on one of the busiest weekends of the year. Argh.

So what is Excerpt Monday? Once a month, a bunch of authors get together and post excerpts from published books, contracted work or works in progress, and link to each other. You don't have to be published to participate–just an writer with an excerpt you'd like to share. For more info on how to participate, head over to Excerpt Monday.

Here's my first chapter of my novel:


MOURN THEIR COURAGE
By Victoria Dixon



Chapter One

Weary of killing, Liu Jie picked at the blood under his fingernails as he swayed in the saddle.

He straightened and took a deep breath of peach-scented air as he noticed a nearby orchard. Amid the trees, an inn with a modest tamped-earth façade stood.

Reaching the Emporer was urgent, but he and his men had destroyed twenty bandits this afternoon. One of his men was injured and needed rest. Better a night or two behind a sturdy wooden gait, than a fatal mistake. He signaled to stop. "We'll rest here for a few days."

Jie dismounted outside the inn's courtyard entrance and opened the gate. Guards carried his wife and son's sedan chair into the courtyard and Mei raised her eyebrows when Jie helped her from the stuffy litter.

"We cannot reach the Emperor if the men are too tired to protect us," he murmured.

Mei nodded, smoothed her hair and adjusted Shan's belt before they entered the inn.
To Jie's right, six farmers in worn hemp robes gathered around a silk scroll mounted on the wall. He read it in a glance.

"The Son of Heaven requires the aid of all men as sons might come to their father. Yellow Turban rebels assault the people and threaten the capital. All districts report." A crimson Imperial Chop blazed in a corner.

“No,” Mei whispered.

He read it again, hands clenched. "You were right. War was inevitable. I must go."

"I'd hoped-"

Jie took her hand to give mute comfort. They traveled to the capital in the hope of convincing the Emperor to pity the people and repeal his taxes. Rumor said, many of the Yellow Turbans were starving farmers seeking justice, not a coup. Killing them would promote unrest, placing more strain on Jie and the rest of the nobility.

"Send our meal upstairs?" Her voice wavered and Jie nodded. When servants brought in the family's luggage, Mei followed them past faded red pillars and up the stairs. He knew she wanted to avoid the noise of the tearoom and the implications of the notice.

Shan ran outside to play in the last rays of sunlight. What would happen to Shan if Jie went to war? What would happen if he did not? The weight of past failures as a father bore down. He must protect his family, but there was the broader family at stake in this war as well.

Jie sat at an empty table. Servants lit paper lanterns and the tearoom filled with more men who crowded the notice.

A group of boisterous young farmers sat at a nearby table and a game of sixes commenced with a clatter of dice.

The voices and noise blended into a monotonous drone. When the innkeeper brought him warmed rice wine and a plate of dumplings, he barely tasted the food. Instead, he used his chopsticks and wrote plan after plan in the congealing sauce. He abandoned every scheme.

Each strategy required him to send spies out to learn about the Yellow Turbans. He wanted to know if they sought food and clothing from those they robbed, or did they raise an army to overthrow the throne?

This information seemed necessary to Jie, but gaining it did not respond to his Emperor's summons. If only the Emperor had not issued this order. Jie might have saved countless people if he had reached his nephew a month ago. Now, the Son of Heaven demanded that Jie attack his countrymen. Acting counter to Imperial command was treason.

He must either go to the capital and enlist, or gather an army from the countryside and lead men into battle as ordered.

Since he did not have enough money to fund a campaign against the rebels, he must continue to the capital and report for duty. Jie longed to respond now.

The inn door slammed open and Shan rushed inside.

Jie smiled as his son looked around the room as if all the demons of hell chased him. After all, he is eight.

Then Shan found him, and white-eyed horror filled his son's face.

"Papa, come outside. There's a body!" Shan said. "A dead boy is in the garden."

Breath left Jie as if his son had struck him, but he jumped to his feet. "Show me." They ran out the door. His eyes adjusted to the dark as he rushed beyond the golden light spilling from the inn's latticed windows.

A body. There's a dead boy. Jie's chest tightened, but he kept running through the courtyard's gate.

Within the orchard, autumn leaves chattered like the river that brings the dead to hell. Did his ghosts crowd him now?

"Over here, Papa!" Shan gestured ahead.

Jie's robes slapped against his legs. He slipped on fallen peaches and the smell of sour wine enveloped him. Each cold breath was visible as he left the orchard and reached the garden. At last, he slid to his knees beside the body of an emaciated teenage boy. Jie put his ear to the boy's chest. It rose. Air squeaked from blue lips.

"He's alive. Beg the innkeeper for hot water, Shan. Run!"

Shan sprinted away.

Twelve years ago, Liu Jie had heard the river of the dead. Now, he looked at the boy in his arms, but did not see him.

He saw his sons. Their eyes were open and clear in the moonlight.

Jie clenched his jaw, but that did not stop the tears welling in his eyes.

He wished saving this boy would alter his memories, but Jie's life was a ladder of wishes. Twelve years ago, he had failed, so now he bore a stranger's child in his arms and ran.

Outside the inn, a ghost of cold, rank air made the boy moan. The door burst open as if a typhoon wind struck it and Jie ran through.

"Shut the door!" A guest shouted. Jie ignored the demand and followed Shan upstairs.

The innkeeper waited for them at the top of the landing. "I arranged for a separate room."

"Thank you," Jie said.

"Perhaps he would fare better at the holy shrine?" The innkeeper wrung his hands.

"No," Jie said. "He's not ill. I can feel his ribs. He needs good food, not incense." The innkeeper bowed out of the room as Jie knelt, laid the boy down and removed his damp clothes.

Shan returned with his mother. Her hands flew to her lips at the sight of the boy.

"He is alive," Jie said. "We need to warm and feed him and let him sleep." He thought of the innkeeper's concerns. "I can pay for the local priests to care for him."

"Nonsense." She told him in one word that she was fine, but they suffered the same demons of memory and sorrow. Jie said nothing. Instead, he prayed for the boy to gain strength as Mei fed him beef broth.

At first, the Orchard Boy shuddered and groaned. Jie ordered warm water and heated blankets by the fire. Mei swaddled her patient in steaming cloth. Together, they laid him on the room's kang bed; a hollowed space underneath held flickering, live coals.

During their silent, unquestioning care, Shan quietly ate a bowl of rice and vegetables, offered a quick prayer for the Orchard Boy, then returned to their bedroom. When Jie checked on his son later, Shan's arm and leg already lay uncovered. Jie tucked his child under the mound of warm cloth and returned to his wife.

She didn't look up when he entered, but clutched the hand he placed on her shoulder. He knew the helplessness in his heart was in hers. She would not give up. Mei was stronger than he, and he had always loved her for that.

They cared for a nameless child, and neither commented on the other's tears.


"Links to other Excerpt Monday writers"


Note: I have not personally screened these excerpts. Please heed the ratings and
be aware that the links may contain material that is not typical of my site.

Contests and World Building

Check out this awesome series of posts on World Building. You won't regret it as Rebecca has great resources listed as well as lots of food for thought - and improved writing.

Sorry it took so long for me to post!

Launch of Escaping the Tiger

"Escaping the Tiger" packed Reading Reptile Bookstore with 250+ for the book's launch party Saturday night! Partiers showed up for a signed copy of the book including yours truly. The cookies, fudge, and Laotian food was an attractive bonus, but they didn't last. I guarantee this book will stick with you.

I read the first six chapters Saturday night and if I hadn't had to be alert Sunday, I would have continued reading until I was done. It's that good.

I'll be back in a day or three with a finished review and then an author interview!

One more at Shooting Stars

Go to Suzette Saxton and Bethany Wiggins' site and make sure you sign up for prizes galore including a 40 page critique. I can't express how much I want to win this prize.

I just endured another Flogging the Quill critique and I don't know what to do. Last year a resounding 2/3 of readers disliked my opening hook (in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel contest) because it dropped them into the action too fast. They wanted to be submersed in the culture before being subjected to a body in the orchard. Ok, 2/3 of around 30 respondents is statistically valuable, so I re-wrote my hook.

Ray at Flogging the Quill and the only other critiquer make great suggestions and comments - I am not bucking what they're saying as I always preferred my first hook. The problem is, what do I believe - the statistics or the professionals? I just don't know what to do about this book. It's impass time again and I don't know if I'm interested in working the hook again without further professional input. I've spent 16 years of my life on this novel and without professional (but free help as I have no money) I'm done. Finite. Zai jian!

Contest Listings

Janet mentioned last week that she didn't know where I found some of these contest listings.

Check out V.R. Barkowski and Carolina Valdez Miller's blog for an answer to that question. You'll end up reading all night.

Weronika Janczuk Is On Fire!

I sent you over there just a few days ago for one contest. Check her out here, she's got another one going! I do have quite a few friends interested in juvenile literature, so I strongly recommend they give it a go as that's where her focus is.

2010 Asian/Pacific American Award For Literature Winners selected

I obtained the following news release from the American Library Association's page regarding this Award:

CHICAGO - The Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA), an affiliate of the American Library Association, has selected the winners of the 2010 Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature. The awards promote Asian/Pacific American culture and heritage and are awarded based on literary and artistic merit.

The Awards are given in four categories, with Winner and Honor books selected in each category. Here are the winners of the 2010 awards:

The Picture Book Winner is “Cora Cooks Pancit,” written by Dorina K. Lazo Gilmore and illustrated by Kristi Valiant, published by Shens Books. Picture Book Honor was given to “Tan to Tamarind” written by Malathi Michelle Iyengar and illustrated by Jamel Akib, published by Children’s Book Press.

For Youth Literature, the Winner is Sung Woo’s “Everything Asian” published by Thomas Dunne Books. “Tofu Quilt” by Ching Yeung Russell and published by Lee & Low was selected as an Honor recipient.

“Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet” by Jamie Ford and published by Ballantine Books was selected as the Adult Fiction Winner. “Shanghai Girls” by Lisa See and published by Random House was selected as an Adult Fiction Honor title.

The Adult Non-Fiction Winner is “American Chinatown: A People's History of Five Neighborhoods,” by Bonnie Tsui and published by Free Press (Simon & Schuster). The Adult Non-Fiction Honor Book is “Japanese American Resettlement Through the Lens,” by Lane Ryo Hirabayashi and published by the University Press of Colorado.

Winner and Honor books were chosen from titles by or about Asian Pacific Americans published in 2009.

The Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) was founded in 1980 by librarians of diverse Asian/Pacific ancestries committed to working together toward a common goal: to create an organization that would address the needs of Asian/Pacific American librarians and those who serve Asian/Pacific American communities.

Get Thee To Weronika's Site NOW

You don't have time for anything but a quick review of your query and first ten pages, but go to Weronika Janczuk's site and enter her contest. You have until 8PM EST!

Weronika is a literary assistant in a New York Literary Agency and can no doubt give valuable insights into your query and your novel's first ten pages.

New Haiku Contest

Do you Haiku?

I don't except when under duress, so I'll leave this contest - and its tasty prize - to others. However, should you enter and win, please let me know!

What a Privilege to Work With This Agent

I just wish she'd said "Yes!" I received a form letter rejection from Kristin Nelson last month and it really made me happy.

No, I'm not a lover of pain (I used the wrong word before! Oops!). I'm a writer who is AMAZED and grateful when I receive a rejection letter. Usually I receive silence. I just got an automated email from Kristin's blog (sign up for it as it's worth the read) in which she apologized for not getting her newsletter out last month. You see, her father passed away.

I can't tell you how much I admire her fortitude, her work ethic and (for purely personal reasons) her speed. She responded to me within a month despite the fact that she wasn't at her desk and her father was dying, folks.

That's class. That's someone I respect and wish the very best.