A to Z: Wrap Up & Giveaway Winners

TO 

Wrap Up

I enjoyed the process and challenge. It was difficult getting into the rhythm of writing posts so frequently after such a long break, but I feel wonderful for having done it. I've discovered several new sites that I look forward to gleaning information and enjoyment from.

I hope my readers have enjoyed this challenge as well.I didn't get as much interaction as I'd hoped for, but I'm glad to see that people have been reading and following me on this journey.

Looking back, I'm not sure what I'd change, but I hope to continue researching the process to constantly improve. Certainly things could improve as with any other writing project. This process has given me a wonderful stretch of the fingers and the mind.

Thank you for following my challenge. Please enjoy my blog as I continue even if not an every day post. The pace is a bit tasking. Perhaps 4 original posts a week would be more manageable for me. I'd like to participate more with some promotions, even if I'm not able to contribute with the reviews as often as I'd like.

Thank you all.

Winners!!!
No one entered the Rafflecopter giveaway. So, the winners were chosen only for the Giveaway on day G.


1st place winner: Christina Condy
Christina wins an ebook copy of To Eris - Human; a signed post card; and a signed bumper sticker
Thank you for entering Christina!

2nd place winner: Regina Cassady
Regina wins a signed post card and a bumper sticker.
Thank you for entering also Regina!


3rd place
Only 2 entries.

A to Z: Zany Zealot

ANY ZEALOT







The point of today's post is to find what you love and have fun with it. Allow yourselves to be a little ZANY at times. Whatever you do, put a real effort into producing your best work. Do it with zeal. Be your own fan. Produce work you can be proud of even if you're the only one that sees it.

If you are passionate and have fun, you aren't wasting your time. Whether it's writing or anything else, be proud of it.

Sometimes this isn't easy. Life throws hardships in our face and along our path and we stumble about blindly. Sometimes we have support that hands us a towel to wipe our face and a hand to steady our step. Sometimes we simply need to stop to get our feet under us, wipe our own eyes -- allowing us to refocus on our goals -- and choose our steps more cautiously. It may be easier to have support, but we need to take our goals and dreams in our own hands.

Be silly, be honest, be kind.  And do your best.

The final three blogs for my A to Z Challenge are....

1. Words at Play - blog of Mirriam-Webster's Dictionary and Thesaurus. LOVE It
2. The Word Blog - Exactly as it's named. A blog by someone who loves words.
3. LexioPhiles: Love Your Words - Another blog for word lovers. This one has multiple languages.

A to Z: Young Adult & other Children's Fiction Contests

OUNG ADULT & 

OTHER FICTION CONTESTS

AGE LEVELS
Young Adult books are defined as targeting ages 12-18. The genres covered in this are basically the same as adult fiction. The main difference is that the main characters are preteens or teens dealing with teen issues.

Middle Grade books target 8-12 year old readers.

Picture books and Chapter books are for the lower reading levels and are actually more challenging for most writers because of the word limits you have to write within.


CONTEST BENEFITS
There are contests all over the internet. Sorting through them can prove a daunting task. The rewards can compensate for that many times over.

Winning contests provide visibility, acknowledgement, accolades, bragging rights and they look great on a list of credentials. Even mentions in contests can advance your writing goals. Having the rights to claim "award winning author" status goes a long way with readers, even if they're not familiar with the specific contests.

In my research, I've discovered that the majority of the contests out there have spring time deadlines. With that in mind, I looked for annual contests.


Some contests that you can enter that have no entry fees:

Writers of the Future - There are no fees to enter and it's a quarterly contest. Awards are in 3 month segments as well as an annual award. This is for new writers. This quarter's deadline is 6/30.

Highlights Fiction Contest - This is closed for this year (the deadline has passed). But it is one I plan to keep an eye on. The winners are purchased and published in the magazine. They have an additional way for children to contribute to the magazine, but their rules are different. Kids' submission guidelines are HERE. One of the nice things is, you don't have to wait for next year's contest to submit work to the magazine. (Contributor guidelines)

We Need Diverse Books - Short Story contest ... This one has passed already for this year, but I'm making note of it to plan on entering next year. Stories target MG level.




Best of luck to all of you who enter any contests.

Today's choices in blogs. 

1. Holly Lisle blog - She seems to have some great posts and her site has some amazing writing resources. 
2. Creative Genius 101 - I like the resources. 
3. Writing Career - A nice supply of contest and submission links. 

A to Z: X Marks the Spot

MARKS THE SPOT



Setting goals and reaching them is the most basic and often most challenging concept for many writers. You want to push yourself, challenge yourself, but you don't want to take on so much that you get overwhelmed and burn out.

This balancing act is difficult, but not impossible.

What do you want to accomplish with your writing? Are you doing it for therapy? Out of boredom? Do you have a story just bursting to come out? Perhaps you have always wanted to have a book in your hands to say you did it. Do you want to be an award winning author? Do you want to be a best seller? Do you want to be a better writer? Or is it just something you were told you have to do by a teacher, boss, or parent?

Whatever your goals may be, and you can have more than one, keep that goal in mind. If you find yourself doing something or faced with a decision, think about where it will lead you. Will it lead you closer to your goal or farther away?

Is it okay to change your goal? Of course! It's your goal. As you travel through life and have your own experiences, you should learn and grow. This sometimes changes the light on our priorities and goals in life. However, you - and you alone - must decide if your goals are different or if what you face is an obstacle.

Others can influence you, point out things you may not have considered or simply didn't want to face, but ultimately the choice is yours. They are still your goals.

I find that the more I write, the more refined my skills and the more defined my goals become. I've been writing since before kindergarten, but when I began to seriously pursue writing my goal was to have a book in my hand... to say,"Look at this. I made this."

Well, I now have 19 books and have contributed to magazines as well as charity anthologies. My goal to HAVE a book has been fulfilled. So, I set a new goal. Now, I want to be an award winning, best seller that people love to read.

In order to do this, I have to ask myself, "Do I write award winning books?" I have to admit that not all my work would win awards. I do feel that I have the potential and that some of my books could. The next phase in this goal is to find the right awards and enter contests.

Today's blog choices happen to be the following blogs:

1. Terrible Minds - a blog full of support for writers with goals. It focuses on NaNoWriMo, but can apply to just about any writing goal.
2. Novel Publicity blog - great resources, info, and tips.
3. Write Now Coach - Helpful info to improve your writing. 

Don't forget to enter the giveaway today. 









And check out some of my goals to 
support children's literacy.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A to Z: Win With Words

IN WITH WORDS

There are so many words in the English language. All of them come from a combination of 26 letters. The power behind those combinations is immense. One of the most powerful words is also one of the smallest.

IF

We use it quite often. Many times we use it with regrets, but it can also be used with hopes and dreams -- things we're proud of too. 

If I hadn't started writing, I wouldn't have done many of the things I've done.

If is one of the words that changes, or rather points out the changes, in everything. All of the possibilities. Those endless, infinite possibilities.

One of my favorite books of all times is the thesaurus. It's an amazing book that helps you discover new ways to say the same thing. To expand upon, to clarify, to enhance.

Words are power.

You don't have to agree with the subject matter in everything to see the influence and strength the words used hold. 

The key is to write them. We don't need to fear the power. We need to embrace it -- use it for our betterment and for the betterment of others. Writing them is just a matter of one letter at a time. You can scratch them out, you can move them around, you can show them to others, or you can keep them to yourself.

Whatever you choose to do with your words, just make a point of writing them. Put them down on: 

• notebook paper
• napkins
• envelopes
• calendars
• paper plates
• white boards
• chalk boards
• the wall (if it won't get you in trouble)
• a computer
• canvas
• anywhere that's available and allowed... Not condoning illegal activity! heeheehee

If we don't write our words, we can't read our words... and words are meant to be spoken, written, and read. Don't take for granted your ability and understanding of the written word. So many people don't have the luxury you do. (see my post on illiteracy)

Today's blogs help share the power and wonder that the words hold.

1. Patheos Blogs - a wonderful collection of Pagan blogs with many channels: Pagan & Christian.
2. Learner Blog - This blog isn't active any more, but there is a lot of information to glean.
3. Writing Skills Blog - a great site with lots of information that will help your writing.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A to Z: Value Variety

ALUE VARIETY

Don't get stuck in a rut! Step out of your comfort zone sometimes. Keep moving. If you're not moving, you're stagnant. Stagnant things decay. Humans that decay are dead.

So, live your life while you can! Enjoy all the wonderful things this world offers you. Appreciate all the things you have. Learn more about the world around you and the people in it. Give back. Learn and teach. Absorb and share.

You wouldn't want bologna sandwiches morning, noon, and night for years, would you? So, step out and pull in some variety. If it doesn't work, try something else. You start out in a position of "NO"... all you can get that will change that is a "YES", but you can't get that yes if you never ask -- if you never take that step and put yourself out there.

People learn by doing. Kids learn to walk by pulling themselves up and falling back down. Yes, they cry sometimes. It hurts. But you can't let yourself wallow in the crap. I guarantee that for 99% of you out there, you can look and find at least one person in a position that you consider much worse. Chances are there are an abundance of people in a "worse" situation.

So, what are you waiting for. Go, learn, do! Then go, learn, and do something else!!!

Variety is precious. We have several famous books even that show how dangerous life can be without variety. The top one that comes to mind is The Giver by Lois Lowry. Especially with the relatively new movie on it.


I want variety in my life. I enjoy it. And my imagination allows me to get lost in it and open it up for others to join me through my books.

Thank you for joining me.

My three blog choices today are:

1. The Editor's Blog - Great reference! Wonderful articles.
2. The Write Life - Another site for great tips, ideas, resources for writers to keep their writing fresh.
3. Crew Blog - WoW! I got three great resources for you today. So much info available. 

Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

A to Z: Unlimited Undertaking - Fighting Illiteracy

NLIMITED UNDERTAKING -
 FIGHTING ILLITERACY

According to The Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, 36 MILLION adults in the United States can't read better than an average 3rd grader. 

I wanted to get some numbers for today's post. So, as a ProLiteracy certified tutor, I went to ProLiteracy.org.  This is what I saw...

36 million American 
adults need literacy help. 
Only 3 million of them 
will be lucky enough to get it.

According to another site, Begin To Read, 

That's NINE YEAR OLDS!!!

Forget the whole "Who's Smarter Than a Fifth Grader" 

I went to another site, NEA (National Education Association), and read this...

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a divison of the U.S. Department of Education1, children who are read to at home enjoy a substantial advantage over children who are not:

• Twenty-six percent of children who were read to three or four times in the last week by a family member recognized all letters of the alphabet. This is compared to 14 percent of children who were read to less frequently.
• According to NCES², only 53 percent of children ages three to five were read to daily by a family member (1999). Children in families with incomes below the poverty line are less likely to be read to aloud everyday than are children in families with incomes at or above poverty.
• The substantial relationship between parent involvement for the school and reading comprehension levels of fourth-grade classrooms is obvious, according to the U.S. Department of Education.⁷ Where parent involvement is low, the classroom mean average (reading score) is 46 points below the national average. Where involvement is high, classrooms score 28 points above the national average - a gap of 74 points. Even after controlling for other attributes of communities, schools, principals, classes, and students, that might confound this relationship, the gap is 44 points.

¹ U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2000.

² U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, from http://www.nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id+56.

⁷U.S. Department of Education. 1996. Reading Literacy in the United States: Findings From the IEA Reading Literacy Study.

~~~~~

How can they be read to if so many adults can't read? It's no wonder that so many children struggle. And when the family below poverty level, that can't read well, has to decide between food or bills vs. some cute book for their child that they can't read to that child... it's no wonder so many children go to school and have NEVER had a book of their own. 

Now school is out for the summer. These kids with limited or no reading support at home will probably go the summer with no reading support at all. 

How can you get involved? 

6 Ways to Use Reading to Prevent the Summer Slide

Read to children. Join or form a reading program. Read aloud to children every chance you get. Libraries, schools, adult learning centers, churches, day cares... Find children (not in any creepy way) and volunteer your time. You don't have to be the greatest reader... Just read. 

Donate! Donations are down for literacy programs everywhere. Donate time, books, and money. It doesn't take much. It's amazing how every little bit helps. 

So, if you've seen me around, follow me on Twitter or Facebook or Google+... you may have seen my literacy projects. Yes, I want to make my books, but that's not the most important thing. I want to give books to those who don't have them... to children who need the support.

How many of you are "addicted" to books? How often do you spend $20, $30, $40 on a few books for yourself? How much farther could that go if 10, 20, 30 of you donated that amount to some literacy program or project?

It adds up fast.

If you don't have the money to donate, donate your time! Find a program near you. I guarantee they're there. I'm also sure that they need the help.

Today's blogs to check out....

1. Literacy and Laughter - Great site! It's by a Kindergarten teacher and has a lot going on. 
2. Edutopia - K-12 education under the George Lucas Educational Foundation. Lots of wonderful resources for reading and learning.
3. First Book Blog - Brand new books to kids in need. Kind of what I want to do.

Also.... Don't forget to enter the giveaway....

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A to Z: Tunuftol Time Surprise!

UNUFTOL TIME

I have a BIG, LARGE, HUGE, ENORMOUS, MASSIVE, MOUNTAINOUS, GIGANTIC, COLOSSAL, TITANIC, TREMENDOUS, IMMENSE, STUPENDOUS.... SURPRISE!!!

Yes! My first novel and the following two books in the series 

-- Tunuftol's Fortress of Light, Secret of the Shielded, and The Jewel of Nirel respectively -- 

HAVE NEW COVERS REVEALED HERE AND NOW!!!!

(Rafflecopter Giveaway below! TWO prizes!!!)

Two prizes!! You could win all 3 or your pick of one!

Ebooks with new covers are available. Printed copies have not updated the cover yet.

How the books came to be:

Smashwords ~ Kindle ~ B&N 

I first published Tunuftol's Fortress of Light on 12/12/12. The date was specifically chosen so that I could remember it. The first draft resulted from my first NaNoWriMo challenge. I'd reached the goal of 50,000 words in three weeks, but couldn't seem to stop writing. So, I didn't. Instead, I continued to write book two, then book three, and as sequences have it... I started book four after that.  

After I started writing the fourth book, I decided -- for better or worse I don't know -- to stop writing and go back to edit. After a couple rounds of edits, driving my family crazy with "here - read this" and "how does it sound now", my youngest daughter told me that it didn't completely suck.

Encouraged by the non-total suckiness, I edited more. After countless edits and revisions, I felt it was ready to face the world. So, I sent it in queries to a few agents.

Smshwords ~ Kindle ~ Nook

Not surprisingly, my queries DID suck. I'm sure none of the agents even got to the sample (if it was included). Looking back at them now... I'm really not surprised. Sad, but not surprised.

Anyway, to wrap this up, I did a few more rounds of edits and self-published.

About the Tunuftol world:

Tunuftol has the feel of a fantasy. Magic, powers, prophets & prophecies, elves, fairies, travelling on horse back, even sword fights. However, it's also very much a soft science fiction. They travel from Earth through a portal to another planet. Nyssa is a sentient planet. It modifies it's people and grants them names and powers that are partially inherited through their bloodlines (genetics) and partly because of something that Nyssa sees in the person.

Smashwords ~ Kindle ~ Nook

There are tunuftolates (small creatures indigenous to Nyssa) and many other amazing discoveries that show hidden elements of the science of this series. It's written for YA, but I strive to pull the readers along into Krissa's world as she goes. If you can't escape into a YA sci-fi/fantasy... why read it?

The characters are real. It's all real. I know them better than I know most people. Ask me a question about their motives, feelings, etc... I can tell you the why and how of it. (Not that I will if it's a secret or pivotal to the story line. No spoilers sweetie.)

I'm so excited about the new covers... What better way to celebrate than to have another giveaway? By the way... by following one of the items in the Rafflecopter, it also enters you in the giveaway mentioned earlier in my A to Z Challenge. ;)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Can't forget today's choices for blogs! And the choices are.... (drum roll please)....

1. Green Bean Teen Queen - This lady is great! Love her style and personality that shows through.
2. The Book Cellar - Cute site! Great review source.
3. The Penguin Blog - From Penguin publishing house. Its setup reminds me of Pinterest. I like it.

A to Z: ShortBooks - What are they?

HORTBOOKS - What are they?

Well... They started out with this cute little girl, Raelynn... As friends with her mom, I'd heard about her (then) upcoming 5th birthday. However, I wasn't in a position at the time to send her anything.

Instead, I asked her mom about some of Raelynn's favorite things. I made a list and wrote a story. Then I found pictures to go along with it and made a book.
Once finished, I sent the book directly to Raelynn. 

As you can see in her picture above, she loved it!

 Sparked by this concept, I developed a set of questions and proceeded to make a form. People filled out the form, and I made a book. These aren't exactly novellas, though the lower level books would be considered picture books, Since I used the same format and process to create them, I named them ShortBooks by Snow Flower.

They are created in short time frames, similar to flash fiction, but are inspired by and based off the specifics in the questionnaire/order form.


 I have an endless imagination and with the inspiration provided through the form, I'm able to develop stories that are customized, yet not form books that simply plug in a name to a formed story.

Each book is unique. 

They make wonderful gifts!

And as you can guess by the titles and covers, they're not just for kids. 

I'm primarily a children's author. I write picture books & early readers (ages 3-8),  MG & YA (Middle Grade; ages 9-12 & Young Adult; ages 13-18), and occasionally venture into NA (New Adult; ages 18-25). Many adults, myself included, enjoy YA and NA books. So, it opens the doors of possibilities quite wide.

I haven't written any new ShortBooks in a while. I even took the order form offline for some time. I'm happy to say that it's live once more and I'm excited to write for more special moments. 


In addition to this, I have new graphics capabilities now. This means that I'll be able to produce more original and/or specialized work for covers and interiors. It also means that a few of the books that didn't meet my own desired results will get a new look. Perhaps just a cover, perhaps a new interior.

Today's chosen blogs, the lucky three, the newly discovered by me are....

1. The Millions - An intensive blog about books for people who can't get enough of books. 
2. American Indians in Children's Literature - Eye opening and fascinating. An amazing site with wonderful books and resources!
3. The Book Nut - NICE! Looks like my type of books!! I'm adding to my TBR list already. 

Don't forget to enter the giveaway! Just share the blog on G+, Facebook, or Twitter and put the link to your post in the comments here.

(Or on the page detailing the giveaway) 

A to Z: Revisions Repeating

EVISIONS REPEATING

Revisions and edits are an inevitable part of creating a book. The cycle may seem endless at times, but it's necessary and if done well, the results are amazing. 

Many people with no real experience in writing believe that the first draft needs to be perfect. That The first draft is the only draft. That if your first draft isn't great, then you're a horrible writer.

None of these are true. 

Even seasoned professionals, best selling authors, journalists, etc. go through an editor. And quite often, (perhaps not so much in journalism, I don't know) the writer tries again and sends it back to the editor. 

Some people are under the impression that they can slap something down in writing, without any care to punctuation, spelling, grammar, or proper English, and pass it along to the editor because... well, isn't that what editors are for? I happen to be "comma happy." I over use and improperly use them quite often. LOL. I add them where they shouldn't be and forget them where they should!

Granted an editor edits, but you shouldn't expect them to have to rewrite your entire manuscript for you. If you can't put the time and effort into producing the best product you possibly can and learn how to improve every chance you get.... then why are you even writing?

I believe everyone has a story. Realistically, not everyone has the current talent to sculpt their story into the written word in such a way that others want to read it. This doesn't mean that you should give up. Quite the opposite. Work harder. Revisions are a tool that we need to use and keep using.

Writing isn't just about slapping words down. It's a craft that, to do well, takes time and effort. It's well worth everything you put into it too.

Asking for help takes a fair amount of courage for many. Make sure that when you ask and it's given that you listen to what's said and take into consideration the abilities of the person giving you advise. I'm not the greatest writer... yet, but I'm not the worst. I write what I know. I enjoy what I write. I learn as I go. These are extremely important things to me. If you don't enjoy what you do, if you close your minds to growth, if you try to represent something you have no clue about/can't connect with, then what are you doing? 

I'm not saying that you have to have seen a dragon to write about dragons. I'm saying that you have to be able to connect with sadness to write sadness. If you've never struggled with bullies, depression, abuse, poverty... can you relate to the feelings? Can you express those feelings? If not, do MASSIVE amounts of research or just write something else. 

Once you get your words in writing, read it over and over agian yourself. If you can't read your own writing repeatedly, how do you expect others to do so? It's amazing how many things we realize we missed the last 20 times we read it. 

If you have any helpful tips you'd like to share, please do! I'd love to hear from my readers. :D

Today's blog selections are:

1. Helping Writers Become Authors - Great site with amazing resources! 
2. Live, Write, Thrive - Another amazing resource with excellent tips.
3. Writer Unboxed - I love the look of this site. It's a community of writers helping writers. 

Don't forget to enter our giveaway!!! Spread the word and leave your link. Yes, it's that easy.