Recommended Reading For Writers

In October, I ran an Author-fest. It was so fantastic having such great authors visit my YAlicious blog for a small interview. It was awesome to get to know their work a little better and the history behind some of their stories. One of the most interesting questions for me was...

 If you could recommend any book to aspiring writers, what would it be and why?

There were some fantastic suggestions, so I thought I'd compile the answers into a list for you.
If you'd like to add any others into the comments section, please feel free.

So - in no particular order....

On Writing by Stephen King. He talks about writing with the passion of the story—getting caught up in the story without worrying about perfection or errors. I think a lot of beginning writers get so caught up in their mistakes that they become stymied. My favorite quote about first drafts is “A first draft is a celebration of everything that can go wrong on a page.”

The Writer's Guide to Character Traits by Linda N. Edelstein, PH.D. It's an absolute goldmine for character development, and helps to really make your characters three-dimensional, real people.

And Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder. It's a book about plotting out screenplays but it 

DEFINITELY applies to novel writing. BIG TIME.

Manuscript Makeover by Elizabeth Lyon is hands-down the most comprehensive, helpful book on revision. Lyon covers not only copyediting issues, but also voice, theme and symbolism, pacing and characterization.

And here's one from me...

Writing Great Books For Young Adults by Regina Brooks. This book is full of helpful suggestions and things to consider when writing for a YA audience. I took screeds of notes that I refer to all the time.

I hope you manage to get your hands on some of these books. I know I will be working through the ones I haven't read yet.

Do you have any books you'd like to add to the mix? What's your recommended reading for writers?

Creating a Love Triangle

YA writers and bloggers unite each week to share their thoughts on what it's like going indie in today's publishing world.

Today we are discussing the love triangle.

Now - I've never been a huge fan. I'm such a romantic and I like the idea of soul mates, but the truth is, it is actually possible to love two people and the complications that arise from a love triangle can be fascinating.

I think a love triangle needs to be well thought out. You want the reader to be struggling themselves over who should end up together. This is a great way to build tension and keep the reader anxious to finish the book.

Like I said, I'm not an expert on this, as I've never really tackled a love triangle before, however I am going to be in my next trilogy. It's been really interesting exploring the relationships. I know who should end up together, but will my readers agree? I need to make sure I present the story to them in a way that will keep them guessing, but not disappoint them. Tricky!!! But totally fun at the same time :-)

I think it's important to keep characters' motivations real. The love triangle in Twilight never worked for me. If Bella was as in love with Edward as she claimed then it felt wrong that she would even consider Jacob... ever! I did love those books, but I never bought into the whole love triangle. It felt out of character for Bella. 

When creating a love triangle I think you need to ask the following questions... Why does this love triangle exist? Is it appropriate to the story? Does it align with the characters' personalities and values?

Once you have the answers you are on your way to creating a love triangle that is realistic and hopefully entertaining.

What do you think is necessary for creating a good love triangle?

If you'd like to find out what the other carnival peeps think about love triangles, please follow the links below.


And you can also check out the YA Author Club for the latest updates and news on what we're all up to.

1.	Laura A. H. Elliott	2.	Bryna Butler, author Midnight Guardian series
3.	T. R. Graves, Author of The Warrior Series	4.	Suzy Turner, author of The Raven Saga
5.	Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog	6.	K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed
7.	Gwenn Wright, author of Filter	8.	Liz Long | Just another writer on the loose.
9.	Ella James	10.	Maureen Murrish
11.	YA Sci Fi Author's Ramblings	12.	A Little Bit of R&R
13.	Melissa Pearl	14.	Terah Edun - YA Fantasy

Good Stuff To Know

For those of you who missed it, I have started up a monthly post including all the awesome links and articles I've read throughout the month. October's was full of some goodies if you'd like to check it out here.

I have SO many this month, that I may save up some for December... although I'm sure I'll have a ton more by then too. People are full of such fantastic information and I love being able to share it around.

So, in no particular order, I came across:

- The 30 Day Platform Challenge by Robert Lee Brewer. This is a challenge that will help you build your platform by performing one quick, simple task each day. I am working my through it... not in 30 Days, but I try to do 2 or 3 a week. Some of the things I already have set up, but I'm learning new tricks along the way. I'm finding it really helpful.

- 77 Ways to Find New Readers by Laura Pepper Wu. I bought the e-book and it took me about an hour to get through. It is jam packed full of awesome ideas on expanding your audience. Most of the tasks are very easy to implement and will definitely open doors to new readers along the way. I highly recommend this book.

- Here's another little article I found on Duolit. Again, quick and easy to implement - 31 Book Marketing Ideas You Can Use Today.

- YA Author, Elana Johnson, has started a blog post series on how to write a trilogy. Here is the first part for you - Writing A Trilogy, Part One: Book One.

- I found a great little blog post on The Masquerade Crew - How To Become A Multi-Talented Writer, which I thought had some excellent advice.

I'll stick with those for November. I don't want to overload people with too much information :-)
I am planning another post soon with a list of recommended reading on how to write well. Having run the Author-fest last month on the YAlicious blog, I now have a very long list of great books that people might want to check out.

Keep your eyes peeled for that post later this month :-)

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you find these articles and tips as helpful as I did.

YA Indie Carnival - Romances Worth Voting For

YA writers and bloggers unite each week to share their thoughts on what it's like going indie in today's publishing world.
This week is all about the vote - I wonder why :-) So the carni's are choosing things worth voting for in the YA world.

There were so many things to choose from and it took me a while to decide, but being the romantic sap that I am, I've decided to talk about romances worth voting for.

To me, a good romance in a book is the icing on the cake. I love reading a great love story... especially about teenagers. So here are my nominees for great romances in YA.

Brittany and Alex - in Perfect Chemistry. I loved their story so much and thought they were the best couple. When they finally got together, I'm sure I actually cheered aloud. Their first kiss was toe curling. I loved the whole book. It really was perfect :-)

Helen and Lucas - in Starcrossed. As painful as their romance was, it was also captivating. I'd never wanted a couple to get together more. Their passion was so intense. It was fantastic.

Bella and Edward - in the Twilight Series. Of course I have to mention these guys. Their romance has become totally legendary! I did really like it though. They were SO in love and it was a fun romance to read.

So those are my votes. How about you? Are their any romances you have read and adored?

If you'd like to find out what the other carnival goers are voting for, you can check the links below.

And you can also check out the YA Author Club for the latest updates and news on what we're all up to.

1.	Laura A. H. Elliott	2.	Bryna Butler, author Midnight Guardian series
3.	T. R. Graves, Author of The Warrior Series	4.	Suzy Turner, author of The Raven Saga
5.	Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog	6.	K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed
7.	Gwenn Wright, author of Filter	8.	Liz Long | Just another writer on the loose.
9.	Ella James	10.	Maureen Murrish
11.	YA Sci Fi Author's Ramblings	12.	A Little Bit of R&R
13.	Melissa Pearl	14.	Terah Edun - YA Fantasy

So Many Things To Tell You!

Well, November is finally here, so it's time for my monthly progress report.

October went by in a flurry of activity. To celebrate Golden Blood's birthday, I listed it for free. This brought the book into the spotlight and it was great to see so much activity happening around the trilogy. It is such a buzz to see something you worked on for so long entice so many readers. I'm so glad you have been enjoying the books.

Golden Blood turned one on November 4th so I have decided to continue the celebrations and keep the book FREE, on all sites, for another month.

November has been the cause for another celebration - the release of Betwixt!! I feel like it has taken forever to get here, but finally I can share this book with you. It has been such a privilege to work on this project and the support of, and response to, this book has been overwhelming. Thank you to all my reviewers, I'm so glad you loved the book and have been willing to tell everybody about it as well.

I wanted Betwixt to be an emotional story that explored the effects tragedy can  have on people's lives and the healing power of unconditional love and forgiveness, but I didn't want to bog the story down so that reader's came away depressed either. Finding that mix of humour and sorrow seemed to come quite easily and it makes me wonder if this story was meant to be written all along.

If you haven't read it yet, I really hope you enjoy it :-)

The book can be purchased on any of the Amazon stores or on Smashwords. It will also be available on Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple and Sony very soon.

For every copy of Betwixt sold, $1 will be donated to Love146 - a charity fighting against child sex trafficking and exploitation.

A Tale of Many Reviews is hosting an awesome-sauce blog tour for me from the 3rd - 8th of December. So keep an eye out for that :-)

So November has started with a hiss and a roar, but I have no intention of slowing down. The rest of the month holds lots of goodies for me. The two major ones are:

1. YAlicious blog. Brenda and I are making some changes to the blog and are hoping to host many amazing authors, spotlight some fantastic books and get some good discussions going. I'll keep you posted on progress, but so far for this month I have lined up a couple of author visits, a book review, a movie review and hopefully a visit from a book reviewer.

2. My new fantasy trilogy. I am now in the first draft stage of Book One - tentatively entitled - Unknown. My goal is to have it finished by Christmas. Hopefully I can pull that off :-) I've had so much fun planning out the story and creating the world. It is going to be a challenging project, but it's good to test your skills every now and then, right?

Thank you so much for everyone who is joining me on my writing journey. I love being able to share all this cool stuff with you.

I have just started up a Book Updates Newsletter as well, so if you'd like to sign up, you'll receive a bi-monthly update on where my books are up to and what specials or giveaways I have going on. Follow the link below to sign up.
Melissa Pearl's Book Updates

A Few Thank-Yous Are In Order

In two more sleeps, Betwixt will be published! Wohoo! I feel like I've been waiting for this day forever, so it's nice to have it so close now.

As you all know, a book cannot be produced single-handedly. You know how they say it takes a village to raise a baby, yeah, well it takes a village to produce a book and I'd like to take a moment to thank my fellow villagers :-)

I'll start from the inside out...

Thank you to my darling husband who supports my writing so much and gave me the opportunity to go away and tap this book out in record time. It was amazing.

Thank you to my critique readers - Brenda, Tee, Kate, Cassie, Ruth, Scott and my mom. You gave me such great feedback and helped me iron out the kinks in the story. Your support and enthusiasm over this book has been astounding.

Thank you to my editor and proof readers - Angelique, Connie and Brenda. It's amazing how much you miss when you've been working on a project for so long. Your time and attention is very much appreciated.

Thank you to my graphic designer - Brenda, and my photographer - Al. You understood my vision and helped me put together the best cover. I love it!! It is perfect for this story.

Thank you for all the people who have agreed to review Betwixt for me. The response has been overwhelming and so encouraging.

Thank you to all my supporters. It's great to have a crowd of people cheering you on and you guys do the most amazing job. I have made so many awesome connections. It is an aspect of the writing world that I adore.

And lastly, thank you to my family and friends who are always asking about my writing and letting me blabble on about my passion. I love you all so much.

* * * * * 

If you haven't had a chance to enter the Betwixt giveaway yet, you can do so below.

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YA Indie Carnival - Work In Draft or Newly Released

YA writers and bloggers unite each week to share their thoughts on what it's like going indie in today's publishing world.

I love posts like this week's. It's so fun to see what writers are working on or what they have just released. 

So - we have all been instructed to include a cover image, the synopsis and a paragraph from the book. Bring it on! I hope you enjoy reading through all these posts as much as I will.

Okay - so for me, it's all about Betwixt (which I'm sure many of you know!). Only a few more sleeps and Betwixt will be online!! Can't wait!!! So, so, SO excited to share it with everybody :)

Beautiful, wild-chid Nicole Tepper is hit by a car and left for dead. But when she wakes the next morning, Nicole finds herself in bed without a scratch. Perhaps she was more intoxicated than usual, as her mother is giving her the silent treatment and her friends are ignoring her as well. 

Things take a turn for the weird when Nicole soon discovers she is actually hovering between life and death. Her body is lying in the forest while her spirit is searching for anyone who can hear her. Unfortunately the only person who can is Dale Finnigan, the guy she publicly humiliated with a sharp-tongued insult that has left him branded.

Desperate, Nicole has no choice but to haunt Dale and convince the freaked-out senior to help her. Will he find her body before it's too late? Or will the guy who tried to kill her with his car, beat him there and finish her off before anyone finds out?

It's always hard finding an excerpt that won't give anything away, but will also intrigue the reader. Hopefully this will do the trick...

   "Penny. Amber." I walk next to my friends. "Why aren't you guys worried? What if Trent's lying? How did I end up in the forest? Please, someone, hear me."

   "What if she's not shopping?" Penny drops her books on the big library table. At least she looks a little worried.

   Thank you. Finally.

   "Maybe she's run away. She's been threatening to do it for months." Amber pulls out a chair. "Trent did say she was acting weird last night. Maybe when he dropped her off she collected her stuff and left?"

   "What's the bet some studly picked her up and they're now getting married in Vegas."

   Everyone laughs at Matt's joke.

   "Maybe some trucker kidnapped her and she's locked in the back with a trailer load of livestock." Amber giggles.

   "Why would that be funny?" My voice punches out in harsh syllables.

   "Maybe she's on a bus to New York. Hashtag, Nicole makes a break for it." Penny smiles.

   "Penny, not you too. I haven't run away." I throw my bag on the table. "You guys!"

   "Maybe she's dead." The table goes silent at Lauren's casual statement. They all look at her then at each other... then all start cracking up.

   "Why are you guys laughing? I'm not dead. I'M NOT DEAD." I scream.

   Out of the corner of my eye, I see a head pop up from a book and look around the room as if he just heard something.

   "I'm not dead." I yell across the room.

   He flinches, lowers his book and looks straight at me.

   I wince.

   Dale Finnigan.

   Un-freaking-believable.

To find out what the other carnival goers are up to, you can check out the links below. I'd also like to welcome a new member to the group - Terah Edun. Welcome! It's cool to have you with us.

1.	Laura A. H. Elliott	2.	Bryna Butler, author Midnight Guardian series
3.	T. R. Graves, Author of The Warrior Series	4.	Suzy Turner, author of The Raven Saga
5.	Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog	6.	K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed
7.	Gwenn Wright, author of Filter	8.	Liz Long | Just another writer on the loose.
9.	Ella James	10.	Maureen Murrish
11.	YA Sci Fi Author's Ramblings	12.	A Little Bit of R&R
13.	Melissa Pearl	14.	Terah Edun - YA Fantasy

Don't forget to check out YA Author Club for all the latest news and to learn more about the authors.

And finally - if you'd like a chance to win a digital copy of Betwixt, there is currently a pre-release giveaway going on. Entry details are below.

Thanks for stopping by :)

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