I'm thankful for my family and friends...
and all the food this yummy day lends.
But something that I'd gladly return
are all the calories I'm left to burn.




Happy Thanksgiving!!! Remember, calories don't count today! <3

Labels: Fun, Holidays, poem, Thanksgiving

Manuscript revision can be a tricky thing to explain and an even trickier thing to master. There are so many types of revision styles, and very few writers go about revising the same way. What works for some won't work for others...much like perms...and skinny jeans. Along this same hair/clothing line of thought, I like to compare the revision process to a makeover. After all, everyone likes a nice makeover, right? To give you an idea of my take on the spectrum of revision styles, I've detailed the various revision makeover types below:

Al Natural: These writers do very little to their manuscripts to make them fabulous. Their first drafts come out pretty close to the finished product. Plain and simple, these writers are misfits. They're lucky and talented misfits, but misfits nonetheless.

Tweeze as You Please: Grooming their manuscripts continuously is what this type is known for. These writers spend lots of time plucking, prodding, tweaking and brushing up trouble spots throughout their first draft writing process. Naysayers may call this writing vanity, but many would say it's proper manuscript hygiene.

Touch Up & Go: This type of writer leaves his/her manuscript in sweatpants until the day of the publishing ball. The touch up & go writer will miraculously transform his/her manuscript like Cinderella right before sending it off to meet Prince (or Princess) Charming (more commonly known as an agent or editor).

Clever Concealers: These writers are afflicted with manuscript acne (plot holes, character flaws, grammar blemishes, etc.). But have no fear; not all manuscript zits leave scars! A clever concealer will find ingenious ways to hide and/or get rid of said acne with various writerly techniques....some cleansing....and maybe a little acne cream.

Nip/Tuck & Beyond: Nipping and tucking is more common than most would think. Some writers will deny that their manuscript has had this type of work done. After all, if it's a good nip/tuck revision, you may not even notice that a manuscript has had character lifts, plot implants, and bad grammar liposuction... but the bad nip/tucks can be spotted from miles away. Trust me!

Complete Reconstructive Surgery: This is the most invasive and painful form of revision makeover, and the finished product often resembles very little of the first draft. Recovery can be long, tedious and excruciating. This type of makeover may include, but isn't limited to: slicing the setting, dicing dialogue, cutting characters, and ripping up and rewriting some, most, or (heaven forbid) ALL of the manuscript. This type of revision makeover can lead to hair pulling, bursts of hysterics, crossed eyes, and delusional thoughts of quitting entirely. Pain medication in the form of lots of chocolate is typically required.


For the record, I confess that I've tried and survived all of the various revision types above. However, I tend to be a combo of the tweeze as you please and nip/tuck types the most. That's right, I'm not afraid to admit that I've given my manuscripts character lifts and plot implants. Are you?

So what manuscript revision makeover type are you?

Labels: Editorial process, Fun, Publishing, Revision Makeovers, Revisions, writing

ARCs & Lipstick Laws swag! Yay!!!













And here is an outtake from my ARC photo shoot... yes, the book is upside down. This is what happens when you're your own photographer. Le sigh...

Labels: ARC, books, cover, Fun, Pictures, Publishing, Swag, The Lipstick Laws

I'm excited to announce that the Class of 2k11 has launched today! For those of you who don't know what the Class of 2k11 is, we're a group of 19 MG & YA debut authors (including me) who have come together to support and help promote one another and our books through our debut year - 2011! The 2k groups were founded in 2007 and have been renewing every year with new authors, new books, and lots of fun!

We've been preparing for our launch for about a year now... and after all we've shared, I consider the authors in this year's group to be among my best writerly friends. I hope you'll check our site out HERE to see just how awesome the other members & their upcoming books are. Better yet, join our blog where you'll get updates on contests, activities & news through the year! Even better, If you sign up to our newsletter (at the bottom of the "home" page), you'll be entered in the drawing to win 23 (yes, 23!!!!) Class of 2k10 books - mostly signed!

So, what are you waiting for? Please head on over and check out the Class of 2k11!

Labels: books, Class of 2k10, Class of 2k11, Contests, debut author group, Fun, Giveaways, Publishing, Website, writers

Fall is my absolute FAVORITE season! It's my favorite kind of weather AND it's the start of the holiday season. I love when the leaves change colors, the outside changes to jacket-weather, the cool air smells of firewood, and Thanksgiving is just around the corner.

To celebrate the fabulous fun of fall, I took a trip to the Poconos a couple weeks ago to take in some beautiful scenery... so I thought I'd share lots-o'-pictures of one of my favorite spots that I visited.

What have you been up to so far this fall?

Labels: Fall, Fun, Pictures, Random

It's November 4th! Do you know what that means?!? It's exactly five months to the day of the release of The Lipstick Laws, due out on April 4th! Woohoo! To help me count down and celebrate all things lipsticky, I've decided to do a recurring Lipstick Lowdown post on the 4th of every month up until my book hits the shelves.

What's Lipstick Lowdown, you ask? It's a quick post with a random tip, an interesting fact, fun quote, or some other lipstick-related info that may come in handy if you ever want to impress anyone with your remarkable lipstick knowledge... which, come to think of it, isn't super likely...but just humor me here.

LIPSTICK LOWDOWN #1
Did you know...

You can expect to get around 5 hours of color from one application of long-wear lipstick before having to reapply.

You should get a total of 1,325 hours per long-wear lipstick tube.

AND...

If you wear lipstick regularly, your long-wear tube should last six months to a year.

**These facts/stats were paraphrased from the book Lipstick: A Celebration of the World's Favorite Cosmetic by Jessica Pallingston***

Come back next month for Lipstick Lowdown #2 where I will be sharing a lipstick recipe!

Labels: Fun, Lipstick Lowdown, Random, The Lipstick Laws