Contest and Ally Condie!

Hello all! I've had a productive week this time around!

First of all, I submitted to the PNWA contest like I said I would! (Half an hour before the deadline at almost eleven-thirty at night on the last day, but still. Before the deadline.) I had been working on the first four chapters of The House on the Rocks, but decided on only the first three because they were strongest. Now I suppose I just wait.

I also got to meet Ally Condie, Margaret Stohl, and Brendan Riechs for a book event at my favorite place in the world, Third Place Books! It was for the release of Ally Condie's new book The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe, which is a revenge story that sounds right up my alley. Margaret Stohl is the writer of the Red Widow and Red Vengeance novels, which I really love, but I didn't know she was going to be there until the last second so I didn't get those signed, which was a bummer. I'll just have to go to another event with her soon. Oh darn. ;) And Brendan was super nice and let me in on some great pacing, action, and plot twist tips that I can't wait to use! The most helpful one was this: If you're stuck on what should happen next and it doesn't feel exciting enough, ask yourself what the worst thing is that could happen right now in your story. Then do it.

Next time I update, it will be on my next big project: Camp NaNoWriMo! One of my three favorite months on the year! I'm doing a complete rework of Rush book one, tentatively called The Pawns now, and piecing in the parts I've originally written that I still like to make a whole new draft. It'll be my first time doing NaNoWriMo with a full-time job, so it promises to be interesting.

Until next time!