It's been a good while...

...since I've been over here (what? 10 days shy of a year?)...

Does this mean I'm back?
Honestly, I don't know. It means I'm back right now, this minute.
What I'm really doing is procrastinating. Actively.
I should be getting my filing cabinets in order, or, more accurately, getting the stacks (yes, plural) of papers filed in the filing cabinets where I can actually find something when I need it.

So, because I hate really dislike filing, this is much more fun. I even changed the winter pictures to springtime and maybe it will mean my blogging hibernation is over, too.

Maybe.

Ack II

I always write when I'm stressed out about something.
Sometimes I write about the stress, but more often I write about anything else to get my head away from whatever it is that's rolling around in my brain too much.
I've had the itch to write recently, but I haven't been able to do it. This right here -what you're reading now- is the best I've been able to come up with.

I intend to put a percolating story on paper.
Soon.

I will let you know how it goes.

Mother's Day Centennial -West Virginia Magazine

The Mother's Day Centennial feature story in the Wonderful West Virginia magazine is now available online.
Click here for the Wonderful West Virginia Magazine home page.
Click here for the Mother's Day Centennial feature.


***cross-posted at the Taylor County West Virginia Blog

Flash Fiction - Roach Motel

I am sucking up dead roaches with an industrial vacuum cleaner. I can hear the armor of their bodies clinking against the metal tube as they disappear from the floor. Every night, in every unoccupied room, I sprinkle white powder around the scarred baseboards and the next day I come to vacuum. Usually there’s just a smattering of insects to be sucked up, but sometimes, like now, there are piles of them. It never ends; there are always more.
I flip the switch and the roaring dwindles to silence filled by the slap of tennis shoes on concrete. A flurry of skinny children scuttle past the open door. I roll up the cord, preparing to lug the bulky contraption to the next room. I step out under the awning and spy Randy’s long white Cadillac pulling into the lot. I roll the vacuum along on its little pocked wheels, kicking it along to the sound of a woman yelling and a baby crying.
This next room, seventeen, has just a smattering of dead bugs, and since the beds don’t need changed, I’m back outside and on to the next one. It’s much bigger than the other rooms that families live in, and as far as I know they don’t charge much more for it. But then, I don’t handle the money, I just suck up the bugs.

Flash Fiction

Wikipedia says, "Flash fiction is fiction characterized by its extreme brevity, as measured by its length in words...." and, "This principle, taken to the extreme, is illustrated by Ernest Hemingway's six-word flash, "For sale: baby shoes, never worn.""
Go here for the Wiki entry on flash fiction.

I like flashing. Not the trench coat kind, but the brain-storming kind. Every piece of fiction starts with a flash. Uncle Hop is a flash, Vultures (or click here if that link isn't working) started that way, and I have a forty-eleventeen-hundred other examples in my 'old writing' file boxes. A flash is like seeing a small piece of someone's life and setting it to paper. You get to look at it a little closer and see if it's something worth exploring (the hard part is sticking to it and fleshing it out, but that's another post).

During the month of February, I was inspired by Rosie over at the Smokey Mountain Breakdown. She posted a flash every day for the entire month. Pretty impressive. However, I'm not that ambitious and I'm certainly not that prolific. I'm going to shoot for once a week. Maybe turn it into something catchy like all the better bloggers do: Flash Fiction Friday or whatever. But, today's not Friday and I have something to post. Maybe next week I'll try for Friday.

This is something that I dug out of an old pile of yellowing papers. It was printed from my first computer and has moved around with us for about 10 years. I think it's a great flash to start this off with. I'll post it in a fresh and spiffy post here in just a few minutes.....

Uncle Hop

I posted a flash entitled 'Uncle Hop' over at the Appalachian Writers Blog.
Here's the link: Uncle Hop

Storytelling Institute at FSU

This past weekend I went to Fairmont State University for the Mountain State Storytelling Institute. The event was co-sponsored by the WV Storytelling Guild. Because I'm already acquainted with several intriguing members of this guild, I knew I wasn't going to be disappointed in spending my time and money on this gathering.
I am happy to report that I was right; I was not disappointed. In fact, I joined the WV Storytelling Guild, bought their book (and several others), and have been enjoying the group emails since they added me to the list on Sunday (it might be worth it to join just to read some of this stuff!).

I won't do well to try and report all that I encountered, but I would like to touch on a few things:

• The first workshop I attended - "From the Porch to the Page: Using the Oral Tradition in Crafting Personal Narrative" - was with storytelling duo 'Mountain Echoes' (June Riffle & JoAnn Dadisman). I've had the pleasure of meeting these women on a couple of other occasions, so knowing that they're both intelligent and articulate (not to mention entertaining) was one reason for choosing this as my first stop. The real selling point, though, was the emphasis on writing. [June flattered me by asking about my book. That made me feel good and I was able to report that I now have an agent - that's news I haven't announced yet. I suppose this small mention means that I will have to post an update on Vultures.] As we settled into our seats, the two women began to spin a tale with the high weeds of summer heat. I saw the glint of sun on the blade of the scythe and was pretty close to smelling the old hunting dog when...they stopped. !. Ack! Nothing like an abrupt interruption to reveal the depth of interest; everyone in the room was disappointed. However, the interruption was for good reason; the start-and-stop of the hunting dog tale was used to breakdown the story and get a good look at it. This was a perfect illustration of the of the mouth-to-page flow of a good story. I like the point that JoAnn made: it flows both ways. She's absolutely right and I will do well to keep that in mind.
• I got to meet Granny Sue in person! I'm just sorry that I didn't get to spend more time with her.
• I enjoyed (maybe a little too much, considering my age) Rich Knoblich's wolf puppet 'Growler' and the story of the "Boy Who Cried" so much that I bought his new book Talking 'bout The Relatives.
• It's women like Dr. Judy Byers who make me want to go back to school. Her workshop was way too short.
• Andy Fraenkel's workshop convinced us (and proved it, too) that we all have worthwhile stories to tell. It was almost shocking to be led into various story elements with seemingly no effort. And then to share the wonder of those tiny bits of awe with another person produced a palpable warmth.
• Bil Lepp summarized about 400 books on the art and techniques of writing using ridiculously simple line drawings and humor. It took him an hour and we laughed all the way through it. Amazing. Someone needs to publish his novels so I can read them (Okay? Do you hear that?).

Finally:

Do you know how hard it is to find appropriate entertainment (not to mention entertaining entertainment) for our entire family? If you don't, I'll tell you: It's impossible. Find something that the 15 year old thinks is funny and the 11 & 8 year olds shouldn't be hearing it. Find something that the 8 year old likes and the 11 and 15 year olds are groaning.

We took the entire family to Friday night's Telling. It was wonderful AND everyone had fun!

(Maybe I'll tell you about the dead baby at another time....)

I wasn't able to attend all the workshops (and that would be my only complaint), but I'm planning for next year....

We Can Do It!

PC gave me this poster for Christmas:




There are several reasons why I like Rosie the Riveter, but the empowerment implied in the image is my main attraction.
What better place to hang it than in my office?

It only took me three months to hang it up.

More Reading and Writing (Seeking)

This post was going to be a book review, but I got a bit (ha!) off track and so, since it's my blog, I'm just gonna keep on babbling about reading and writing.

I'll get to the book review eventually.

If you read my last post, you know that I have little patience for reading crappy novels. After I gave up 'Free' as a reason for reading a book, I started to comb through yard sale boxes and library sales for classics. If the truth be told, 'Free' was still (still is) a good reason to take it home with me, but well worn paperbacks often cost as much as 10¢ or 25¢ (it adds up quick).

I spent several years reading everything of value from the last century. I've been through quite a few stages of reading progression (don't worry - I won't get into all of them today), but this period of reading the classics was slowed dramatically (now mind you, 'slowed' -not stopped) when a good friend with way more education than me caught me reading The Scarlet Letter.

S, who is not only an astute reader, but also has a highly functioning brain, a sharp wit, and a degree in English (not to mention the post-graduate degree), asked me, "Why are you reading that?"

"Why wouldn't I read that?" was the first response that popped into my head. However, I must admit I was embarrassed. Not necessarily because I was reading that particular book, but more probably by the fact that I felt she was implying that I was wasting my time. Again.

(Remember that's what I was trying to avoid by reading the classics in the first place. I may have been better off - hell, I would probably still be better off- if I invested my money in some formal education. However, that comes with a price tag far bigger than the few nickels and dimes I was spending on my fumbling self-education. I feel a tangent coming on, but I will try and get back to the topic at hand....)

S, as usual, cut right to it with her next question: "What do you hope to learn from reading that?"

And, really, this was the million dollar question, wasn't it? Isn't it still? Because that's what it's about for me. That's what it's still about: What can I learn from reading this?

Don't write me off as a total book-snob, though, because I still read every book Stephen King publishes and truly believe in the value (and, yes, necessity) of entertainment. I don't like to read boring books and isn't that what entertainment is - the opposite of boredom?

**(I have to allow a small tangent here to say I've been very disappointed in your last two publications, Steve. At what point can you publish without slashing a third of what you write [I could be wrong -I'm not going to go look it up right now- but didn't you repeat {somewhere in On Writing} the sage advice of hacking a bunch of shit out of the way to get to the real, page-turning, keep-you-up-at-night story? What happened to that?] and just leave all the crap in there because your publishers know that you're gonna sell a million-gajillion copies no matter what's between the covers? Perhaps a part of it is all that crap makes the book bigger? Bigger book = higher retail price? Hell, I always buy one, but write a few more time-wasters and that'll be the end of my support.)**

Another important aspect of reading is identification. Personal connection. Yep, we're still talking entertainment here, but we're also talking education. Isn't that how we learn? Or maybe the question should be 'Isn't that how we learn the best (the fastest, the most efficiently)?' or maybe 'Isn't that the information we seek out?'

If we connect to a topic - if there is something personal, some connection to us as a real, multi-dimensional person, then doesn't that give us some extra tie to the topic at hand and, therefore, a 'want' of the subject?

Kids always are asking, 'Why do I have to do this?' They SHOULD ask. Who gives a shit about sentence diagramming (To all of you grammarians: sorry, but I HATED diagramming sentences and I still find no use for the minutiae of sentence destruction and labeling in my life, even the writing part of my life.) when you can dive into a whole story and rip it apart?

But, for the record: Yep, all that math has come in handy. Even some of that geometry crap comes into use every once in a while. a² + b² = c² really does help when you have to square a building to lay it out right, or to build a wall or a window or whatever.

But the point is -before I lose it in another digression- finding a personal connection to the subject matter not only makes things more interesting, but also more worthwhile and valuable because they're meaningful.

I suspect good teachers already know this, but again, with my awkward, groping, fits-and-starts education, I just realized this about 4 or 5 years ago. Being away from West Virginia played a big part in that (that's a-whole-nother post or two or three...) realization, but without going into details (right now), that brings us to my current mode of reading (seeking): Anything about West Virginia, fiction or non-fiction. West Virginia can be the setting, the topic, or the home state of the author, as long as it is connected to home.

I just got started (relatively) with this method of seeking (reading, learning) and I'm pleased to find I have a lot of work ahead of me to even begin to feel like I'm making a dent into the works of West Virginia writers and writings. There are years worth of personal connections just sitting and waiting on me. (Yay!)

All this brings me to what I originally intended to do today: A book review.

I'm going to start another post, though, so I don't have to fight with the pictures....

Reading and Writing

When I was younger I would read anything I could get my hands on. Yep, I did read a lot of crap that way, but it caused me to pick stuff apart and figure out what made it crap (or not). What makes this one take me two weeks to read (and read three other better books at the same time) when this one over here I couldn't put down and stayed up all night to finish? Why do these characters live on in my head for a couple of weeks when these others never even took a deep breath? What is it about that scene that makes me remember it every time the wind blows whistly around that paint-flaking window pane in the basement? What gave this a sleek polished feeling while this one has rough-edges? Was that the intent? Does it add to or take away from the whole?
Anyway, you get the idea. And if you're a reader, you're probably nodding your head, maybe sucking in your bottom lip, and thinking about the first book you put down and never finished because it wasn't worth your time. I remember mine. I was working the night shift and, while that probably was partly to blame for my short attention span, for the first time ever I put a book down and didn't pick it back up.
I had no interest in reading another schlocky novel that didn't have something to say or, at the least, some entertainment value. I don't remember the book or the author, but what I do remember is getting to Chapter 2 and I'd just walked down a street with too many adjectives and walked with a fancy-shmancily dressed lady with a flowery umbrella. I walked up the steps to her porch and into her house and nothing had happened and I just didn't give a shit about the lady or about where she lived or what she did or anything else.
Plus, I was wet because she didn't share her umbrella. Okay, not really, but I just didn't give a shit. I was sick of reading shit and I remember thinking that if I was going to learn what made a good book, then I'd better set the shit aside and seek out the good stuff.
This realization, plus the fact I had a tracheotomy to clean, a couple of stomach tubes to replace, an order to insert a urinary catheter, a serious case of sleep deprivation, morning meds and report to get through all combined to make me realize I didn't have time to waste - especially not on an uninteresting, crappy novel.
That was the beginning. I've become even more (nit)picky since then (hard to believe, huh?).

The point in all this?
I'm feeling rather bloggity today and I have some time this morning (time created through procrastination, mainly). So, if you've a mind to stick it out with me a bit, we'll see where this is going....

I need to add, too, that I have very little patience for formatting pictures into posts. Usually I just deal with it and do it anyway, but not today. Today I'll just make multiple posts. Patience may be required. :)

Cabin Fever & Bio

Perhaps it was the cabin fever (though yesterday I soaked up as much sun as I could, knowing it was going to rain/snow again), but I queried a literary agency about Vultures.
This is the first time I've done it since the whole Amazon ABNA contest and, even though I said I wasn't going to, I think the winter blahs got the best of me and it seemed like a good idea. We'll see....

Anyway, the main point is not the query, but the bio. It's always a challenge to come up with a short, catchy bio (the irony here is that a blogger would have a hard time finding something to say about herself). For this particular query, I wrote a new two-paragraph bio. Usually, I stick with one or, at the most, two sentences, but it was probably the cabin fever and resulting 'screw-it' attitude that pushed me to ramble on. My finger hovered over the 'Send' button as I debated the pros and cons. Finally, the 'screw-it' attitude won when I figured worse-case-scenario would be a total lack of response. (At least I hope that's worst case scenario - I have a long way to go before I establish enough of a reputation even for black-listing. I hope.)

So, here's my new bio (probably short-lived):

"MK Stover is a native West Virginian who finally moved back home. She is a wife, mother, and writer, though not always in that order. Her writing includes small mountains of unsubmitted fiction, a smattering of published non-fiction (though she finds sticking to the facts to be rather confining), ad copy, and small town newspaper columns, articles, and opinions.
Unable to find a decent cup of cappuccino, she and her husband are in the process of converting the first floor of a 118 year old brick building into her hometown’s central site for caffeine consumption and assemblage. The second floor houses her writing studio which is in dire need of organization. Currently, she is working on humorous recollections of her redneck upbringing and feels that her office mess is a symbolic representation of the mental health of her many relatives and, therefore, is a necessary aid to her work-in-progress."


According to Spell Check, 'unsubmitted' is not a word. I use a lot of those not-a-words, so that's not really a concern. What is a concern, though, is that Spell Check's suggestion for correction is 'uncommitted.'
I suppose I should be happy for the 'un.'

I love email.

Have I mentioned that I'm not the best when I it comes to staying in touch with folks who are worth staying in touch with?
Why, yes, I think I have.
Well, here's another perfect example...
I got an email this week from someone I hadn't heard from in 2 years. (Have I mentioned that I love the internet? Why, yes, I think I have.)
Jim provided much needed encouragement, comic relief, a gathering spot for our writer's group (SPAM was it's official moniker, but that's another story...) and he was in large part responsible for keeping the last few threads of my sanity from fraying (it would probably be more accurate to say he was in large part responsible for keeping me from going totally wing-nut, but I'm trying to play down my nut-hatch eligibility, even in the past tense) when I went through a particularly rough patch a few years back (and I'll bet he doesn't know this).
He contacted me to congratulate me for getting into the semi-finals of the ABNA Contest.
That made me feel pretty darn good: A writing mentor from my past shows up out of the blue and gives me a pat on the back. I needed that. And coming from Jim it means a lot (Thanks, Jim).
As it turns out, I should be the one congratulating him.
And here's why:
He has a new book out!
Jim Lambert recently published The Winds of Life.
I haven't got my mitts on a copy of this book yet, but I know I have to read it. And not just because this is what he has to say about it:
"The poems in the book cover the entire gamut of emotions from the death of my sister to my reaction to being named Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year.”"
The main reason I'll be adding it to my bookshelf is because I've had the pleasure of reading some of his unpublished writings, so I know the book has got to be good.

You can order the book at his website www.jimlambertpoetry.com or over at Amazon.

I'll tell you more about it after my copy gets here.

Amazon Novel Contest

I did not make the next cut.

I wanted to let you guys know, but more importantly, I want to thank all of you who showed your support. Writing is lonely and your support really means a lot to me.
THANK YOU for the great show of encouragement! I needed that :).

I don't feel too bad about not advancing. There were quite a few really good excerpts that did not advance, so I feel as if I'm in good company. Just making it into the semi-finals really felt good. It was the first time that I've put a large project out for public review. Mostly, especially at first, it was scary, but also, it made me realize that my writing IS interesting. Odd perhaps, sometimes, but interesting and worthwhile.
Getting an outside opinion was exactly what I needed. So, I'm still writing and plan to continue, though not exclusively as I have several other worthwhile and interesting things going on, too.

So, what about Vultures?
I'm putting it back on the shelf.
Yes, really. I'm working on another book project, though I anticipate it taking two-three years to complete. At that time, I'll probably take another look.
In the meantime, I'm still writing some magazine articles, blogs, of course, and a couple of short stories.


Tonight PC and I are kayaking.
Really.
Only it's not all that adventurous: it's in the YMCA pool.
Hey, I've gotta start somewhere, right?

Quick Check

What have I been doing?

1. Research for what will probably be my next book. I've had two false starts this past year and, even with all the other stuff going on, I hope to make this idea stick. A 75,000 word novel...? Anyway, I spent several hours today looking through wills from as early as 1844 through 1950. Much more to say, but moving on.... (I said this was a quick check, remember?)
2. Floor planning for The 123. Using my own brain (including common sense and construction know-how), multiple books, & our consultants, I've come up with a floor plan. That I will alter. Again. And again.... I'm getting closer, though.
3. Getting outside as much as possible even though the weather is crappy in an attempt to stave off (is that a real usage for 'stave' or am I making it up?) the winter blues.
4. Looking for a giant coffee cup. Really.
5. Building The 123's new website and trying to organize it so that it makes sense. I want to pack in tons of info, but it's bare bones right now; I'm building and leaving room without making it seem too skimpy right now. Or at least I'm trying.
6. Drawing pictures of what the outside main entrance will look like.
7. Trying to keep the laundry pile from taking over the basement.
8. Trying to keep the dirty dishes from taking over the kitchen.
9. Trying to keep the kids from taking over my sanity.
10. Trying to keep the dog's foot from getting infected.
11. Trying....

So, lots of 123 stuff. Lots of normal stuff. Lots of stuff.

Bruises, Book-Moving Spree, & Publications

I'll be the first to admit that sometimes I'm just a wee bit nuts.
Okay, sometimes more than a wee bit, but I'm not going to discuss that here (Oops, wait a minute; keep reading.)

Anyway, I know I cannot be the only one who does this:

I have a very dark, painful, BIG bruise on the inside of my leg right above my knee (no, I'm not taking a picture - it's as big around as an average orange), and I have no idea how it got there. I don't remember whacking it, but I am very aware of it everytime I cross my legs when I'm seated or when I'm lying down on either side and my knees are touching.

I have tried to figure it out, but no recollection.

I have been doing this my whole life, even when I was a kid. Come to think of it, my kids do it, too. I don't disbelieve them when they say, "I don't know" to a horrible looking bruise on their (usually) shins, even though it HAD to be painful when it happened.

For me, I think it must happen when I'm concentrating on something else. For this particular bruise, it must have been sometime during the recent book-moving spree, but I cannot remember when.

Book-moving spree:
Two doors down from The 123, there's a fellow who's vacating the 4th floor. He doesn't live there -never has- but he has been storing things there for years. For the past two weeks he has had a crew of men sorting through and moving everything. He offered all the old books to me (okay, he offered after I asked, because I am a bibliophile) and I couldn't turn them down. I didn't even look first, I just said, "I'll take them!"
Thankfully, the guys helped me move them down the stairs (Thank you!). All three LONG flights of stairs. They had a dolly cart and were able to haul 5-6 boxes each trip. I ran up and down the stairs and hauled one box each trip (I counted it as my workout for the day). We stacked them randomly just inside the door of The 123, which means we were in the way of construction. So, I had to move them UP the stairs (all 22 of them) to my office (without exaggerating, there are 30-40 boxes of books, so I counted hauling them up to my office as a workout, too.)
The past couple of days, I've been unpacking them from their boxes and stacking them randomly on the floor, just to get an idea of what's there.
A large percentage of the books (20-30%) were published before the turn of the century. The LAST century (publicaton dates between 1850-ish and 1899!). A smaller percentage are related to West Virginia, so I'm excited to go through those more closely. There are magazines (in wonderful shape) from the 1920s, 30s, & 40s. There's Girls Life and Cosmopolitan, among others. The oldest (in good shape) that I've found is a Cosmopolitan from 1894!

The one thing that has struck me as significant in the cursory inspection is how similiar the ads are to today's "Buy Me!" freak show. Even in the 30s magazines, there is no hint of the Depression; they intend to sell their products, Depression be damned. I guess I always had this idea that we are living in an increasingly materialistic society - and it was a relatively new state of being. If I can extend my idea of relative, I may be right, but from what I've seen of the 100 year old magazines, not much has changed in the world of materialism and advertising in that amount of time.
As I go through all these books and mags in detail, I'll share some of the more interesting things I find.

Publications:
My deadline last week was for the 100th Anniversary Celebration of Mother's Day article for the Wonderful West Virginia Magazine. This is the first time I was asked to write an article (normally, I write the article -or have an idea for an article- and approach the editor of the publication I would like to publish it in) and I did not hesitate before shouting, "Yes! Absolutely! No Problem! When do you need it?" If I hadn't been so excited, I probably would have tried to sound less desperate, but being asked, instead of having to ask, made a HUGE difference to my ego. Desperate or not, I wasn't turning it down (I also don't care if I was asked because I'm the only contributor who lives in or near Grafton - I am still happy).

For those of you who don't know, the observance of Mother's Day as we celebrate it today (and as it was signed into law in the United States) originated here in Grafton, Taylor County, WV. The International Mother's Day Shrine, on the National Register of Historic Places, is located on Main St. If you're looking for something to do with your mother, this is a great place to visit. Mother's Day would be a good time, but our small town will be packed. However, you don't have to wait on Mother's Day, you can plan to come at any time; take at look at the schedule of events for the year. I'm pretty excited about the (black-tie) Ball at the B&O Railroad Heritage Museum; it'll be like stepping back in time to the boom days of Grafton as a major railroad hub.

Anyway, this particular article will be coming out in May.

I have another one (actually, a two-part story) that's scheduled to come out in the March issue (continued in the April issue) of the Wonderful West Virginia magazine. It's about the...no, wait, I'm not telling you right now. I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but I'm getting kind of long-winded today, so I'll save it to share with you when I'm doing my usual wildly excited "I'm a published author!" publication dance (that my family laughs at me for). Maybe the novelty of publication will wear off and I'll quit dancing everytime something I write gets printed.
But I doubt it.

Babbling (mostly) and referral to my review of Daryl Davis' lecture

I know I need to update here, but I'm standing next to a magazine deadline and I get all weird: My mind takes the article subject and rolls it around and won't let go; I'd liken it to the clothes dryer, but it's more like a washing machine with a very tough spin cycle. Or maybe one of those old wringer washers that Grandma had.
Anyway, as usual, I have plenty of material to finish the article, both collected and written, but I'm still trying to spit it back out on paper and make it sound not only coherent, but intelligent.

I'll tell you more about it later. After I get it finished and sent off to the editor...

Anyway, if you're jonesing for more material (I wish), you can find my most recent publication here.

I plan to beat the deadline by several days (I always have good intentions), but in case I don't: The deadline is next Friday. I've never missed a deadline, so I'll definitely be done and back to blogging by then.

Look for updates.

Judge Me for Publication!

Vultures is a semi-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest!

(Go here now to Read & Review Vultures. Click on the Download button for a 5,000 word excerpt.)

What does that mean, exactly?

Back in October I submitted a manuscript to the contest. (You can read about that here.)
By October 15th, I received confirmation of submission and on November 12th I got an email to accept the entry as valid (simply meaning I was one of the first 5,000 entrants and that my manuscript met the guideline rules).
Yesterday I received this:

"Thank you for participating in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. We received thousands of submissions and were impressed by the incredible talent and creativity seen in the entries. We are happy to inform you that you have been selected as a semi-finalist." (See the end of this post for the full letter - there are potential prizes for reviewers, too, so read on.)

The most exciting thing about advancing to the semi-finals is the fact that all the semi-finalists were chosen based on the merits of their work. That is much appreciated validation.

Now I need your help.

Ultimately the winner will be chosen based on the strength of their work (this is very important to me). However, not all semi-final entries will be reviewed equally! The manuscripts that receive the most positive reviews -both quality and quantity- will be chosen by the publisher for final review (go here and scroll down a bit for "What Makes a Good Review?").

This means that I need you to write a review of my book!

If you've been following along here at my blog, you'll have already read Chapter 2. And here is my official Amazon Entry page. Use the download button on the right-hand side of the screen to get the pdf file of Chapter 1, 2, & the opening of Chapter 3 (5,000 words). I think you can also link to it directly here, but you have to go back to the main page to submit you review (scroll down a bit to click on the "Create your own review" button).

Please take the time to read my excerpt and write a review. I value your honesty. If you find yourself at the end of the excerpt and want to read more, please pass this information on to your friends and family.
The winner will be awarded a publishing contract!
Essentially, by reviewing the semi-final entries, you are choosing a book for publication. There are 836(?) total entries in 5 genres; search through some of the other entries to read and review work from other aspiring authors.
I rarely (never) send out mass emails, but this is an exceptional opportunity; I am grateful for word-spreading and review-writing.

Go here now to Read and Review Vultures.

Thank you!


As promised, the entire text of the semi-finalist email. If choosing a book for publication isn't exciting enough, check out the final paragraph for reviewer prizes:

MK,
Thank you for participating in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. We received thousands of submissions and were impressed by the incredible talent and creativity seen in the entries. We are happy to inform you that you have been selected as a semi-finalist.
You can find your entry on Amazon.com via the following link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00124CNWQ, and access the main contest page where all entries are located at www.amazon.com/abna
Please note that we are continuing to update semi-finalist detail pages with any custom cover images that were submitted, editorial reviews, and other minor changes. These changes will appear online in the next few days.
Now that you're a semi-finalist, feel free to encourage friends and family to review yours and others' entries. The three customers who provide the most high quality reviews will be qualified to win one of three customer prizes, including an Amazon kindle reader, $2000 in Amazon gift card value, and an HP photo printer. Learn more at www.amazon.com/abna.
Good luck!
ABNA Admin Team

Amazon Novel Contest

Vultures made the cut.
I am a semi-finalist.
I will post details tomorrow.
:)

Limited Connectivity, Word Count, and Rambling.

I am at The 123 and the internet air wave is sparse. Maybe this will get posted. And maybe it won't.....

Word Count for the NaNoWriMo is up to 10,515 (that's this morning's count - I've added since then), still far below what it should be for this time of the month.
I have not given up yet.
I can make the word count.
What I mean is: I can write that much each day.
However, what I'm beginning to wonder is if this story even has that much substance to it.

I'm beginning to get the feeling that all the fleshing that I thought was here may not be. In other words, I don't think this story is worth 50,000 words. And I'm scared I'm not just saying that because I'm behind: I think this may actually turn out to be a more effective story in a much shorter version.
I guess that's okay, but I really thought there was more to this than a short story.
I think I was wrong.


So what do I do - keep plugging away and strive to make the word count? Or push towards carving this story into a finished version regardless of length?

On one hand - pushing for the word count could result in a bunch of useless gobbledly gook that gets thrown in the trash (I've already got plenty of that:)). OR it could result in the hatching of another story that would be better told separately. And then I'd still have to go back and clean everything up to make something stand alone.

On the other hand - finding and defining this story and making it stand up by itself would result in a finished project even though the finish is very different from what I had planned to accomplish.

Now I'm really rambling.
If it sounds bad out here, you should see the inside of my head.

What do you guys think? Not what do you think about the inside of my head, but what do you think about the story options? (Although comments about the goings-on inside my head are fine, too.)

The First Cut

Looks as if I made the first cut for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Here's the text from the notifying email:

Congratulations! We are emailing to notify you that your entry is eligible for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award.

Your Registration ID: 3**N*QC*A*

We take the contest review process very seriously, and are working diligently to consider each submission carefully. Submissions are now being reviewed by a team of Amazon editors and Amazon top reviewers. You should expect to be notified no later than January 15, 2008 if your entry will advance to the semi-final round.

Please keep in mind that if it becomes clear in the future that your entry violates our eligibility requirements, we reserve the right to disqualify your submission. For complete and official rules, go to http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200183240

Best of luck,ABNA Admin Team

However, I don't think it took much to make this first wave of eliminations. From what I was seeing on the forums, some people were worried about margin widths as an eliminating factor. The rules were specific about margins and related things, so I knew I'd be okay with that. Now the real judging begins: My entry will now be judged (and weighed against others) on my writing as opposed to how well I follow directions.