Possession Winner and Teaser Tuesday

And the winner is:

Riv Re - Yay!!!

E-mail me your address and I'll get the book out to you ASAP.

Thank you to all who entered and spread the word. Welcome to all my new followers.

And now for the Teaser Tuesday:

"I figured out how to cure mama. Take her to the voodoo priestess!"

 

Flash Fiction Blog Hop

Ali Cross from the Ali's Dojo blog is hosting a blog hop in honor of Independence day. The theme is "It's Independence Day and Anything Can Happen..." 
To join in the fun or read other entries go here.


Flash Fiction is hard for me so it's a little bit longer than 250 words. I wrote it this morning so be kind. Here's my entry:

BOOM

    “Gah! Get out of here you cursed birds.” Justin waved his spatula at the noisy black beasts, but one of them still managed to snatch a salmon fillet off the grill.

     Erica stifled a laugh when Justin swore and brandished the spatula about like he was a knight fighting a great foe.

     “I think a full-on scarecrow outfit is required,” Erica said, as she walked past the grill with the last of the dinner dishes. “You know, desperate times call for desperate measures.”

     “You're laughing now, but it was your fillet that nasty crow made off with,” Justin said. Erica glanced back at him just before entering The Salmon Bake. Justin's cocky wink turned her feet to jelly and she nearly tripped on the rug.

     The clean-up crew groaned when Erica came into the kitchen with more dishes.

     “This is the last I promise,” she said waving a used napkin like a white flag. It was nearly midnight when Erica finally pulled off her red visor and apron. She'd just allowed her dark hair to fall freely to her shoulders when she felt a warm body behind her.

     “You going to watch the fireworks?” Justin asked. Tingles ran down her neck when his breath whispered across her ear.

     “I planned on it, but it's too late now. I'm sure my friends have left already.”

     “Come with me. I've got front row seats in my motor boat.” He must have seen the hesitation on her face because he rushed on and said, “Live a little Erica. You've been here over a month and have yet to fraternize with the natives.”

     Erica had been in Haines, Alaska long enough to know that the natives left much to be desired. But she'd also been here long enough to know that Justin was...different.

     “All right.” A funny pressure squeezed her heart when Justin smiled down at her.

     They climbed into Justin's boat just as the last of the sun's rays disappeared behind the mountains. Erica still hadn't got used to the sunsets at midnight nor the sunrises three hours later, but tonight she was grateful—extremely grateful that she hadn't missed the fireworks or this moment.

     It was cold on the water, but Justin was prepared with jackets and blankets. Erica gasped when the first bursts of color glittered over their heads and showered the water with sparks. She sighed when Justin took hold of her hand. She felt heat building up inside her when he reached across her to tuck the blankets beneath her. She thought her heart might explode when he gazed into her eyes. His lips touched hers. Boom.

Don't forget to enter to win a signed copy of Possession by Elana Johnson. To Enter go here.

Enter To Win a Signed Copy of Possession By Elana Johnson

"Jag and I broke apart like we'd been caught making out by my mother."

~ Vi from Possession by Elana Johnson

First of all, I love the first person voice of Vi. Love it. She's so real and funny. I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, and I honestly spent a lot of time feeling confused as I read it. Just when I thought I was about to understand something, the bottom fell out and I was left in confusion again. But then I realized that the confusion is the brilliance of the story. Elana does a brilliant job of putting us right in Vi's head. Vi doesn't know what's going on or who to trust so neither should we. 


Second, loved Jag. Love him. Still don't know if he should be trusted, but I really, really hope he can be.

Thirdly, the world-building is very creative and well done. I wanted to know more about certain areas, but I get a feeling we will in the next book.


Lastly, the end gave me mixed feelings of horror and confusion, but it is still brilliantly executed. Vi doesn't know what's going on and neither should we.

Possession reminded me of the Uglies series by Scott Westerfield and Candor by Pam Bachorz, but Elana did an excellent job of melding these elements together to create something completely different. I'm really, really hoping that her next book, Fugitive, which will be a companion book to Possession, will have some answers. Please don't leave Vi and us hanging Elana.


If you'd like to enter to win a signed, hardback copy of Possession please leave a comment below and let me know you want it.


To earn extra points you could:

become a follower +2

already a follower +3

Tweet, blog, or facebook about the giveaway +1 each time you do it.

I'll randomly choose a winner on Monday, July 18th. This giveaway is only open to U.S. residents and Canada.

Hope ya'll have an awesome day.

Finisher Spotlight: Guest Post by Elana Johnson

As some of you know, I started a series of posts titled Finishers Wanted to help give me some motivation to finish my novel. 

Elana Johnson is one of the most awesome people I'm lucky enough to know. One of the things that makes Elana awesome is that she is a finisher.

In her own words Elana was kind enough to share with us what she thinks makes her a finisher:

Okay, so Mary asked me to talk a little bit about quitting, and why that’s simply not an option.

I think sometimes it’s just something deep within us. Sure, I’ve quit things before. Things like dieting and jobs and whatnot.

But when it comes to writing, I didn’t quit. Let me give you a quick background, in case you’re not familiar with my journey.

December 2007: Begin writing creatively.

May 2008: Begin querying first novel.

May – December 2008: Realize querying is really hard and/or the novel isn’t good enough. Keep querying anyway, because hey! You never know. (Hundreds of agents saying no apparently DO know. So yeah.)

January 2009: Smarten up. Revise new manuscript. Figure out how to write a query. Get ready to enter the trenches again.

I just want to pause right here and say that you need to give yourself time to see how the publishing industry works. I didn’t do that, as is pretty obvious in the fact that I queried a novel 5 months after I started writing.

So for this second round, I was geared up. I counted my first querying experience as just practice, just like my first novel was just for practice (as I know now).

So this time was for real. Could I do it? Would it be just as hard? I mean, my book was better; I knew more.

Aaand, yep, it was just as hard. Harder, actually, because I did know more. I queried POSSESSION for 8 months (April 2009 – November 2009), and sent 189 query letters and over 50 partials/fulls.

Were there times I wanted to quit? Absolutely. In fact, I think I IM’ed a friend last week and told her I wanted to quit. This publishing-a-book think isn’t for the weak, that’s for sure.

So why didn’t I?

I think it comes down to one thing: Life experience. I’d worked for something hard before—and gotten it. I knew from experience that if I worked at improving my writing, if I wrote another, better novel, and I didn’t give up, I’d achieve my goal.

I mean, I drove with my four-month-old infant son 100 miles round-trip 5 days a week to attend college. I could query another agent.

I worked out 9 times a week, only skipping Wednesday mornings to “sleep in.” I could handle another rejection.

I taught elementary school right up until my scheduled C-section. I could send a follow-up email.

I have worked for things in my life. I have gotten those things I work for, so I know that if I work hard enough and don’t quit, I’ll get what I seek.

And I think that’s why through those miserable 8 months, I was able to keep going. That, and having a friend to whine to really helps. *wink*

Wow - can you see why I think Elana is awesome? I feel so unworthy after reading this. Like I need a swift kick in the butt or the head to just get something done already.

Come back Wednesday and enter to win a signed copy of the book Elana never gave up on, Possession.


Elana Johnson thinks bacon should be eaten for every meal and chews bubble gum every single day. She is a founding author of the QueryTracker blog. She currently blogs for the League of Extraordinary Writers and helped to organize WriteOnCon. Elana also teaches, watches reality TV and drives too fast.
When she's not doing any of that, she writes young adult novels. Her debut YA novel, Possession was released in June 2011.

Finishers Wanted - Churchill and Lincoln

"Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never in nothing, great or small, large or petty -- never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense." ~ Winston Churchill

"I expect to maintain this contest until successful, or till I die, or am conquered, or my term expires, or Congress or the country forsakes me." ~ Abraham Lincoln

Both Lincoln and Churchill faced insurmountable odds as war threatened to tear their countries apart. Just imagine what the United States and England would be like today if these great men had not stayed the course.

 

 

Right Makes Might

Freedom is not the right to do what we want, but what we ought. Let us have faith that right makes might and in that faith let us; to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it. ~ Abraham Lincoln

God Bless America!!!

Happy 4th Everyone