Mindy McGinnis's "Not a Drop to Drink" COVER REVEAL!! WOO!!

Alright, I've been waiting on this cover FOREVER. I mean, the night before it was revealed, I actually dreamt of two possible covers for it!

Mindy McGinnis, the author of NOT A DROP TO DRINK, is BBC over at Agent Query Connect. Let me tell you, she is SO, SO funny, and so helpful. Brighton (another AQC member) and I are known as "the boys" by her because we got Query Critiques from her. She is also hilarious. I mean, just watch this video:

and this one!

SHE IS SO FUNNY! I can keep watching her videos over and over.

ANYWAY. Back to the book cover.

Here it is!

I do not own this picture. Katherine Tegen Books,
Harper Collins, Mindy McGinnis, and basically, the designers
of this book do.

You can win an ARC for this book on this website, where the rest of the details of the books are as well (for example, the summary, which I've copied and pasted below).

Lynn knows every threat to her pond: drought, a snowless winter, coyotes, and, most importantly, people looking for a drink. She makes sure anyone who comes near the pond leaves thirsty, or doesn't leave at all.

Confident in her own abilities, Lynn has no use for the world beyond the nearby fields and forest. Having a life means dedicating it to survival, and the constant work of gathering wood and water. Having a pond requires the fortitude to protect it, something Mother taught her well during their quiet hours on the rooftop, rifles in hand.

But wisps of smoke on the horizon mean one thing: strangers. The mysterious footprints by the pond, nighttime threats, and gunshots make it all too clear Lynn has exactly what they want, and they won’t stop until they get it….

With evocative, spare language and incredible drama, danger, and romance, debut author Mindy McGinnis depicts one girl’s journey in a barren world not so different than our own.

DOESN'T THAT SOUND FANTASTIC? I can't wait until September 9th, when it comes out.

Head over to her blog to congratulate her!

Thanks for all your help with AQC, Mindy.

And, CONGRATS!!

The Secret to Overcoming Writer's Lag

writer's lag: n. a period of time when a writer just doesn't write for no apparent reason at all other than lethargy.

(Honestly, I have no idea how proper dictionary formatting is, so let the above formatting be adequete.)

Writer's lag is not writer's block. Lag is when the writer just doesn't write; they blog, they Tweet, they social-network-ize, they read, everything. But when they remember they should be writing, they get all fidgety and guilty. Yea, that sounds like me right now. I should be writing right now, and instead I'm blogging because I can't open the word document.

I just came across this quote on Twitter:

"The secret to getting ahead is getting started." -- Agatha Christie. That should be my motto, and NaNoWriMo's as well. That is one awesome quote.

Here are the steps to the secret of overcoming lag.

Step 1:

Write.

Just pull up the word document, and type the first word. It doesn't matter about the scene coming up and how you will set it up and how oh-so-hard it will be and how you don't know where to begin -- stop. Write the freaking first word.

Everything flows SOOOOO much faster after that first word. The 2nd hardest thing to do is pull up the document; the hardest is writing that first word instead of Youtubing Adele music videos.

However, we writers (at least, me) have only a little self-discipline, so we need something more tangible.

Step 2:

This.



Just sign up.

If you're struggling through your edits and drafting because of writer's lag, sign up for NaNoWriMo. This is the perfect time to be a lagging writer because November is coming up! So start smiling, you lag-writers (me included), because this opportunity just fell in your lap.

If you get lag in March, pretend you have a PerMarchWriMo (Personal March Writing Month). Have as many as you want, and post a sign saying "1,667 words" (or maybe even 2,000) above your workspace.

Just do it. Don't overthink it.

(See Step 4)

Step 3:

A community.

If you don't have one, I strongly strongly strongly (STRONGLY) suggest you join one. Maybe you have a writers' group around your library? Maybe you can create one? Maybe you can just talk to your non-writer friends about it? Or maybe go here or here or the many other writerly websites around the Internet. ANYTHING! The groups will spur you on and keep you going; I owe Agent Query Connect a HUGE debt of gratitude for keeping me going. Huge. Also, many famous writers have had famous writerly friends: JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis; Hemingway and Fitzgerald, and many more.

Step 4:

Don't over think it. That is usually the root cause of writer's lag. Don't think, "Oh gosh, 2,000 words, oh gosh, will I have time, should I wait until night to start it, because my cousins are coming over in thirty minutes." Just write. Don't over think it!

The biggest, BIGGEST hardship in writers' lag (not block) is pulling up the word document and typing that first sentence. It's dreadful and foreboding. All you need to do is get comfy, pull up the laptop, and don't over thinking it. Just do.

Now I need to take this advice :) I'm hoping NaNoWriMo will spur me on, and I'm signing up as soon as I finish up this post! Wish me luck!

Have you guys ever experienced writer's lag? How do you overcome it? And who's doing NaNoWriMo?

Cover Reveal! GRAVE INTENTIONS -- Lori Sjoberg

Well, well, we have here the lovely Lori Sjoberg, writer and fellow AQCer :)

Her new book, GRAVE INTENTIONS, is graced with....

(Drum roll, please.)

THIS

beautiful cover! (The inclusion of the scythe mans it up a bit for me. Awesome touch.)

*Applause, applause*

Here is a little interview with Lori about her new book :) It sounds to DIE for (you'll see my cleverness in this when you read the interview. My humor is killing me).

Now for Lori:

1.  Give me one word describing your book. - ONE?

You're killing me here. (Yay :)  Score one for me!) Okay, I would say the one word that best describes Grave Intentions is "Rebirth."

1a. OK, now you can go a bit more in depth :) What's your book about?

 Grave Intentions is the story of David Anderson, a Grim Reaper who's lost his grip on humanity, and Sarah Griffith, a mortal woman who fears she's losing her mind.  When their lives become entangled, each experiences a rebirth of sorts.  Sarah breathes new life onto the dying embers of David's humanity, while David opens Sarah's mind to a reality she's never considered.  And just when things are looking great, Fate throws a wrench into the works...

TOLD YOU my above humor was clever!!!

2. What part of the cover do you love the most?

Two words: Man Cleavage. Is that some major eye candy or what?

3. What is the story behind this book? In other words, how was the writing journey, and what difficulties did you face in writing it?

I'm one of those writers who doesn't write in chronological order.  I write whatever scenes pop into my head and eventually stitch them all together to form a cohesive story.  For Grave Intentions, the end scene was the first to come to mind, so I had to reverse engineer the rest of the story.  That meant trying to figure out who these characters were, and why they were doing what they were doing.  (David came to me pretty quickly, but Sarah took a bit of fine tuning before I was satisfied with her character.)  Once that was accomplished, I wrote a very general outline and went from there.  The process proved difficult at times, especially when trying to stitch everything together and some of the pieces don't fit.  There were several scenes that simply had no place in the manuscript, so they're forever buried deep in the recesses of my hard drive.

4. What is your favorite scene in the book? (You CAN tease.)

At one point, Sarah assumes that David and his male apprentice are actually a couple. When David finds out, his reaction is priceless. (Actually, my favorite scene is the final scene, but I don't want to say anything to give it away.)
My favorite scenes are usually the conclusions as well.

5. Which is your favorite character? Why?

The heroine, Sarah Griffith.  I loved writing her because she's smart and strong, but far from perfect.  Her family has a history of mental illness, which is one of the reasons she's pursued a career in medical research.  She's fiercely analytical, and refuses to believe in ghosts, or ghouls, or anything that can't be scientifically proven.  Imagine her surprise when she discovers her next door neighbor is the harbinger of death.  

6. If you could compare your book to any other book in the world (or other worlds), which would it be?

 Jeez, that's tough. I haven't read any books that share enough of the same elements to draw an in-depth comparison to Grave Intentions. On A Pale Horse has some similarities in regards to the physical incarnation of death, while No Rest for the Wicked has similarities in character arc and tone. 

7. What do you feel would be the best compliment to receive on this book?

 That s/he loved the book so much they put it on their keeper shelf.

8. Main drive of your book: Characters, or plot?

Characters. The plot serves as a catalyst for Sarah & David's character arcs.

Ooh, I like the sound of that! That's one of my favorite types of books.

9. Best sentence ever from your book. (Hehehe, I'm evil.)

I'm going to cheat and use two. Not sure if they're the best, but I love the way they set the tone for the scene, and David's attitude about being a reaper:
"And then everything grew quiet, leaving only the smell of burnt rubber and the faint whimper of the dying."

"Time to get to work."

10. Lastly, what is your biggest guilty pleasure?

Peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches. It's a meal and a snack, all rolled into one. What more could you ask for?


That's the end :) Thanks for allowing me to host your reveal!

My pleasure. That comparison question was brutal! Thanks again for the opportunity!

***

After graduating from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Lori worked for nearly a decade in retail management. When that got boring, she switched to financial planning, and then insurance. The writing bug bit a few years later. After completing her first manuscript, she joined the Romance Writers of America and Central Florida Romance Writers. Now she exercises the analytical half of her brain at work, and the creative half writing paranormal romance. When she’s not doing either one of those, she’s usually spending time with her husband and children of the four-legged variety.

You can socialize with the amazing Lori on:

Her Website
Her Twitter
Her Facebook

(And read her full bio on her website. It's funny :) )

Hope you had fun! What are your thoughts on the cover?