hiatus

Hello, lovely wonderful readers. As much as it pains me to do this, I'm taking an Internet sabbatical to deal with personal stuff. Thank you all for being so wonderful to me, and I hope to be back soon!

yay! for happy days!

Talk about having a great day:

1. As I Wake is now officially out in bookstores--if you pick it up, I'd love to know what you think!

2. I've always longed to visit one of Anderson's Bookshop stores, and now I'm going to be able to? How? Because in what is a total dream come true, I'm going to be part of their Annual Young Adult Literature Conference next Saturday, September 24th.

Next week! As I Wake in stores!

Must go before I overload on !

"Here's what I need to save a life: coffee."

This month has just flown by, but I'm thrilled to say the lovely ladies of Merry Sisters of Fate invited me to share a short story, and I was beyond happy to to do.

You can read Sight here, or for feeds that strip out links, it's here: http://merryfates.com/2011/08/22/sight-by-elizabeth-scott/

I hope you read and enjoy it, and I'll be checking in to read and respond to comments!

my new fave pic! (and win a copy of Between Here and Forever!)

This came into my mailbox yesterday and I had to share because a. I love pugs and b. therefore I love this picture.



Comment here with the name (or better yet pic!) of your fave pic through midnight EST on Friday, August 5th, and the person who talks about/posts the pic I like best will win a signed copy of Between Here and Forever. You must have a US mailing addy, and make sure to leave a way for me to contact you!

interview with Jennifer Echols--and win a copy of her new book, Love Story!

Today, I'm doing a Girlfriends' Cyber Circuit interview with Jennifer Echols about her new book, Love Story




Me: Tell us about your book in ten words or less!

Jennifer: Erin writes about her crush and he reads the story!


Me: What's the best writing advice you've ever been given?

Jennifer: I was told by someone very close to me that my writing was awful, I would never be published, and I should quit. I did not take this advice. In fact, sometimes anger is a terrific motivator. (Me: Wow! Go Jennifer!)


Me: What do you wish you'd known about being published/publishing before your book/first book came out?

Jennifer: Bestsellers are made, not born. Usually the publisher has to get behind a book and pay for it to become a bestseller, so if that’s going to happen, you’ll know way ahead of time. No surprises. (Me: I have to agree with Jennifer on this one (I was nodding so hard when I read it, I'm surprised my head didn't fall off!) although I think that very rarely, a book will become a huge hit based on word of mouth. But it is--well, rare.)


Me: What's the last book you read that you loved so much you had to tell everyone about it?

Jennifer: There are so many of these! When I love a book, I tell EVERYBODY. So I’ll go with my critique partner Victoria Dahl’s adult historical romance, A Little Bit Wild, which was a finalist in the RITA. (Me: that's a big deal, as it's a huge romance award!)


Me: I hear people can win a copy of Love Story...

Jennifer: There are lots of giveaways of Love Story--and other prizes--going on all over the web right now. I am linking to them, so check my blog at jenniferechols.livejournal.com.


Me: Well, you know..

Suzanne: Newman’s Own used to have a Southwest ranch dressing that I absolutely loved, but I can’t find it anymore. My tomatoes and I are unhappy. (Me: Awwww!)


Thanks Jennifer for stopping by, and to help celebrate the release of Love Story, I'm giving one copy away!

How can you win it? All you need is a US mailing addy, and to leave a comment telling me what you'd do if your crush (present or past) read something you'd wrote about him/her by midnight EST tomorrow, July 29th.

link-o-rama!

Lots of links to share:

From Genreality, a great post about what it's like the day after your novel comes out

Over at Pimp My Novel, a fab guest post on rejections

Pimp My Novel on Borders closing, and what it means to publishing

Over at YA Outside The Lines, they've been dishing out one gem after another, starting with Do What Works For You (to which I say, Amen!), That Middle Place (I swear, this could be, okay it SO is me: "And maybe...not stress so much? I've never tried this approach. It does not come naturally."), Writing As An Extreme Sport (I can't get over Lynsay Sands's schedule either!), and finally, a truly wonderful post about Borders closing and, in my mind, more importantly how utterly hard it can be for teenagers to find books to read--"However for the numerous subdivisions across the freeway, no public library exists. I actually offered extra credit last year for my seniors (the high school at which I’ve taught for the past number of years is also across the freeway) if they got and showed me a public library card. The vast majority did not have one until this motivated them to get one. At first this shocked me. Actually it still does. But freeways, as my husband the retail guy often reminds me, are like mountains. If you have to go that far to get to something, often you just don’t."

Writer Unboxed is also cranking out some interesting pieces: Reasons Why Your Online Marketing Doesn't Work, a feel-good post where best-selling authors talk about what keeps them writing, a knock-out post on characterization and one on the power of unplugging from the Internet

Food!

You got love recipes to beat the heat during a heat wave (featuring car-baked cookies!)

There's also Brown Butter and Brown Sugar Muffins and Butterfinger Oatmeal Cookies

interview with Melissa Walker

Today, I'm doing a Girlfriends' Cyber Circuit interview with the utterly fabulous Melissa Walker about her new book, Small Town Sinners




Me: Tell us about your book in ten words or less!

Melissa: Good church girl meets boy who asks questions. Falls hard. (Me: OOOH!)


Me: What's the best writing advice you've ever been given?

Melissa: A magazine editor gave me a note on a going-nowhere story once that simply said, "Someone has to change." Great edit! (Me: I totally agree--that is a great edit!)


Me: What do you wish you'd known about being published/publishing before your book came out?

Melissa: I wish I'd known that there are things you can control (like the content of your book) and things you can't (most everything else). So don't stress about the uncontrollables! (Me: This is great advice but can be, at least for worriers like me, SO hard!)


Me: What's the last book you read that you loved so much you had to tell everyone about it?

Melissa: Tara Altebrando's Dreamland Social Club--it is summery and magical.


Me: Oh, you know what I'm going to ask now...

Melissa: Balsamic vinaigrette. I love the tang!


Me: I hear your book had something very special happen to it...

Melissa: You mean the review, right?

Me: Yep. You're being way too modest, so I'm going to shout it to the world: Small Town Sinners got an awesome review in the NEW YORK TIMES!!!