Thursday brings no more nightmares (I hope!) and a free book...

I can't remember the last time I was glad to get up, as normally I will lie in bed until I absolutely have to get up, but this morning, I could not *wait* to get out of bed. Why? Million dollar check on my lawn? I wish! A shower of free books on my doorstep? Alas, no. (But wouldn't that be lovely?)

Rather, I gladly got up this morning because I had the weirdest thing happens last night. I had a nightmare, and it woke me up. I did the usual things--you shake off the dream, you look around, you think "Good! A dream!" and then go back to sleep.

But then the nightmare started again. And it would. not. stop. I woke up every single hour from it until I couldn't stand it, and then I just hopped out of bed and read for a while to try and clear my head.

I feel better now, but it was just... strange. I technically got plenty of sleep, but when you have the same nightmare in a non-stop, never-ending arc for over three hours (minus the times where you wake up and go "What? Why is this still happening?"), does any of that time count as sleep?

Has anyone else had a nightmare that just would not go away? And if you have, any tricks you know of to make it go away?

Anyway! In an effort to cheer myself up, I'm going to do one of the things I love most, and that's give away a free book! Today, it's Melissa De La Cruz's latest Blue Bloods novel, the outstanding The Van Alen Legacy.

For your chance to win, all you have to do is leave a comment telling me what you'd rather see from an author right before/as a book comes out: a book trailer or a virtual signing party? Just leave your comment before midnight EST tomorrow, November 13th, and then I'll pick one name at random and that person will get The Van Alen Legacy!

And, of course, the links:

Agent Jessica Faust on why agents turn down queries -- "I think the biggest reason I reject something is that it just doesn’t excite me."

Pimp My Novel on movie tie-in novels

Interesting post from Genreality about what to do when you're stuck on a writing project -- Some great tips, but I think my favorite it this: "Move Forward.

John Scalzi talks about writers and financial woes -- as he wisely points out--and in a neat list of 10--writers aren't the only people suffering in the current economy, but he also goes on to offer his thoughts as to why some writers may be suffering a bit more (starting with 3 and running through 10.)

Agent Kirstin Nelson on sales thresholds for Out Of Print status in contracts--one of the things I think every writer should do is learn as much as they can about the industry, and this is one of those things that doesn't get discussed a lot but that you need to know about.

Agent Jessica Faust on putting your credentials in your query letter

The Intern has more inspired revision tips

A solid list of ten tips for aspiring writers

If you read only one of the links I post today, make it this one--Agent Rachelle Gardner talks about how much it really costs a publisher to buy your book

One last thing...don't forget to let me know what you'd rather see right when a book is supposed to come out--a trailer or a virtual book signing!