Giveaway: A LITTLE SALTY TO CUT THE SWEET by Sophie Hudson

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Anne Riley

THE DAY YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR HAS ARRIVED.

I promised you a giveaway of this delightful book, and today, I DELIVER.

If you missed this blog post in which I (metaphorically) lit some sparklers and did an interpretive dance about my love for this hilarious and touching collection of southern stories, well, ALLOW ME TO REMIND YOU what this book is all about and why I’m singing its praises from the rooftops.

First, there’s this blurb from THE PIONEER WOMAN (yes, from Food Network, they are ONE AND THE SAME):

“Well, it’s official: I’m in love with this book. Sophie Hudson is hilariously appreciative of her very Southern roots, and she shares tales of all the experiences (and the lovably eccentric relatives!) that shaped her. Threads of love, family, and faith hold the stories together, but it’s Sophie’s laugh-at-life humor that sings forth from every page. She writes as if you’re sitting on her front porch drinking a tall glass of sweet tea, and it’s impossible not to come away from each chapter without feeling like you know her a little better. I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun reading a book.”

–Ree Drummond, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Secondly, there’s the book trailer, which I can’t stop watching mostly because I just love to hear Sophie talk:

And thirdly, there is a story in this book entitled “The Night We Neither Camped Nor Fished” that about had me peeing my pants. (Which is kind of appropriate, considering the humorous bodily functions that feature in that particular anecdote.)

Oh, and here’s Sophie.

HELLO, FRIEND.

I loved this book so much I bought an extra copy at Sophie’s release party and made her sign it so I could give it away to one lucky Anne Riley Books grasshopper.

If you would like to win a signed paperback of A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet, please throw your name in the Rafflecopter below. As always, there are several opportunities to get more than one entry! (Sophie didn’t ask me to put any of those there; in fact, she’ll probably be embarrassed when she sees them because she will feel like she’s imposing herself on you.) (Even though I’ve assured her this is not the case.)

SO. Here we go. U.S. Residents only, please, and it ends on Friday the 21st. Oh, and one more thing: this book does deal a lot with faith in God (Sophie is a Christian, like me), so if that is not your particular cup of tea, you won’t hurt anyone’s feelings by not entering.

Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor…

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Posted in Giveaways | 33 Comments

Nobody Told Me I Could Die Of Outlining

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Anne Riley

Look at this picture, Grasshoppers.

Yes. It is a picture of pants. Very cute green pants. But more specifically, it is a picture of what I like to FLY BY THE SEAT OF when I write.

However, a tragedy has befallen my pants, and I fear that my days of flying by the seat of them may have come to an end.

It is the end of an era.

A four-and-a-half-year era.

Since August 1, 2008–the day I first began to write The Clearing (which then became Shadows)–I’ve been a PANTSER.

This is good advice in most areas of life.

Now, I realize many people outside the Writer Bubble may not know what a pantser is. Basically it’s a writer whose imagination is so wildly out of control that they are incapable of outlining before writing. So while a pantser does very little work on the FRONT side of the novel and may seem to complete a first draft in no time at all, the truth of the matter is once the first draft is done, they may very well DIE before they finish revisions.

This happened to me with The Clearing / Shadows. I think I may have done 20-25 rounds of revisions on that manuscript, one of which included a MASSIVE cut (20,000 words) and a complete reconfiguration of the ending.

It happened again with Synthesis, which is the Manuscript We Shall Not Speak Of Nor Bring To The Light Of Day.

And it happened again with Pull; I don’t know how many different endings I went through before finally landing on the version that found a home with Agent Emma. No, my revisions weren’t as drastic as The Clearing, but they were still labor-intensive enough to almost make me a crazy(er) person.

AND GUESS WHAT YOU GUYS, GUESS WHAT?

Oh, yes. It is happening to me AGAIN.

Creepy Faces is one of my favorite stories EVER and yet I also hate it to the very core of its being because: 1) I did not take the time to plan out all the details before I started writing; 2) it is MUY COMPLICADO, and to think I could “figure it out” as I wrote it was the arrogantest of arrogant things to think.

Because I CANNOT FIGURE IT OUT.

However.

Thanks to a phone call with Agent Emma in which she was able to verbalize some of the concerns I’d felt deep in my Soul Region, I’ve got a much better idea of how to ground the story and keep it from turning into a story monster that grows new plot arms every time you turn around.

But it means something rather frightening. (More frightening than a story monster with spontaneously generating plot arms.)

Yes, I have to cut things. Yes, I’ll have to do A LOT more writing. But the thing that scares me the most is that I have to OUTLINE THE ENTIRE STORY.

I know, Squirrel. It makes me stress eat, too.

Because if I don’t outline, do you know what will happen? DO YOU?

I’ll get lost again. I’ll forget what happened in the first half of the book, and I’ll come up with an ending that completely contradicts something important, and I’ll have to scrap it all and do it again. And again. AND AGAIN.

So what I’m saying, Grasshoppers, is I think I’m transforming into a plotter. I’ve even begun work on a second outline for an NA contemporary that hasn’t been written yet. Not a word.

(Okay, that’s a lie, I think I have a paragraph somewhere. But I wrote that paragraph BEFORE my metamorphosis from pantser to plotter began.)

I know what some people say about plotting: it’s boring, it takes all the fun out of it, you feel like you’re at work. I get how that could be true.

But if it keeps me from running around with my hair on fire after Revision #34 in which I have deleted three characters and then realize I want one of them back but then they don’t fit in with the ending and that middle section is kind of slow and do I even need that one part with the mutant snails?

If it keeps THAT from happening, then maybe, JUST MAYBE, it’s worth it. Although I make no guarantees, because I’m still convinced I may die of outlining. It’s such a tease, you know? Thinking of the story all the time but not actually writing it. GUH.

What do you think? Are you a pantser or a plotter, and why?

Posted in Pearls of (Almost) Wisdom, Thoughts On Writing | 3 Comments

Most Watermarks Are Not This Exciting (Giveaway!)

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Anne Riley

The fabulous Krissi Dallas and I first connected a couple years ago as I was self-publishing The Clearing. Krissi had self-published her first novel as well–a YA fantasy called Windchaser. But then the book was picked up by Tate Publishing, and lo, Krissi found herself traditionally published.

Needless to say, her story was a great inspiration to me.

I don't know if I mentioned this, but Krissi has the coolest hair ANYWHERE.

Also, Krissi has the coolest hair ANYWHERE.

I read Windchaser soon after exchanging emails with Krissi, and I loved, LOVED, the story. Mystery? Check. Summer camp setting, rife with opportunities for flirting and romantic misunderstandings? Check. Alternate world with attractive guys? Check, check, CHECK.

Watermark, the fourth installment of the YA fantasy Phantom Island series by Krissi Dallas, is finally releasing this fall–and I get to help reveal the cover! Ready?

I just ADORE her covers. They are so vibrant, yet clean and simple. PERFECTION.

If you haven’t jumped on board this island adventure full of magic, mystery, and romance, now is your chance–because this cover reveal comes with a GIVEAWAY for U.S. residents!

Enter to win an autographed Phantom Island trilogy pack, an autographed copy of Watermark when it releases, a tribal t-shirt, or an autographed copy of The Collector by debut author Victoria Scott! The giveaway will be open for entries until Friday, June 14.

You can enter through the Rafflecopter at the end of this post, but FIRST, Grasshoppers, let me introduce you to Watermark by Krissi Dallas!

* * *

Excerpt:

I stared at her in frustration. “What is with you?!” I exploded. She was not acting like my best friend. Like my Morgan. “You’ve been so different this summer, and I don’t get it!”

“Well, you’ve been different too! People change, you know,” she snapped back.

“If I’ve changed, fine. But at least I’m still honest with you. You, however, have turned into a liar! If we don’t have trust between us, then what do we have, Morgan?”

* * *

Plot Synopsis:

Relationships on the White Island are volatile and Whitnee, Morgan, and Caleb aren’t sure who they can trust—even each other. Politicians are lying, history is being rewritten, and motives are questionable. Whitnee sets out with Gabriel and a band of rebel spies to take back the enemy’s biggest weapon—Whitnee’s father. However, a shocking turn of events proves once again that the Island’s secrets have the power to destroy more than just the truth. Separated from her friends, Whitnee battles her own fears in order to survive and protect the ones she loves. But when Morgan’s illness finally comes to light, Whitnee faces a decision that could alter her future—and Morgan’s—forever. And whether she ultimately stays on the Island or leaves might not be her choice, after all.

* * *

“…[An] earnest tale of magic and romance that deals with the great distance between pain and recovery.” –Kirkus Reviews (Windchaser, Phantom Island Book 1)

* * *

Meet the Author:

Krissi Dallas loves pop music, mismatched socks, and fried chicken. She lives in Fort Worth, Texas with her youth minister husband, Sam, and their two wicked Yorkies, Elphie and Luna. Krissi enjoys hanging out with her quirky middle school students and building the dramatic, magical, and mysterious world that makes up the Phantom Island series. Be sure to check out Windchaser, Windfall, and Watercrossing. Krissi loves connecting with teens, as well as readers and writers of all ages! You can stalk her online at www.KrissiDallas.com.