Rach Writes...

Campaigner Notice-Board (Friday, March 9th, 2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Rachael Harrie) — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 02:01:00 +0000

Check out these great blogfests, contests, and other announcements:

From Megan at The Bittersweet Blog: We’re having a giveaway! Get Feedback on your Novel. Check it out here!
From Jessica Therrien at Jessica Therrien: From Imagination to Publication: I'll be bouncing around blogs for my OPPRESSION Blog Tour. Stop by the tour stops and comment to win some great prizes.
From Ryann Kerekes at Novel Addiction: Skip the slush! Let me refer you! Hosting a query contest with my agents. Winner gets a referral. Check it out over here!
From Meradeth at Write Stuff: To celebrate the release of my cover for my debut novel, Colors Like Memories, I'm holding a little contest. Enter to win a book of your choice!
From Sher A Hart at Sher A Hart: My Best Part: I added a contest, open through the end of March, to my campaign challenge entry. Guess my three word challenge theme or come closest to the ending of my book pitch, and you can win one of two prizes, a large envelope mailer of books from my collection (US only) or $10 USD in books (worldwide). You can come back and guess as many times as you want. I'll add more hints in the last week if nobody is close by then. Also, I have a books and chocolate contest posted on my, ahem, "Win chocolate and books" page. It ends on the 10th of March and the next goes from March 11th -10 April. This may be the last one with chocolate because when I buy it for the winner, I also buy some for me. Check it out here!
From Danika Dinsmore at The Accidental Novelist: The final round of the 50 First Lines challenge is on. Anyone can join in the fun. Deadline for this round is midnight PST on Monday, March 12 – Visit my blog for details!
Brooke R. Busse at Paper Mountain: This month, my blog is all about YOU! Have a book coming out, a blogfest, or just simply want to advertise yourself? Stop by to learn how.

If you have a blogfest, a contest, or a something-or-other you want me to let people know about, fill out this form and I'll run your announcement in the following Friday's post. Make sure you include all the details please. If your announcement is for a continuing event that you want included in other Notice-Boards, you'll need to fill out the form again each week.

Winners - First Campaigner Challenge (Fourth Campaign)

noreply@blogger.com (Rachael Harrie) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 11:21:00 +0000

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Well, the votes and judging for the First Campaigner Challenge are now in, and I'm really excited to be able to announce all the winners in this post! With 210 awesome entries in the Challenge, and hundreds of people voting on those they liked the best (not to mention the fantastic work by the judges), it's been an awesome few weeks. I hope you've all had a great time too!

As with previous Challenges, Winners have been chosen in three categories:

People's Choice Awards - chosen by you in the voting (by clicking "Like" on the entries);
Places awarded by the judges, who've done an absolutely fantastic job of winnowing 210 entries down to the top 10 under the supreme organizational genius of Michael Offutt; and
Random prizes (chosen by Mr. Random.org).

Before I reveal the winners, I'd love you all to offer up a huge thanks to five awesome people who helped me out with this First Campaigner Challenge. Michael Offutt, who single-handedly organized the legion of judges through three rounds of judging and brought order into the depths of chaos - I couldn't have done this without him! And Ozlem Yikici, Steph Schmidt, and Kathleen Doyle, who've done an amazing job administering the prizes and communicating with the prize donors. I'd also like to thank K.T. Hanna, for all her awesome help with the Campaigner Notice-Board.

To thank them for all of their help, I'd love them to accept this Campaign Appreciation Badge :)

And now to the winners...*drumroll* (We have heaps of prizes, so if by chance you receive a US only prize but you live internationally, email me asap and we'll see what we can come up with).

People's Choice Awards

First Place: Kevin Hiatt (120 votes)
Second Place: Jessica McKendry (108 votes)
Third Place: Carrie Butler (48 votes)
Fourth Place: David Powers King (42 votes)
Fifth Place: Alynza (37 votes)
Sixth Place: Morgan Shamy (33 votes)
Seventh Place (tied): Alyssa McKendry (30 votes)
Seventh Place (tied): Rachel Morgan (30 votes)

Congratulations guys!!! And as for what you've won, here it is:

In First Place, Kevin Hiatt has won:

A full manuscript critique, donated by Carl Duzett. Carl says: “I will provide a critical read of a full-length work. The winner must contact me via email with their work attached. My feedback will be honest and geared towards improvement, not towards validation. Allow a 2-3 week turnaround on the critique.”
ARCs of Anna Carey's EVE (YA Dystopia), Martha Southgate's A TASTE OF SALT (Contemporary Fiction), and Jennifer Castle's THE BEGINNING OF AFTER and/or AMERICAN DERVISH, donated by Jenn Baker-Henry (US/Canada only).

In Second Place, Jessica McKendry has won:

A critique of the first five chapters/twenty pages of your manuscript (whichever is longer) or a complete short story. In addition I will offer a critique for the overall design of your book cover and advice on artistic direction, donated by Ozlem Yikici.
ARCs of INTERRUPTED by Rachel Coker (release March 2012), NUMBERS INFINITY by Rachel Ward (Release May 2012), and ONCE by Anna Carey (Release July 2012), donated by Alison Miller.

In Third Place, Carrie Butler has won:

A detailed 20 page critique (double-spaced) or first chapter critique (whichever is smaller), and a $15 Barnes & Noble voucher (by email), donated by K.T. Hanna.
An ARC of LIVING VIOLET by Jaime Reed, and a copy of HEREAFTER by Tara Hudson, donated by Akossiwa Ketoglo (US/Canada only).
A copy of the ebook CURSE OF ANCIENT SHADOWS (YA Fantasy) by Rod Tyson, donated by Rod Tyson.

In Fourth Place, David Powers King has won:

A partial critique (up to 30 pages) of a manuscript and/or query letter donated by Jenn Baker-Henry .
A signed copy of Holly Black’s WHITE CAT, donated by Celesta (US only).
The first three books in the Sefuty Chronicles by Alberta Ross (e-books from Smashwords, in the format the winner prefers), donated by Alberta Ross.

In Fifth Place, Alynza has won:

A query and first chapter critique, donated by Mark Koopmans.
A TOUCH MORTAL by Leah Clifford, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE by Beth Revis, SNITCH by Allison van Diepen, donated by Liz (US only)
Book Swag (for ORACLE by J.C. Martin) including postcard, bookmarks, and magnet, donated by J.C. Martin.

In Sixth Place, Morgan Shamy has won:

A first chapter or first 2000 words critique, donated by Lynda R. Young.
An ebook copy of URCHIN KING (YA Historical Fantasy) by Katherina Gerlach (Smashwords voucher or directly via email), donated by Katherina Gerlach.

In Seventh Place, Alyssa McKendry has won:

A first chapter critique, donated by Amymarie

In Seventh Place, Rachel Morgan has won:

A 10 page critique of a manuscript, donated by Jenny.

Judging Round

The prizes below have been awarded based on the standard of your entries, as judged by our awesome judges! Once the judges had determined the top 10 Finalists, I decided which place each Finalist would be awarded. And boy was it hard, the entries were all SOOOO good!

Here are the Finalists and their prizes:

First Place: Kevin Hiatt (and congratulations on winning both first places!)
Second Place: Sher A Hart
Third Place: Angeline Trevena
Fourth Place: Brooke R. Busse
Fifth Place: Carrie Bastyr
Sixth Place: Kerri Cuevas
Seventh Place: Sarah Pearson
Eighth Place: Esther Spurrill-Jones
Ninth Place: Andy Brokaw
Tenth Place: Tara Tyler

Congratulations, you all really deserve it!!!

In First Place, Kevin Hiatt has won:

A $20 Amazon/Kindle giftcard, donated by Melissa.
A signed copy of BRISTOL bOYZ STOMP by Doreen McGettigan and a 100 page critique, donated by Doreen McGettigan.
A copy of HOOKED: WRITE FICTION THAT GRABS READERS AT PAGE ONE AND NEVER LETS THEM GO by Les Edgerton, donated by Christine Tyler (USPS media mail - US only).

In Second Place, Sher A Hart has won:

A book of the winner’s choosing up to a $15 value on Amazon, donated by David P. King.
A 5K or 20 page critique (whichever comes first), donated by Melissa.
A signed copy of each of the current books in the MEANT TO BE series (MEANT TO BE and THE COUPLES) by Richard Alan (and a free download via Smashwords coupon of both books), donated by Richard Alan (US/Canada only).
An ebook copy of OPRESSION (CHILDREN OF THE GODS #1) by Jessica Therrien, donated by Jessica Therrien.

In Third Place, Angeline Trevena has won:

A query and first 20 page critique, donated by Cortney Pearson.
A $10 e-giftcard to Barnes & Noble, donated by Komal Lewis.
An ARC of GRIMM by Anna Waggener, donated by Anna Waggener (US/Canada only).
An ebook copy of CURSE OF ANCIENT SHADOWS by Rod Tyson, donated by Rod Tyson.

In Fourth Place, Brooke R. Busse has won:

A $10 Amazon gift card, donated by Lady Gwen.
A signed copy of ARTICLE 5 by Kristen Simmons and a first chapter critique, donated by Julie Maughon.
A copy of DARK MIND by Jennifer Chase, donated by Jennifer Chase (US/Canada only).

In Fifth Place, Carrie Bastyr has won:

A $10 e-gift card to a national coffee shop chain, donated by Jenn Baker-Henry.
A ten page critique and a signed copy of ERAGON by Christopher Paolini, donated by Kate Coursey (US/Canada only).

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An ebook copy of HOW TO DATE AN ALIEN by Magan Vernon, donated by Magan Vernon.

In Sixth Place, Kerri Cuevas has won:

A critique of a first chapter (up to 10 pages or 3000 words) OR query critique,
donated by Julie Daines.
A copy of BESTEST.RAMADAN.EVER by Medeia Sharif, donated by Medeia Sharif (US/Canada only).

In Seventh Place, Sarah Pearson has won:

A 15 page critique, donated by Avery Marsh.
An ebook copy of VOODOO DUES and a copy of the follow-up VAMPIRE BLUES by Stephany Simmons, donated by Stephany Simmons.

In Eighth Place, Esther Spurrill-Jones has won:

A query critique OR a critique of the first ten pages of a manuscript, donated by Susan Francino.
A signed copy of THE DRAGON AND THE CROW by T.B. McKenzie, donated by T.B. McKenzie

In Ninth Place, Andy Brokaw has won:

A detailed critique of first 15 pages, donated by Margo Kelly.

In Tenth Place, Tara Tyler has won:

A critique of 2500 words, donated by Jodi Su Tharan.

Random Prizes

And just because I can, I'm awarding 7 random prizes, chosen by Mr. Random.org! The winners (and prizes) are:

Cortney Pearson - A book cover design or blog banner, donated by Shelley Koon and a one page critique, donated by Cherie Reich.
Roland Yeomans - A $10 Barnes & Noble gift card, donated by Miranda Hardy (US only) and a one page critique, donated by Cherie Reich.
Synith ia W - A signed copy of DEPRESSION COOKIES by Tia Bach, donated by Tia Bach.
Siv Maria - A copy of the ebook CURSE OF ANCIENT SHADOWS by Rod Tyson, donated by Rod T yson.
RaeAnn - A critique of winner’s query, donated by Nancy S. Thompson.
Sylvia van Bruggen - An ebook copy of BLUEBERRY TRUTH by Ute Carbone (in a format preferred by the winner), donated by Ute Carbone.
Megan Orsini - A one page critique, donated by Cherie Reich.

Congratulations to all the winners, you've done such a great job in this Challenge!!! Remember, you've been chosen from 210 entries - how awesome is that! We'll be asking the donors to contact you directly regarding your prizes in most cases, but some donors have asked some winners to get in touch with them - if that is the case, we'll send you an email to let you know. If you have any questions/concerns about your prize, please email me.

And don't forget, the Second Campaigner Challenge is now taking place, so make sure you enter before 11.59pm EDT on Friday.

Second Campaigner Challenge (of my Fourth Campaign, February 2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Rachael Harrie) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 05:01:00 +0000

I’ve been asked for a more difficult Challenge this time, while at the same time I know many of you would prefer not to be *too* challenged. So I’ve given you a range of different activities you could do below, all based on the same prompts, and it’s up to you whether you do one or some or all of them. I’ve determined the judging criteria in advance too, so it will enable the judge to assess all your entries equally no matter what you decide to do. I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Prompt 1:

Two people are sitting together under the remains of a concrete bridge. Their backs are against a rusted bridge support. One person’s leg is cut. The other person has wet hair.

Prompt 2:

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Prompt 3

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Prompt 4

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Prompt 5

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Second Campaigner Challenge

Do one or more of the following:

Write a pitch/logline for a book based on the prompts (less than 100 words)
Write a short story/flash fiction piece of less than 200 words based on the prompts
Write a poem with a twist using the prompts as inspiration (in less than 200 words)
Write a story/poem in five sentences, each sentence based on one of the prompts
Write a poem/flash fiction piece (in less than 200 words) about the water pear *without* using the words “pear”, “spoon”, or “droplet”.

For added difficulty/challenge:

Complete at least three of the above activities and tie them all together with a common theme (feel free to either state the theme in your post or leave us to guess what it might be)
Write in a genre that is not your own
Ask Challenge entrants to critique your writing. After the Challenge closes, you may wish to re-post your revised piece(s), and I’ll include a Linky List at the bottom of this post for those wishing more feedback on their revisions (note: revised entries will not be judged, so please label clearly your original post and your revisions. Please do not offer critique unless someone asks for it, as per the usual blogging conventions. If you do ask for critique, make sure you ask for it clearly so people know you want it, and please be prepared to receive feedback that may not be 100% glowing. If you are a critiquer, please be tactful and courteous, and remember to provide positives as well as negatives.)

Judging criteria

Judging will be based on:

How creatively the prompts are used (possible 5 points awarded)
How well the entries are written (possible 5 points awarded)
How engaging/entertaining/unique the entries are (possible 5 points awarded)
If the entrant completes more than one of the activities in their post, how well their pieces are tied together by a common theme and how strongly their theme shines through in their writing OR If the entrant only completes one of the activities in their post, how strongly their theme shines through in their writing (possible 5 points awarded)
Whether the judge wants to read more (possible 3 points awarded)
Creativeness/uniqueness of the entry’s title (possible 2 points awarded)

I hope you all enjoy!!!

Challenge details

Once you’ve posted your Challenge post on your blog, pop back here and link directly to it in the Linky List below. Please make sure you include the direct URL link to your post, not just the link to your blog! Otherwise we won't be able to find your entry.

I've also set up the Linky List so you can "Like" entries, so make sure you come back here and vote for the People's Choice Awards!!! Like voting will remain open for the week after the Challenge ends, so you can take your time reading some/all of the entries and voting. As the like voting is not a popularity contest, it is only intended that people taking part in the actual Challenge should vote. So please don't go out and get your family/friends/other bloggers to vote for you. If you only have time to read/vote for a few entries, consider randomly selecting entries or starting at the end rather than at the beginning, so that the people at the end have their entries read and voted on as well.

Entries in the First Campaigner Challenge will close on Friday, March 9th (at 11.59pm EDT), so make sure you get your post in the Linky List before then. As usual, while everyone is very welcome to take part in this Challenge, only Campaigners will be eligible for prizes.

Thank you so much to all the Campaigners who have volunteered to judge one or more of the Challenges. I'm amazed by your generosity—you all rock!!! In terms of judging, Mark Koopmans will be in touch about that very soon. I'd love you all to take a moment to pop over and follow Mark, to say thanks for all his hard work in co-ordinating the judging.

There will be a stack of prizes awarded this Challenge, both for the entries that are judged the best (by the judges and by yourselves) and through Random.org. We're talking ARCs, books, critiques, and other items galore! I'll be announcing the winners in the weeks after the Challenge finishes, so keep an eye out.

And as to that, thank you so much to everyone who donated the dozens of prizes we'll be awarding in the Challenges. I'm blown away by your generosity! And a huge thanks to Ozlem Yiciki and Kathleen Doyle for their awesome work in administering the prizes. And would everyone please take the time to follow Ozlem and follow Kathleen as a sign of your appreciation for their help - without them, I wouldn't have been able to offer prizes.

So, all that remains is to enjoy. Leave a comment to let me know you're doing the Challenge. Have fun writing your post, then pop round to the other entrants, check out their posts, follow and comment, and decide which entry or entries YOU like the best!

And don't forget to add your name and post link to the Linky Link below before 11.59 pm this Friday!

CHALLENGE ENTRIES LINKY LIST

IMPORTANT: DON'T PUT YOUR NAME IN THE LINKY LIST UNTIL YOU'VE WRITTEN YOUR POST - THEN LINK DIRECT TO THAT POST PLEASE (ie, insert the complete URL to your Challenge post, not your blog address/URL)

REVISION LINKY LIST (not included in judging)

Campaigner Notice-Board (Friday, March 2nd, 2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Rachael Harrie) — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 00:06:00 +0000

It’s been a busy week full of admin relating to the First Campaigner Challenge. The prize list is finalized, and we’re in the process of determining the ultimate winners from a list of awesome finalists. “Like” voting is now closed, and we’ve got our top 5 Peoples’ Choice Award winners too. So stay tuned next week for the prize winner’s post! And make sure you come by Rach Writes… on Monday for the Second Campaigner Challenge!!!

Check out these great blogfests, contests, and other announcements:

From Megan at The Bittersweet Blog: We’re having a giveaway! Get Feedback on your Novel. Check it out here!
From Mark Koopmans at Aloha, and Hi! from Hi!: "I was born and reared in Dublin, Ireland and I'm mad excited for my Blog O'Hop with the theme of Got Irish - Get Pinched If You Don't Post! The linky list will officially open from March 12 to March 16, with the invitation to post the next day, which is, of course St. Patrick's Day :) Check out this post!
From Charmaine Clancy at Wagging Tales: To celebrate the release of MY ZOMBIE DOG, Charmaine is hosting a Kindle giveaway for the month of March. You could WIN a Kindle Fire (or Kindle Keyboard 3G). Details on her Blog!
From Danika Dinsmore at The Accidental Novelist: Round Two of the 50 First Lines Challenge has begun. You can still join in the fun and earn entries for prizes. This round's deadline is Monday, March 5.
From Elodie at Elodie’s Life as a Commuting Writer: Love of reading International GIVEWAY - You can win 2 books: one for you and one for a teenager or a child or a baby you want to share your love of books with. If you’re a teenager, that’s one for you and one for a friend or somebody younger than you. Check it out here!
From Rachel Morgan at Rachel Morgan Writes: GUARDIAN (CREEPY HOLLOW #1) launches on Monday 5 March! There will be a giveaway on Rachel’s blog and a blog tour of awesomeness beginning on Tues 6 March. Make sure you stop by and leave a comment (and don’t forget to buy a copy!)
From Amanda at Born Bookish: Amanda at Born Bookish is having a book giveaway. Come by and enter for your chance to win a copy of May B by Caroline Starr Rose, as well as some signed swag! Enter here!

Of shoes and ships and sealing wax-- Of captcha and kings (who stand on platforms)

noreply@blogger.com (Rachael Harrie) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 11:00:00 +0000

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Guys, I'm not planning a huge post today. Rather, I thought I would catch up with you all. How are you going? We're two months into 2012 now - is everyone meeting their writing goals? I must confess that I've been struggling a bit, though that's starting to turn around now. I've been trying to re-plot FROM THE OTHER SIDE, which I've renamed REVENGE, ahead of a giant re-write. You know the feeling, when you've got such a huge task ahead of you that it all seems too daunting...

But I've been taking inspiration from this passage of Mary Kole's:

So if you feel like you’re just tinkering, shoveling text like a kid pushing peas around his plate, be brave and try starting over completely. You know what you want to accomplish with the section, so just take a brand new run at it. Or maybe you’ll realize that the section wasn’t working and trash it entirely, or find another, better part that fits. Change is tough, especially when you’ve been working on something for years and are eager to see it in print. But it’s once you kick the ladder out from under yourself completely, I’ve found, that you discover resources and ideas you never could’ve imagined.

If you're facing the thought of big revisions ahead, Mary's post might give you some helpful insights - it did me :)

Talking about motivational posts, did you catch this post by the legendary Angela Ackerman of The Bookshelf Muse (in a guest post at Write to Done)? It gives a number of practical ways in which you can turn your writing weaknesses into strength, and is a must-read for all writers. And Angela was kind enough to mention me and my Beta Matches in her point about finding critique partners to help identify your weak areas and offer strategies to improve.

Captcha

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It used to be bad enough, but the word verification (now commonly known as captcha - "Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart," according to Wikipedia) at the bottom of many bloggers' comments boxes is causing all of us huge headaches! In their quest to trick spammers, the writing has become almost indecipherable to us mere mortal humans. So we're forced to squint, guess, re-enter words over and over again, all of which is a waste of time. Many bloggers refuse to comment if they know you use captcha, so you might even be missing out on comments if you use it!

Did you know you can turn word verification off? While I can't speak for other blogging platforms, Blogger does a pretty good job of filtering spammers. True, you receive an email telling you exactly what the spam message is, but the message isn't seen on your blog. So I guess it's worth considering. Anything to make things easier, right? Here's a recent post by Siv Maria, who's definitely not feeling the love. She tells you how to turn word verification off, with step by step instructions for those of us who are more technologically challenged :)

Writers' Platforms

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You know I'm all about platforms, right? Well, it's important to build one, of course. But have you thought about what happens then? And what a platform is anyway? Sher A Hart has written an awesome post about what exactly a writers' platform is, and more importantly, how not to fall off once you've built one. Check it out - I think you might find it useful.

Well, my not-so-huge post has gone on a little longer than I planned. So that's it me for today :)

How about you, any thoughts or helpful links you'd like to share? Do you just want to tear captcha to shreds? Have you got the philosophy *behind* your writers' platform in place?

Campaigner Notice-Board (Friday, February 24th, 2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Rachael Harrie) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 00:03:00 +0000

Hey guys, another week of my Fourth Campaign has now passed :)

The First Campaigner Challenge is going fabulously, and we've just hit the magic 200 entries!!! There's still time to enter, though only a few hours left until 11.59pm Friday, EDT, so get in quick! "Like" voting will be open for another week for those making their way through all the awesome entries. The judges are hard at work (thank you judges!) on judging your entries, and we're sorting out and allocating prizes as we speak.

Make sure you come back for the Second Campaigner Challenge on Monday, March 5th. I'm putting the finishing touches on the Challenge now, and it'll be much harder *grins* (though there'll be easier options too for those of you who wish to take them). Here's a clue:

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And, of course, check out these great blogfests, contests, and other announcements:

From K.T. Hanna at K.T. Hanna – The Scribble Muse: March 2012 is a #writemotivation Goal-Check Month! "The point of a #writemotivation Goal-Check Months is not about competition or getting first or second place - the only competition is with yourself and that damned writer’s ego. There will be rewards in the way of critiques, betas, and perhaps technical blog help for those who achieve their personal goals. Sign Up closes Feb 28 11:59pm CST. Check it out here!
From Callie Kingston at Callie Kingston: Blog Tour for Undertow runs Feb. 16 through March 13th. Giveaways at each stop, plus entry to grand prize drawing. Drop by my blog and take a look!
From Mark Koopmans at Aloha, and Hi! from Hi!: As I was born and reared in Dublin, Ireland, I'm mad excited for my Blog O'Hop with the theme of Got Irish - Get Pinched If You Don't Post! The linky list will officially open from March 12 to March 16, with the invitation to post the next day, which is, of course St. Patrick's Day :)
From Daniel R. Marvello at The Vaetra Files: If you have published a fantasy book that includes magic, consider joining your peers at The Magic Appreciation Tour and Book Sale. This is a unique Web-site is specifically for fans of magical fantasy, where readers find books and authors find friends. The Magic Appreciation Tour includes other Campaign alumnae (Roger Eschbacher and Katharina Gerlach) and the current Campaigner Vanna Smythe.
From Daisy Carter at Fresh as a Daisy: In honor of the campaign, Daisy Carter is having a multiple books GIVEAWAY! Enter by March 5th for your chance to win! Check it out here!
From Alison Miller at Left Brained all Day; Write Brained - All the Time: Alison Miller is giving away ARCs of Wanderlove, I Hunt Killers, and more. Contest ends March 2. Check out this post!
From A.E. Martin at A.E. Martin: I'm giving a way a signed copy of Jessica Spotswood's debut novel Born Wicked. Follow my blog and leave a comment for a chance to win! Giveaway closes 2/29/12.
From Komal at Komal Lewis: I'm holding a giveaway to celebrate reaching 100 followers! Head on over for your chance to win e-gift cards for Barnes & Noble or Amazon! Check it out here!
From Amanda at Born Bookish: Do you love novels in verse? Amanda's hosting a novels in verse reading challenge. Click here to learn more.
From Jessica Therrien at Jessica Therrien - From Imagination to Publication: The Kindle edition of my debut novel, Oppression (Children of the Gods #1), is available for only .99 cents on Amazon!
From Kathy McKendry at Imagine Today: Join the Knights of Micro-Fiction, the last Monday of every month, in our quest to spark the creative genius in us all! Check it out here!
From Tina Moss at Tina Moss | Urban Fantasy & Romance Author: Twitter-Sized Pitch Contest from today Friday, Feb. 24th until Friday, March 2nd. Three winners will receive a query and first five page critique from me and my agents at Literary Counsel. The details are here!
And don’t forget to sign up for my Beta-Match (an opportunity for you to find critique partners and/or beta readers).

First Campaigner Challenge (of my Fourth Campaign, February 2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Rachael Harrie) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 05:01:00 +0000

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The time has come for my First Campaigner Challenge, woot!!! The Challenge is:

Write a short story/flash fiction story in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, including a poem. Begin the story with the words, “Shadows crept across the wall”. These five words will be included in the word count.

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional), do one or more of these:

end the story with the words: "everything faded." (also included in the word count)

include the word "orange" in the story

write in the same genre you normally write

make your story 200 words exactly!

Feel free to use the picture to inspire you, or else see how whacky, creative, and original you can get :)

Once you’ve posted your Challenge post on your blog, pop back here and link directly to it in the Linky List below. Please make sure you include the direct URL link to your post, not just the link to your blog! Otherwise we won't be able to find your entry.

I've also set up the Linky List so you can "Like" entries, so make sure you come back here and vote for the People's Choice Awards!!! Like voting will remain open for the week after the Challenge ends, so you can take your time reading some/all of the entries and voting. As the like voting is not a popularity contest, it is only intended that people taking part in the actual Challenge should vote. So please don't go out and get your family/friends/other bloggers to vote for you. If you only have time to read/vote for a few entries, consider randomly selecting entries or starting at the end rather than at the beginning, so that the people at the end have their entries read and voted on as well.

Entries in the First Campaigner Challenge will close on Friday, February 24th (at 11.59pm EDT), so make sure you get your post in the Linky List before then. As usual, while everyone is very welcome to take part in this Challenge, only Campaigners will be eligible for prizes.

Thank you so much to all the Campaigners who have volunteered to judge one or more of the Challenges. I'm amazed by your generosity—you all rock!!! In terms of judging, Michael Offutt from SLC Kismet will be in touch about that very soon. If you don't hear from us this Challenge, we may contact you to judge the Second Challenge (there are more judges than we need though, so it's possible we might not need your help this time, though we would love to take you up on it in my next Campaign in August). I'd love you all to take a moment to pop over and follow Michael, to say thanks for all his hard work in co-ordinating the judging.

There will be a stack of prizes awarded this Challenge (and the Second Challenges), both for the entries that are judged the best (by the judges and by yourselves) and through Random.org. We're talking ARCs, books, critiques, and other items galore! I'll be announcing the winners in the weeks after the Challenge finishes, so keep an eye out.

And as to that, thank you so much to everyone who donated the dozens of prizes we'll be awarding in the Challenges. I'm blown away by your generosity! Ozlem Yiciki or Steph Schmidt will be in touch over the course of the Campaign to discuss details of your prize donation. And would everyone please take the time to follow Ozlem and follow Steph as a sign of your appreciation for their help - without them, I wouldn't have been able to offer prizes.

So, all that remains is to enjoy. Leave a comment to let me know you're doing the Challenge. Have fun writing your post, then pop round to the other entrants, check out their posts, follow and comment, and decide which entry or entries YOU like the best!

And don't forget to add your name and post link to the Linky Link below before 11.59 pm this Friday!

IMPORTANT: DON'T PUT YOUR NAME IN THE LINKY LIST UNTIL YOU'VE WRITTEN YOUR POST - THEN LINK DIRECT TO THAT POST PLEASE (ie, insert the complete URL to your Challenge post, not your blog address/URL)

Campaigner Notice-Board (February 17th, 2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Rachael Harrie) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 08:33:00 +0000

Welcome to your first full week as Campaigners! With an awesome 250-odd Campaigners for my Fourth Campaign, the next month is going to be great fun indeed. And my First Campaigner Challenge kicks off on Monday - it's voluntary of course, but so much fun I hope you all pop back for it!

A reminder too, if you're looking for critique partners and/or beta readers, don’t forget to sign up for my Beta-Match. We've had some great partnerships formed already *grins*.

And, of course, check out these great blogfests, contests, and other announcements:

From K.T. Hanna at K.T. Hanna – The Scribble Muse: March 2012 is a #writemotivation Goal-Check Month! The point of a #writemotivation Goal-Check Months is not about competition or getting first or second place - the only competition is with yourself and that damned writer’s ego. There will be rewards in the way of critiques, betas, and perhaps technical blog help for those who achieve their personal goals. Check it out here!
From Gwen Tolios at Fulfilling Dreams: Are You Writing Now? aka AYWN is a group focused on finding writing accountability partners to help us achieve monthly goals. Check out what we’re about here!
From Jessica Therrien at Jessica Therrien - Imagination to Publication: My debut novel, Oppression (Children of the Gods #1), will be released on February 28th! I'll be hosting a Virtual Launch Party to celebrate. I hope to see you there!
From Doreen McGettigan at Doreen McGettigan: I am looking for guest bloggers for the month of March while I am on a book tour. If you are interested you can e-mail me at doreenb8@verizon.net. Check my site out here!
From Jodi Su at 52 Weeks: Jodi Su recently read about using indiegogo for fundraising for writing projects so she launched Flower Children. Jodi Su would like to know if other #writecampaign folks have used indiegogo and asks for tips & advice. Please leave a comment on her blog, 52 weeks, and she will send you a piece of phonetography [sic] art.
From J.C. Martin at J.C Martin - Fighter Writer: As you know, my Writer Wednesday interview feature first came about as a Crusader Quiz, where I interviewed fellow Campaigners. I would love to go back to that, so if any fellow Campaigners would like to be interviewed for the Writer Wednesday feature, just e-mail me here: jc@jc-martin.com
From RaeAnn at RaeAnn: A new participant in this year's campaign, has humbly written a poem to show her gratitude to all participants in making her blogging journey an enjoyable one. Special thanks for Rach for hosting this! Visit my Poem here!
From Lori M Lee at You are the Unicorn of my Dreams: My one-year blogiversary, with 14 prizes to be given away, including gift cards, book orders, and critiques. Check out my blog!
From Anna Waggener at Anna Waggener’s Blog: My debut YA novel will launch in June from Scholastic Press, but I'm hosting a galley giveaway right now! Check out this Blog Post for more details. I'd love to share my work with you!
From Danika Dinsmore at The Accidental Novelist: In anticipation of the launch of her second middle grade fantasy THE RUINS OF NOE, Danika will host a fun writing contest on her blog. Rules will be posted Wed. Feb 22 and there will be multiple ways to win copies of one or both of her books.
From Heather Davis at Minivan Momma: Name that post contest!! If your name gets the most votes, you could win "The Help" prize pack!! Check it out!
From Shelly Brown at Writing with Shelly and Chad: In celebration of 200 blog posts Writing with Shelly and Chad is inviting YOU to guest post on their blog. Guest posting is a great way to get your name/book/blog out there. Don't worry it can be fun and simple if you’re not feeling terribly profound. The post will be live on Feb 23rd here!

Beta Match - Are you looking for a critique partner or a beta reader? (February 2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Rachael Harrie) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 05:01:00 +0000

(Source)

It can be hard to find a critique partner or beta reader (and even harder to find a great one!). Some of you have found critique partners and beta readers through those you know in person, while others have found them in bloggers you met online, through online conferences such as WriteOnCon, through forums such as Verla Kay's Blueboards, Absolute Write, and in other ways. But time and again I’ve seen people commenting that they don’t know where to look. So, in honor of tomorrow's Valentine's Day and finding your perfect match, I thought I’d help out (*grins*).

I'm running a Beta Match (and don't let the name fool you, it's for critique partners too!). And it's not limited to Campaigners, so feel free to take part if you want. Here's an awesome post from agent Mary Kole that describes the differences between CPs and beta readers.

If you’re interested in taking part in my Beta Match, there are two options:

OPTION ONE: Put your details and what you’re looking for in the comments below, using the following template:
Name: (your name, pen name, or blogging handle)
Email: (your email address)

(Source)

My current WIP: (give a few details)
I'm looking for: (a critique partner or beta reader or both. Plus give info about the critiquing style/focus/etc that you want from a CP/beta reader, and whether you have work ready to be looked at now or are looking for a long-term partnership)
Some info about me: (anything you think a potential CP or beta reader will need to know)

AND/OR

OPTION TWO: Read through other comments in this post to see if someone who’ll suit your needs has commented. Then contact them directly.

Please note: Beta Match isn't only for those who have a piece of work ready to be critiqued right now. It's intended to be a way for people to find critique partners who can help them with their writing/revisions/etc over the long-term. Even if you're after a beta reader, you can still connect with someone now and swap work at a later date :)

Wishing you the best of luck finding someone!

Where to from here? (and the Campaigner Notice-Board) (Feb 2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Rachael Harrie) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:02:00 +0000

(Source)

I'd like to say a huge welcome to all the Campaigners (here, have some cookies!). I can't wait to get to know you over the next two months, and I know you're all looking forward to meeting and networking with each other. Now, halfway through sign-ups, we have 189 Campaigners who've come on board (what an awesome number!). And you still have until 11.59pm EDT Wednesday to sign up before I close the List of Campaigners.

First Campaigner Challenge

The First Campaigner Challenge begins on Monday, February 20th, so pop back here then if you want to take part in the fun! Remember, you don't have to take part, though it is great fun and a cool way to meet your fellow Campaigners.

Where to from here?

Where to from here, you ask? I gave you some suggestions in my previous post. Basically, take advantage of all the networking opportunities the Campaign is providing you. You can:

meet and chat with other Campaigners on Twitter at #writecampaign
visit the Campaigners' blogs
take part in the Campaigner Challenges
pop around to all the events on the Campaigner Notice-Board
and above all, get to know the members of your Campaign Group(s) and see what fun activities you can come up with together (previous Campaigners have organized joint blogfests, Campaigner interviews, Choose Your Own Adventure Bloghops, and so on)

If you haven't already, now's the time to go around to your fellow Campaigners and some or all of the Campaigners in your Group(s). Make sure you follow and leave a comment and tell them who you are. Some awesome blogging connections have been made this way in the past. Try to visit them as much as possible during the Campaign, and make sure you leave comments as this is one of the key ways Campaigners can show their support.

This post about organizing Google Reader may help.

Campaigner Notice-Board

Check out these great blogfests, contests, and other announcements:

From Rach at Rach Writes: I will be holding a Beta Match (matching up critique partners and beta readers) on Monday, February 13th. Make sure you pop back to Rach Writes... on Monday to put your name down or search the list for your perfect match :)
From T.B. McKenzie at Magickless: On Friday the 13th I will be giving away a signed, first edition copy of my debut novel, the Dragon and the Crow. All you have to do is tell me who your favourite dragon is and why. From Puff to Smaug, or a dragon more obscure -- just tell me why they are the best, and I'll pick the most sincere and eloquent entry. There can be only one! Check it out here.
From K.S. Collier at K.S. Collier: New book is being launched. "The Veil" by K.S. Collier is now available on Amazon Kindle. The hard copies will be following soon, as will Barnes & Noble for the Nook. Excited to meet everyone on my blog!
From Kimberly at Here's What I Think About That: Blog Hop for "Weekend" Happiness. Opens Friday and closes Sunday. Check it out here!
From Meradeth at Write Stuff: I'm holding a $10 Amazon gift card giveaway--all you have to do is tell me what you think is the most romantic city in the world is--very simple! Tell me here.
From Chris Kelworth at The Kelworth Files: I'm looking for Campaigners to interview for my Campaigner Spotlight feature. Let me know on my blog.
From Rachele Alpine at Freckle Head: I'm doing a poll to see how people "discover" books.
From Rachele Alpine at Freckle Head: I'm having a Valentine's Day contest where I'm giving away heart hand warmers that are great for writing with!
From Juliemybird at Rosewood Pencil Box: is hosting a giveaway for a(t least one) signed copy of Article 5 by Kristen Simmons. All you have to do is leave a comment with your email address. Winner(s) will be announced March 6. Come join the fun!
From Rebekah Loper at Black & Dark Night: "There's lots of stuff happening in February! Almost every Tuesday, there's an author interview/guest post & book giveaway, covering everything from Christian fic to paranormal to memoir. Current giveaway is Shades of the Orient (interview & details here). On Saturday, February 11th, is an extra interview & book giveaway with Rebecca Hamilton, author of The Forever Girl. Upcoming authors include Jean Marie Bauhaus, Dana Sitar, and Jessica Therrien. Check it all out on her blog!
From Stella Atrium at Stella Atrium on OpenSalon: The Blog from Stella Atrium focuses on indie writers for the fantasy genre, and especially developing more and more interesting girl heroes. Details here.

Fourth Writers' Platform-Building Campaign

noreply@blogger.com (Rachael Harrie) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:04:00 +0000

There are so many of us out there. Aspiring authors, bloggers (whether established or beginning), industry peeps, even published authors, all of whom want to build their online platforms. We write insightful posts and articles, actively blog within the blogosphere, take part in challenges, competitions, and contests galore.

We have the passion and the drive to make it, but…we could all do with a bit of support.

So I started thinking. What if we link all these people together? What if we create a way to meet people in a similar position, people who genuinely want to help build our online platform while at the same time building theirs? People who want to pay it forward in the spirit of writerly writerness and blogging beautificity (and see it come back to them in turn).

And so, my Writers’ Platform-Building Campaign was born.

What is the Campaign?

Basically, the Campaign is a way to link those of us in the writing community together with the aim of helping to build our online platforms. The Campaigners are all bloggers in a similar position, who genuinely want to pay it forward, make connections and friends within the writing community, and help build each others' online platforms while at the same time building theirs.

As the Campaign kicks off, you'll have the names and blog addresses of the Campaigners on my List of Campaigners page (above), so you can keep in touch with the other Campaigners. That way you’ll have a list of bloggers in the same position as you, who genuinely want to help you succeed. And you'll be able to meet those who have the most in common with you. You can visit their blogs and other places they haunt, follow along, leave comments galore, and share your highs and lows as you journey through the blogosphere and build your online platform. And they'll be doing the same for you.

If you want to find out a bit more about past Campaigns, check out the info I've included here.

The Team

This year I have a fantastic group of people who've volunteered to help me out with the Campaign. For the Fourth Campaign, the core Campaign Team comprises myself, Michael Offutt, K.T. Hanna, Ozlem Yikici, and Steph Schmidt, and others will be helping us out in other respects too. I'd love it if you could make your way around and follow all these awesome people, and maybe even leave a comment to say thanks for their time and effort. I'll be including all the fabulous volunteers' links in relevant posts as the Campaign progresses.

Key Dates

This Fourth Campaign will be a mini-Campaign, and will run from today until Saturday, March 17, 2012.

The List of Campaigners will close on Wednesday, February 15th, so make sure you sign up before then.

The First Campaigner Challenge will begin on Monday, February 20th and end on Saturday, February 25th.

The Second Campaigner Challenge will begin on Monday, March 5th and end on Saturday, March 10th.

Organized Campaign Events

During the Campaign:

I'll be running the two Campaigner Challenges I mentioned above.
each Friday I'll post a Campaigner Notice-Board, where you can announce blogfests, book launches, things you'd like to share with your other Campaigners, etc etc. You'll need to send me the information in advance, and I've made up a form to make things easier. If you want me to include your details in this Friday's post (February 10th), please fill out this form.
there will be lots of Twitter-talk at #writecampaign, so make sure you jump in and take part to meet, get to know, and encourage your fellow Campaigners.

As this is a mini-Campaign, these are the only organized Campaign events. As always, it's up to you how involved you want to be.

As in the Third Campaign, I'm also asking for people who'd like to volunteer to judge the Campaigner Challenges and/or donate a prize (you can tell me your preference in the form I'll be asking you to fill out below).

How to join?

If you’d like to join the Fourth Campaign, here’s what you’ll need to do:

follow me if you haven't already, so you can check out the Campaigner Notice-Board on Fridays and take part in Campaigner Challenges
comment on this post, to let the other Campaigners know you’ll be coming on board
blog about the Campaign to help spread the word (include a link to this post and encourage your followers to join)
tweet about the Campaign if you're on Twitter, and include a link to this post. Follow me here if you wish
pop a link to this post on Facebook (if you’re a Facebook fan) and/or on Google Plus if that's your favorite haunt. Or anywhere else you hang out, it's up to you. My links to Facebook, Google Plus, and LinkedIn are on my sidebar if you want to find me there
and fill out this form.

And then?

Once you’ve joined the Campaign:

go to my List of Campaigners page and put your name down for a Campaigner Group (or more than one if you want to get to know more people)
pop round and introduce yourself to some or all the Campaigners in your Campaigner Group. If you wish, pop round to some or all of the other Campaigners and introduce yourself as well
follow some or all of the Campaigners in your Campaigner Group(s) (and others if you wish). Due to the size of the Campaign, there's no need to follow all Campaigners!!!
put the Campaign badge on your sidebar and link it back to my Writers' Platform-Building Campaign page above
keep an eye out for posts/comments/tweets by other Campaigners (and particularly those in your Campaigner Group) and do your best to comment on as many as you can, as often as you can. Also consider following your fellow Campaigners on Twitter and liking them on Facebook, mentioning their blog posts and re-tweeting their tweets, and otherwise supporting them
get to know your fellow Campaigners at #writecampaign on Twitter
join in my Campaigner Challenges if you wish (you don't have to, of course). They're a great way to get to know other Campaigners and have fun at the same time.

Can't wait to see you all on board!

Campaigner Notice-Board Form - Fourth Writers' Platform-Building Campaign

noreply@blogger.com (Rachael Harrie) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:02:00 +0000

This form is for use by Campaigners who wish to announce blogfests, book launches, things you'd like to share with your other Campaigners, etc etc during the Fourth Campaign. The Notice-Boards will be posted each Friday during the Campaign, so please fill out the form by 11.59pm EST on Thursday evening if you want your information to be included. If you wish to make the same announcement multiple times, you'll need to fill out this form each time.

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Loading...&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

Fourth Writers' Platform-Building Campaign - Sign Up Form

noreply@blogger.com (Rachael Harrie) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:01:00 +0000

This form is for use by Campaigners who wish to sign up to join my Fourth Writers' Platform-Building Campaign. Sign up will close at 11.59pm EST on Wednesday, February 15th. Can't wait to see you on board!

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Loading...&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

How do you deal with a case of the Bleh???

noreply@blogger.com (Rachael Harrie) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:59:00 +0000

Only a short post today in anticipation of the kick-off of my Fourth Writers' Platform-Building Campaign next Monday, yay! Make sure you all come back then and sign up, so you don't miss out on joining. Instructions will be in my post next Monday.

(Source)

I've been struck down with a bad case of the Bleh over the last few weeks. You all know the symptoms I'm sure: general lethargy, inability to write much, the beloved manuscript you've worked on for months (years?) looks like it has a bad case of Spotty Needsmorerevision-itis and you simply don't know where to start, shiny new ideas start creeping around the house and whispering to you that you should drop everything and work on them, emails get backed up because you haven't responded, you're behind on visiting all the places your friends hang out on the interweb, etc etc etc.

Hmm.

Do you all have these days as well? What do you do when (if?) you get like this? Is there a magic potion I can take to cure myself, or do I just have to keep pushing through? Can't wait to hear your thoughts.

Winner of THE CLOCKWORK GIANT (and a reminder about the Write Dreams charity auction)

noreply@blogger.com (Rachael Harrie) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:57:00 +0000

Guys, I've had a little chat with Mr. Random.org, and he's whispered in my ear that Kelley (commentor #1) is the winner of Brooke Johnson's THE CLOCKWORK GIANT. Congratulations to Kelley, and thanks again to everyone who stopped by to read Brooke's interview.

A reminder not to forget to visit Write Dreams, the online charity auction being run by my good friends Marieke, Luna, and Amanda. There's critiques (partial and full), ARCs, books, mystery boxes, and a huge swag of other prizes to bid on, and days yet to run on the auction. And all proceeds will be donated to Donna's Dream House. Can't wait to see you all over there - and watch out, cause I'm bidding too :)

Fourth Writers' Platform-Building Campaign - Announcement

noreply@blogger.com (Rachael Harrie) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:42:00 +0000

Thanks heaps to all of you who voted on the question of whether we should have one Campaign or two this year (and an even bigger thanks to those who volunteered to help out!). The results were so close (50% each way) and many of you were so keen to go ahead, that I've decided to do the following:

I'll be having two Campaigns this year, one beginning in February and the other in August (after WriteOnCon). However, this coming Campaign in February will be a mini-Campaign and will only run until mid-March (one month). I'll be setting up a List of Campaigners so you can meet each other, and I'll run one or two Campaigner Challenges and a Campaigner Notice-Board. That will be about it. Then the main Campaign will be in August.

Sounds good, I hope :)

The Fourth Campaign will begin on Monday, February 6th, so make sure you come back then and sign up. Can't wait to see you all on board!

The Writing Process: guest post by Brooke Johnson (and a contest!)

noreply@blogger.com (Rachael Harrie) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 05:01:00 +0000

Guys, today Brooke Johnson, author of The Clockwork Giant, has come along to give us some insight into her writing process. I hope you all enjoy her comments, and find some useful things that you may be able to apply to your own writing. Make sure you read to the end for a chance to win a copy of The Clockwork Giant (paperback or ebook).

Take it away Brooke :)

++

Hi people, Brooke Johnson here, debut author of The Clockwork Giant, a young adult steampunk novel. You can find more about me and my writing at my website. As part of this guest post, I’m also giving away a copy of my book—ebook or paperback, whichever is preferred—so be sure to comment!

When I sit down to write a new story, I have the basic idea in mind, a loose sort of mental collage. But before I can start writing, I have to figure out what my characters—what they want, and how far they’re willing to go to get it. That says a lot about a person, more than their eye color or current occupation. It’s also important to know their fatal flaw. In the case of Petra, the main character of The Clockwork Giant, her biggest flaw is the compulsion to prove herself.

Once I have my characters, I have to figure out the theme, or the meaning behind the story. It has to be something that syncs with the characters’ goals and what I have in mind for the plot. For The Clockwork Giant, I wanted to tell a story about a girl who despite her current situation isn’t afraid to follow her dreams, even if she has to fight the entire way.

When I know the theme, I can start plotting. I aim to plot at least two subplots in addition to the main plot, but ideally, the subplots are so integral to the main plot, it all sort of meshes together. At this point, I take that mental collage of images that I associate with my story, and I start jotting scenes down. A scene description could be anywhere from a short sentence to a quarter of a page. I don’t try to plot chronologically. I think of the big scenes first, the ones that are so important that without them, the story wouldn’t exist. Then I brainstorm on the less exciting scenes and the subplots, trying to get about thirty scenes total. Once I’ve done that, I shuffle the scenes around until I find the order I like best.

And when that’s done, I can start writing. I try to get at least 1500 words a day, but sometimes I can write twice that. I research while I write, looking up things as I go along, but if there is a bunch of stuff to research, I’ll put aside a day or a week to get it all straightened out. I also edit as I go, reading over the previous day’s work before putting any new words down. It helps me remember where I left off, and I can fix any typos or awkward phrasing I might find. Oftentimes, I’ll discover within the first chapter or two that my outline isn’t going to work, and I have to adjust. For The Clockwork Giant, I had written three-quarters of the book when I realized that I would have to change the ending. Thankfully, I’m not that stubborn. The ending is better for it.

After I finish the first draft, I send it to my beta-readers. Once they respond, next are the rounds and rounds of revision and editing and proofreading until finally, the book is finished. It’s a long, arduous process, but totally worth it.

++

Thanks so much to Brooke for taking the time to talk to us today. Here's her bio:

Ever since she was a little girl, Brooke had a love of building long-forgotten, fantastical worlds, and as she grew up, and the worlds became more complex and the characters came to life, she found that she didn't have enough Legos to do them justice. Convinced it was her destiny to create, she delved into writing.

Now married and living in Northwest Arkansas with her husband and dog, she spends her days scrambling around the vast landscape of her imagination, the fantastical worlds of princes and wizards on one side and the towering, brass cities of automatons and engineers on the other.

You can purchase The Clockwork Giant at most online retailers, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and Lulu. The Book Trailer is here if you want to check it out.

The Clockwork Giant description

It's 1881, the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of Chroniker City, the global hub of technological advancement in the modern world. Based off the British coast, the city is home to the most prestigious polytechnic university worldwide, a center of mechanical ingenuity teaching everything from clockwork mechanics and thermodynamics to electromagnetism and electricity.

Petra Wade, self-taught clockwork engineer, dreams of one day becoming a member of the Guild, an elite group of inventors and innovators who envision a future fueled by technology, but her ambitions will only come to fruition if she can find a way into the illustrious university—an institution reserved for men only. When she meets Emmerich Goss, an accomplished engineer newly recruited into the Guild, Petra discovers that he needs help building a top-secret, government-sanctioned automaton, and she is just the girl to help him.

Together, they craft the clockwork giant, and as the deadline for its completion nears, Petra finds that she can love more than gears and mainsprings.

Contest

If you would like the chance to win a copy of The Clockwork Giant (paperback or ebook), please follow both myself and Brooke if you're not already, and leave a comment below. The winner will be drawn by Random.org and will be announced next Monday, so make sure you pop back then. We'll try to contact the winner but if we can't (if their email address is not linked up to their blogging profile for example), we may have to re-draw.

Writers' Platform-Building Campaign

Thanks so much to everyone who voted and gave me their comments on my question last week: one Campaign or two per year. You've all been an awesome help and have made some comments that really touched me. And a huge thank you to everyone who volunteered to assist me - I'll be getting in touch with you soon to discuss. I've nearly got my plans in place for what I'll be doing, and I'll be making the grand announcement next Monday. So stay tuned :)

Hope everyone has a great week!

Hugs,

Introducing Write Dreams, a writers' charity auction coming soon, and Luna!

noreply@blogger.com (Rachael Harrie) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 05:01:00 +0000

Today I'm interviewing Luna, one of my CPs and friends. She's going to tell you all about Write Dreams, a writers' charity auction that's following on in the footsteps of Write Hope. The auction begins on January 16, so make sure you check it out and follow along - there's heaps of cool stuff to bid on.

Take it away Luna.

We’ve been talking a lot lately about Write Dreams, would you care to tell us what it is and what it aims to do?

Write Dreams is a kidlit auction we (Marieke, Amanda & me) have set up to raise money for Donna’s Dream House in order to help them with restoration costs following an arson attack on the 23rd December 2011.

In the middle of the night, arsonists broke into the office building and adjacent health centre. They stole essential computer equipment and damaged the suite, before setting fire to the furniture. When the fire was discovered, it was almost too late. The building was so badly damaged that it may have to be rebuilt completely, with total damages estimated in excess of £80,000/$125,000. More importantly, the fire destroyed photographs and mementoes of Donna - and hope.

What is the cause behind Write Dreams?

Donna Curtis died New Year’s Day in 1996, she was only 20. Having spent her last four years fighting cancer Donna saw the suffering of many terminally ill children and vowed her legacy would help them live a little more happily in the time they had left.

Donna’s Dream House is a holiday home for children and teenagers with life-threatening or terminal illnesses. The Dream House is run completely by volunteers and encourages the imagination. It’s how any child would imagine the perfect holiday to be. It’s full of light and laughter, fun and - most importantly - life. Since its start, Donna's Dream House has hosted and helped almost 380 families. 300 of those children have now sadly passed away, but the families who are left behind will always cherish the memories from Donna’s Dream House.

Why is this so important to you and Amanda and Marieke?

I’ve been sitting here for 20mins trying to decide how best to answer this… my mum died of lung-cancer when I was 11. She was ill for months and spent her last Christmas in a hospice. My father tried to explain this to me but I just thought she’d get better. The last time I saw her I was too occupied with playing with my nephew that I barely said hello. She died on the 2nd January and I didn’t tell her I loved her when I went home the day before.

Just over a year and a half later my father was in hospital to have his foot amputated. And I hadn’t learned, too excited about going into town I was only there for a short while. (To be fair to my younger self, it was supposed to be routine surgery.) When I came home from school the next day the doctor was on the phone to explain he had died during the night.

If I tried, I could maybe scrape together 10 memories of my mother, sadly even less of my father. I can’t even fill a photo album with what I have… while it’s not the same as watching your own child suffer from a life-threatening illness, making memories, having something to hold on, is why this is SO important.

My Mum & me.
I don’t remember this but it’s worth more to me
than my entire book collection.
(And that’s saying something!)

Donna’s Dream House offers that dream holiday to children who may very well never get the chance to have one otherwise. It understands and supports the families of these children – it gives them a chance to build memories. Memories that will be vital to those left behind, because no matter what they say, time doesn’t heal that kind of loss. You learn to deal with it and remembering the people you love happy helps more than you can imagine.

Marieke spent a large part of her childhood in hospitals with doctors not always convinced she’d come out again. Making memories then and continuing to do so is the same lesson I learned.

Memories can be little things. One of my favourite memories is playing hide-and-seek with Marieke and two other friends in Covent Garden. If was cold, very confusing to the people around us (this was two years ago) BUT so much fun.

Amanda has the mom’s view in this, the fear of your child having a terminal illness, the feeling of helplessness. Donna’s Dream House can’t cure the illness but it can help support children and parents.

So what’s the plan with the auction? When will it start and what can people who want to help do?

We have a (still) growing list of awesome donations from writers, publishers, etc.

Starting on Monday the 16th January we will be opening the auction, posting several items per day. Among other things, we have a full signed set of Tabitha Suzuma's books, all of Alyson Noël's Immortals series with some awesome swag, Waterstone's Children's Book Award-winning Artichoke Hearts, ARCs, critiques, and many more.

The event will last two weeks.

Where can we find Write Dreams and follow along?

The auction will be held here: Write Dreams and is starting on Monday the 16th January. You can also find us on Twitter where we will be posting info about specific auctions as well as general updates, etc…

Any other comments you want to make about Write Dreams or Donna’s Dream House?

Just that it’s a really worthy cause and the donations are awesome, so you need to check it out!

+++

Thanks so much to Luna for taking the time to appear on Rach Writes... Make sure you all head on over to Write Dreams and follow along, then turn up on January 16 to bid on their awesome items.

Dreams and Campaigns, oh my! (And please vote in my Campaign question below)

noreply@blogger.com (Rachael Harrie) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:59:00 +0000

Hi all, it's great to be back in blogland once again, and thanks for your lovely messages in my December post. I hope you all had a fantastic holiday season and got in lots of eating, sleeping, reading, writing, playing, and present opening! I'm gearing up for a busy year ahead, with querying FROM THE OTHER SIDE, working on my new manuscript KASANDAI, and carrying out one or two Campaigns, plus of course the usual reading heaps of new books (yay!), writing heaps, working with my critique partners, and a bunch of other stuff.

My Writers' Platform-Building Campaigns - The question of timing

A big question arises with regards to my Campaigns: Should I hold one Campaign a year or two? Obviously, Campaigns require a HUGE amount of organizing and administering, but I'm happy to do it twice a year if people want it. If it was twice a year, the next Campaign would begin on Monday, February 6, 2012. Otherwise, I could just do one massive Campaign starting in August every year. Thoughts? I'd love to hear what you think - could you please vote in the poll below.

Help needed for my Campaigns (do you want to join my team?)

As to the Campaign question, I find myself in the place where I can no longer run them on my own. There are just too many tasks involved in each Campaign, and I've only lately realized I'm not superwoman *snorts*. So I'm going to need some volunteers to join my team, whether it's just for one Campaign or on an ongoing basis. Just as a quick summary, I need people to compile lists of prizes and follow up with donors, administer the judging (three people probably, one for each Challenge), type up my prize award posts with linkage etc, compile the Friday Campaigner Notice-Board posts, plus a bunch of other stuff.

I can't give any payment of course, but I'll be popping you in the list of people to be followed as a Campaigner, and I might even try to do a blog interview as well so people can get to know you. Any of you interested? Somebody? Anybody...?

Write Dreams

Remember last year how I participated in Write Hope, a writers' charity fundraising auction to benefit the Japan Disaster appeal? Well this time Marieke, Luna, and Amanda are running a new charity auction called Write Dreams, to benefit Donna's Dream House, where Christmas was cancelled this year due to arson.

Write Dreams features Nozomi again, of course, and bidding opens on a stack of awesome prizes on January 16th. So make sure you pop over and follow along so you hear all their news. On Thursday I'll be interviewing Luna, so we can find out more about the cause behind Write Dreams, something particularly dear to Luna's heart - can't wait to see you back here then.

Interview with Brooke Johnson

Next Monday I'll be conducting an interview with Brooke Johnson, debut author of THE CLOCKWORK GIANT, a YA Steampunk novel. And there'll be a CONTEST for commentors too, yay! So make sure you pop back on Monday as well.

I think that's it for now. It's so great to be back with you all. Can't wait to hear what you got up to on your holidays.

Hugs,

Have an awesome Christmas and New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Rachael Harrie) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 04:59:00 +0000

It's been a year full of awesome, hasn't it! But that time of year has come, and I'm signing off from my blogging to take a break over the Christmas and New Year period.

Here's what we'll be getting up to Down Under :)

(prawn skewers, yum!)

(Nothing beats going to the beach on Christmas morning - no snow for us!)

(BBQs with family and friends)

(Test cricket on Boxing Day)

(Pavlova - my favorite dessert of all time!!!)

(And my niece/nephew is due on Boxing Day, woot!)

I hope you all have a fantastic festive season, filled with lots of good food, eats, and company. I'll miss you all, can't wait to reconnect in the New Year and hear all about what you've been doing.

Lots of hugs,

Loving what you do

noreply@blogger.com (Rachael Harrie) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 05:01:00 +0000

As some of you may know from previous blog posts, I moved to a new city in January of this year. Canberra-the capital city of Australia-is very spread out, and there are wide open spaces in between many of the suburbs. I was driving along the other day looking out at the scenery (in between watching the road, of course), and I thought to myself, "I really love living here."

You see, while I've spent the last 15 years of my life in major cities, I was raised a country girl, and I'm just starting to realize that it's in my blood.

And that got me thinking. There are some things in life that we know are just right for us, that are in our blood, that have wriggled their way into our hearts and will never let go. There are some things we tolerate, some we push through hoping they'll change for the better, others we hate right from the start. But some things, the best things, just...click. It's how I feel about living here, in a city I now hope I never leave. And it's how I feel about my writing.

My writing is what I love. And it's what I want to do for the rest of my life. No matter what happens, whether I end up published or not, whether I publish multiple books or only one, I simply can't see a day where I give my writing up. And it brings a smile to my face just thinking about it.

How about you: Do you love what you do? What things in your life make you smile, make you think that you'll never give them up?

Physical Telling - Do you do it?

noreply@blogger.com (Rachael Harrie) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 23:14:00 +0000

(Source)

It came as a complete shock to me one day when my critique partner told me: "you're still telling." I'd already had this conversation, of course, so I'd thought I was going along swimmingly. That night I stared at my CP's email, mouth open, eyes bulging while I tried to work out what she meant. I'd spent months learning all about the "show not tell" rule, and even more months eradicating it from my writing. And I'd even added in more interiority as the doctor (*coughs* my critique partner) ordered. Of course, I dived back into the piece of work I'd sent her, and read it all over again. And again.

I still couldn't see anything wrong with it. So I began to research. And here's what I found.

"Physical telling" means something along the lines of the use of the actions of a character to convey their emotions. For example: "I took a deep breath," "I sighed," "I wiped my eyes," "I tapped my foot."

At a superficial level, these phrases aren't necessarily "telling" for the purposes of the "show not tell rule". The phrases are not saying "I was flustered," "I was annoyed," "I was sad," or "I was impatient." The problem is, however, that these types of phrases also aren't showing the reader what the character is actually feeling. They're just telling about an action the character is performing. And they're usually cliche, turning up in most peoples' manuscripts (and numerous times at that). So two big problems, actually. See Mary Kole's post on Physical Cliches here for her take on it.

But physical telling was all I knew how to write. If I couldn't say, "Verity was sad," then how else did I show she was sad if I didn't have her wipe tears off her cheeks?

(Source)

It was back to the drawing board for me (well, to the internet for some research, anyway).

And here's what I came up with:

it's ok to have telling in your manuscript, as long as it's the "good" kind
"good telling" involves using story context and interiority to paint a three-dimensional picture where you make your reader feel like a part of the story experience, but you don’t exclude them from participating either (per Mary Kole)
for the most part, whenever you start to feel the urge to use a physical cliche, replace it with interiority instead (see here for how to do this and a definition of "interiority")
when you're narrating a story, particularly in first person, you're in the character's head anyway. So just tell what they're feeling, rather than trying to show it through physical telling and cliches
strong dialogue should convey the meaning that physical telling would otherwise give

In summary, read this amazing post by Cristin Terrill. Your writing will thank you for it. It's what finally crystallized everything in my mind, to the point where I'm finally confident I (nearly) have the showing and telling balance right in my manuscript.

How about you: Do you use physical telling in your manuscript? Have you found ways to avoid it (and does it even need to be avoided from your perspective)? What's your best tip on showing not telling?

Your Campaigner Challenge Stories - Ebook to benefit "Help Harry Help Others"

noreply@blogger.com (Rachael Harrie) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 05:01:00 +0000

Guys, it's here! Katharina Gerlach has done an absolutely amazing job, and has published our ebook containing your awesome stories from the Challenges in my Third Writers' Platform-Building Campaign (August to October 2011). We'd like to say a huge thank you to all those who volunteered their stories for the ebook. We've ended up with 176 stories from 81 Campaigners.

The book is on sale for $2.99USD, and all proceeds will be donated to "Help Harry Help Others." Help Harry Help Others is a fund-raising organization of eleven year old Harry who recently died of his inoperable brain tumor. When his friend Robert, who had a brain tumor too, became very ill, he set up his charity. So far, he’s raised nearly half a million British Pounds that he has donated to Cancer Research UK, to help them find a cure for brain tumors. This charity and its goals resonates strongly with me, as my father suffered (and still suffers) from a brain tumor and its effects. And the charity is doing such a fantastic job helping so many in a similar position.

We'd love you to purchase a copy (but just so you know, there is no obligation to purchase it even if your story/stories are included).

Purchase details are as follows:

Amazon (US): http://www.amazon.com/Campaigner-Challenges-2011-ebook/dp/B0066UV28C
Amazon (UK): http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0066UV28C
Amazon (Germany): http://www.amazon.de/dp/B0066UV28C
Amazon (France): http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0066UV28C

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/104468

Barnes & Nobel: [To be advised on receipt]

I hope you enjoy, and I can't wait to hear what you think seeing your story and those of your fellow Campaigners in print :)

The end of my Third Campaign (and the Winners of the Third Campaigner Challenge)

noreply@blogger.com (Rachael Harrie) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 09:31:00 +0000

My Third Writers' Platform-Building Campaign is now at an end, and I wanted to let you all know how much fun I've had over the last two months. I've loved getting to know you and I've made some truly awesome friends--and you all know how much this blogging community rocks! I'll be running my Fourth Campaign next year, so keep an eye out for announcements if you want to take part :)

Thanks so much to all who took part in my Third Campaigner Challenge! We had 131 awesome entries and hundreds of people voting on those they liked the best. The time has come to announce the winners, woot! But before I do, did you read my earlier post about publishing your Challenge stories? If you didn't, make sure you pop over to take a look. Cat Gerlach is compiling your stories (if you want one or more of them published) in an ebook, and all proceeds from the sale will be donated to Harry Moseley's cancer research fund. We'd love you to take part, whether you're a winner of a Challenge or otherwise! If you do want to take part, make sure you let Cat know asap, as she'll stop taking entries the day after tomorrow so she can get the ebook published.

The time has come to announce the winners, woot! Winners have been chosen in three categories:

4 People's Choice Awards - chosen by you in the voting (by clicking "Like" on the entries);
12 places awarded by the judges, who've done an absolutely fantastic job of winnowing 131 entries down to the top 11 under the supreme organizational genius of J from Concrete Pieces of Soul; and
5 random prizes (chosen by Mr. Random.org).

Before I reveal the winners, I'd love you all to offer up a huge thanks to J, who has single-handedly administered the judging for this Challenge. I also want to thank the judges, who've generously given their time to choose the entries they think best and most deserving of a prize. And my thanks go again to the awesome people who've helped me out with the prizes for this round: K.T. Hanna, Rachel McClellan, Jeigh Meredith, Claire Hennessy, and Candy Fite. They did an amazing job administering the prizes and communicating with the prize donors (who generously donated the 130+ prizes you've seen be awarded). To say thank you, would you please pop over to all these peoples' blogs and follow them if you haven't already :)

And now to the winners and their prizes...*drumroll*:

Peoples' Choice Awards

First Place (tied) – LadyJai: A Proposal (91 votes)
First Place (tied) - K.T. Hanna: Do Unto Others (91 votes)
Second Place – Jessica McKendry: Synbatic Island (69 votes)
Third Place – Alynza: The Tacise Project (54 votes)
Fourth Place – David Powers King: Ghost by the Seashore (37)

(Source)

In First Place (tied) Lady Jai has won a choice of Children’s Books or Picture Books donated by Susanna Leonard Hill (in Susanna’s words: Winner can choose what they want: (1) A little kids vehicle package which would include one each of THE HOUSE THAT MACK BUILT, AIRPLANE FLIGHT! and FREIGHT TRAIN TRIP!, all hardcover or (2) two hardcover picture books of your choice (choose from PUNXSUTAWNY PHYLLIS, NOT YET ROSE, CAN'T SLEEP WITHOUT SHEEP and APRIL FOOL PHYLLIS - one each of two different titles or 2 copies of the same title))

In First Place (tied) K.T. Hanna has won a partial manuscript critique (up to 25 pages) or query critique donated by S E Sinkhorn from Maybe Genius

In Second Place Jessica McKendry has won a critique (25 pages) donated by Rachele Alpine from Freckle Head

In Third Place Alynza has won a first chapter critique donated by Sheri Doyle

In Fourth Place David Powers King has won a signed hardcover book “Hideaway” by Dean Koontz donated by Roland Yeoman from Writing in the Crosshairs (US/Canada shipping only)

Judging Round

The prizes below have been awarded based on the standard of your entries, as judged by a panel of judges (and thank you to everyone who volunteered!). Once the judges had determined the 11 Finalists, I decided which place each Finalist would be awarded. And boy was it hard, the entries were all SOOOO good!

Here are the Finalists and their prizes:

First Place: Kelly
Second Place: Avery Marsh
Third Place: Elisabeth Barrett
Fourth Place: Grillyfish
Fifth Place: The Chipper Muse
Sixth Place: Carrie Butler
Seventh Place: David Powers King
Eighth Place: Michael Haynes
Ninth Place: Barbara V. Evers
Tenth Place: Alynza Smith
Eleventh Place: Babydoll

Congratulations, you all really deserve it!!! Your prizes are:

In First Place Kelly has won:

Critique (up to 30 pages) donated by Reinhardt from The Reinhardt Experience
$30 Amazon Voucher donated by Matt Zandstra from Inflatable Ink
Fully guided private tour of West Ireland + guest room for one night donated by Fiona Claire from The Ageless Druid (Fiona says: I am a professional tour guide, living in and writing about Ireland. I can offer a fully-guided private tour in the west of Ireland (valued at 150 Euros), as well as a lovely guest room for one night. If any of your authors are writing about Ireland, this might be a big help for them).

In Second Place Avery Marsh has won:

Editing (4 hours) donated by Bill Jones from This Page Intentionally Blank (Bill says: I can offer up to 4 hours' worth of editing services. I'm a Grammar Guerilla, probably useful to those grammatically challenged writers).
Book (PDF) “Ultimate Justice, A Trey Fontaine Mystery” written and donated by Ryder Islington from Ryder Islington’s Blog
Book “Ribbon of Darkness” written and donated by Julie Coulter Bellon from LDSWriterMom
$25 Amazon Gift Card donated by Cat von Hassel-Davies from Cat Rambles

In Third Place Elisabeth Barrett has won:

First Chapter Critique (romance preferred) donated by Elizabeth Moss from Elizabeth Moss Regencies
Book “Techniques of the selling writer” by Dwight V Swain donated by Aimee L Salter from Seeking the Write Life
$25 Amazon Gift Card and “Bristol Boyz Stomp” written and donated by Doreen McGettigan

In Fourth Place Grillyfish has won:

Manuscript Review of Three Chapters donated by Kris Yankee from Adventures that Score
$10 Amazon Gift Card donated by Brinda Berry
Picture Book “Thanks to Tank” by Maureen Howard donated by Clar Bowman-Jahn from Clarbojahn’s Blog (US shipping only)
Signed Map from “The Dragon and the Crow” donated by T.B.McKenzie from Magickless

In Fifth Place The Chipper Muse has won:

Critique (1 Chapter or Short Story up to 15 pages) and a digital copy of the Romantic suspense Breathe Again written and donated by Bonnie R. Paulson
Book “Variant” by Robinson Wells donated by Donna K Weaver from Weaving a Tale or Two (US only)

In Sixth Place Carrie Butler has won:

Critique (First Chapter) donated by Michelle from Oh! For the LOVE of BOOKS!
Book “Making Waves” by Tawna Fenske donated by Coleen Patrick (US only)

In Seventh Place David Powers King has won:

Book “Writing Magic” by Gail Carson Levine donated by Julie Hedlund from Write Up My Life
Retro51 Rollerball Pen (choice of red, green or black) donated by Lesann Berry from Lesann Berry’s Blog

In Eight Place Michael Haynes has won:

Book of winners choice (up to $10 from The Book Depository) donated by Trisha from Word + Stuff

In Ninth Place Barbara V. Evers has won:

Book “A Happy Book for a Happy Baby” written and donated by Kristen Fairgrieve from Kristen Fairgrieve Write Create Inspire (US shipping only)
Ebook “Voodoo Dues” written and donated by Stephany Simmons

In Tenth Place Alynza has won:

e-ARC of Debut Novel “HUSHED” written and donated by Kelley York from Flowers for Ghosts

In Eleventh Place Babydoll has won:

Book (PDF) “The Devil to Pay” written and donated by Maria Zannini from Tales of Otherworlds

Remember, you've been chosen from 131 entries - how awesome is that!

Random Prizes

Kathy McKendry - Book donated by Scott Stillwell from Just a few lines… (US/Canada shipping if poss) (Scott says: The winner can choose one of the following: "Ready Player One" by Ernest Cline or "Peter Nimble and his Fantastic Eyes" by Johnathan Auxier)
S.B. Stewart-Laing - Book “Blank Slate” written and donated by Heather Justesen (ebook if outside US)
Liz A. - Book “Life, Liberty and Pursuit” written and donated by Susan Kaye Quinn (US/Canada shipping only)
Melodie - Book “Without Alice” written and donated by D.J. Kirkby
Patient Dreamer - Hardcover book: “Tales from China: World Favorite Fables” (first edition printing) edited by Steve Jackson and Mirando Sibo Paul and autographed by Miranda Paul, donated by Miranda Paul

Congratulations to everyone who won a prize today!!! Unless you receive an email from me, I'll be contacting the donors and asking them to email you regarding your prize.

Lastly, don't forget to check out my earlier post about publishing your entries if you haven't already.

Winners - Second Campaigner Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Rachael Harrie) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 09:17:00 +0000

(Source)

Thanks so much to all who took part in my Second Campaigner Challenge! We had 192 awesome entries and hundreds of people voting on those they liked the best. The time has come to announce the winners, woot! But before I do, did you read my earlier post about publishing your Challenge stories? If you didn't, make sure you pop over to take a look. Cat Gerlach is compiling your stories (if you want one or more of them published) in an ebook, and all proceeds from the sale will be donated to Harry Moseley's cancer research fund. We'd love you to take part, whether you're a winner of a Challenge or otherwise!

For my Second Challenge, winners were decided on the basis on your votes. I've also awarded 5 random prizes (chosen by Mr. Random.org). Before I reveal the winners, I'd love you all to offer up a huge thanks to the awesome people who've helped me out with the prizes for this round: K.T. Hanna, Rachel McClellan, Jeigh Meredith, Claire Hennessy, and Candy Fite. They did an amazing job administering the prizes and communicating with the prize donors. To say thank you, would you please pop over to their blogs and follow them if you haven't already :)

I also want to give all my thanks to those Campaigners who've generously donated over 130 prizes for my Campaigner Challenges (wow!) All I can say is, you guys rock, seriously!!! Wait until you see the awesome prizes below, and we've still got the Third Challenge prizes to go :D

And now to the winners...*drumroll*:

KT Hanna “Our Imago” (172 likes)
Lady Jai “Psycho Imago” (153 likes)
J “Deadly Imago” (118 likes)
K S Collier “Imago of the Swamp” (99 likes)
Jen “Mirror Imago” (66 likes)
Rachel McClellan “Imago Reborn” (64 likes)
Jeigh “Imago Ed.” (55 likes)
Michael Haynes “My Name is Imago Montoya” (46 likes)
Ruth Hartman Berge “Birth of an Imago” (45 likes)
David Powers King “Your Imago” (42 likes)
Claire Hennessy “Imago Nightmare” (39 likes) and Alynza Smith “The Imago Serum” (39 likes)
FE Sewell “The Battle of Imago” (35 likes)

Congratulations to you all!!! Here are the winners' prizes:

(Source)

In First Place, K.T. Hanna has won:

Full Manuscript Beta or 50 Line Page Edit AND $10 Book/eBook/Gift Card donated by Anonymeet from By Anonymous Writer
Signed copy of “Delirium” by Lauren Oliver donated by Melisso Sarno from This Too…
$50 Amazon Gift Voucher donated by Saba from Of Thoughts and Words

In Second Place, LadyJai has won:

30 page critique donated by Katharina Gerlach from Katharina Gerlach
Ebook “Claiming the Prize” written and donated by Nadja Notariani from Nadja Notariani: An Author’s Adventures
$30 Amazon Gift Card donated by Margo Berendsen from Writing at High Altitude
Book Cover Art (or blog banner) donated by Shelly Koon from Dark Writes (examples at http://shelleykoon.com/artist)

In Third Place, J has won:

Three Chapter Critique plus eBooks: "The Familial Witch," "Scent of a Witch," "Glazier," and "Caffe' Seduzione" donated by Bri Clark from Bri Clark The Belle of Boise
ARC of “Ditched” by Robin Mellom and “Dirty Little Secrets” by C J Omololu donated by Christa Desir from Christa Writes (US only)
book to the value of $10 from The Book Depository donated by Sher A Hart from Sher A Hart: Fantasy Writer’s Fancies

In Fourth Place, K.S. Collier has won:

30 page critique plus two eBooks: “Fencing Reputation” by William L. Hahn and "Urchin King" donated by Katharina Gerlach from Katharina Gerlach
$5 Gift Card to either of her Etsy Stores (http://www.etsy.com/shop/KACSales or http://www.etsy.com/shop/VintageFusionJewels) and a custom made wallpaper donated by Kristy C from KAC Sales

In Fifth Place, Jen has won:

Critique (3 Chapters, up to 10K words) donated by Kay Springsteen from The Romance of Your Life
“Stealing Mercy” written and donated by Kristy Tate from Kristy’s Stories
Jewelry: Sterling Silver and Swarovski Crystal Earrings and Bracelets donated by Julie Fedderson from Gypsy in my Soul
e-ARC of Debut Novel “HUSHED” written and donated by Kelley York from Flowers for Ghosts

In Sixth Place, Rachel McClellan has won:

Manuscript Review (20-30 pages) donated by Ru from And then she was like blah blah blah
ARC of "Possession" by Elana Johnson donated by Lola Sharp from Sharp Pen/Dull Sword
Ebook containing two stories: “Sam, the Strawb Part” and “Dark Clouds” donated by Scott Bury from Written Words

In Seventh Place, Jeigh has won:

Critique (up to 7K words) donated by Rebekah Loper from Rebekah Loper, Writer
“Hating Game” by Talli Roland donated by Ann Ormond Fennell from Inkpots N’ Quills (US/Canada only)
eBook “The Last Page” donated by Lacy Camey from Live Learn Dance

In Eighth Place, Michael Haynes has won:

“The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Creative Writing” donated by Saba from Of Thoughts and Words
Detailed 15 page manuscript critique donated by Margo Kelly from Margo Kelly
Mini hand decorated Surfboard donated by Janice Seagraves from Janice’s Home (US/Canada shipping only)

In Ninth Place, Ruth Hartman Berge has won:

Critique (limited for a new work or line edit of a final draft, up to 5K words) donated by Sedona Leigh from Sedona’s Attic
“With Seduction in Mind” by Laura Lee Guhrke (signed) and “A Kiss at Midnight” by Eloisa James donated by Carole St-Laurent from Romance & Beyond Blog (continental US only)

In Tenth Place, David Powers King has won:

Critique (5 pages) donated by Chris Eboch from Write Like a Pro!
$5 Starbucks Card donated by Madam P from P Nuttier Pearls

In Eleventh Place (tied), Claire Hennessy has won:

Hardcover copy of “Exclusively Chloe” donated by J.A. Yang from jonyangorg

In Eleventh Place (tied), Alynza Smith has won:

“Thanks for the Memories” by Cecelia Ahern donated by Len Lambert from Conversations with Self

In Twelfth Place, FE Sewell has won:

Ebook “A to Z Stories of Life and Death” by D Biswas donated by Damyanti from Writing on Writing: Amlokiglogs

Random Prizes

I'm also awarding 5 random prizes, chosen by Mr. Random.org! The winners (and prizes) are:

Tia Bach - “Walking on Water” by Madeleine L’Engle donated by Angelina C Hansen from Musing on the joy of writing
Catherine M. Johnson - “The Proper Order of Things” written and donated by Tara Benwell from Beyond ELT (Canada only)
Elizabeth Varadan – Signed copy of “The House on the Corner” written and donated by Andrew Leon from StrangePegs (No International shipping)
Jana Denardo - “Yours Until Dawn” by Teresa Medeiros donated by Mary from Waibel’s World (US/Canada shipping)
Sheri L. Swift - “Journey’s End” written and donated by Dora Hiers from Heart Racing, God-Gracing Romance

Congratulations to all the winners, you've done such a great job in this Challenge!!! Remember, you've been chosen from 192 entries - how awesome is that! Unless you receive an email from me directly after this post, I'll be contacting the donors and asking them to email you regarding your prize.

I'll be announcing the winners of the Third Campaigner Challenge as soon as the judging is finished. In the meantime, don't forget to check out my earlier post about publishing your entries.

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