Kristine Carlson Asselin

Cover Reveal for FALLING FOR WONDER BOY

noreply@blogger.com (Kristine Asselin) — Sun, 06 Jan 2019 16:48:00 +0000

Coming in February 2019 from Wicked Whale Publishing, FALLING FOR WONDER BOY will be available in print and digital formats. Thanks to K.R. Conway, author of the Undertow Series and Graphic Designer extraordinaire for Wicked Whale for all her expertise and assistance.

Cover Reveal for Any Way You Slice It

noreply@blogger.com (Kristine Asselin) — Sun, 15 Oct 2017 10:18:00 +0000

Coming in November 2017 from Wicked Whale Publishing, ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT will be available in print and digital formats. Maybe you'd like to see that close up...Thanks to K.R. Conway, author of the Undertow Series and Graphic Designer extraordinaire for Wicked Whale for al lher expertise and assistance.

ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT being re-released

noreply@blogger.com (Kristine Asselin) — Mon, 04 Sep 2017 19:22:00 +0000

I am so excited to announce that AWYSI has found a new home!

Originally published by digital press Bloomsbury Spark, ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT has found a new home with Wicked Whale Publishing and will be released in both print and e-book versions, with a brand new cover!

I know some of you have been waiting a long time for this! YA contemporary romance lovers and hockey fans, this book was written for you! I'm so excited to finally be able to give it to you in print format!

I’ll be posting the cover reveal soon. Sign up for my newsletter (in the sidebar), if you want up to the minute details!

***

Penelope Spaulding just can't catch a break. Between long hours at the family restaurant, homework, and her parents' plans for her future, it's hard to find a spare moment to breathe. But when she laces up her skates and steps on the ice, everything slips away...

Racing around the rink allows her to blow off steam after yet another fight with her dad about going to culinary school. So when Jake Gomes, the bad boy who lives down the street, dares her to join the Rink Rats, the local misfit hockey team, she surprises herself and joins in silent defiance of her father and his expectations.

The more she plays, the easier it is to keep lying, and soon Pen finds it impossible to come clean. She’s sneaking out to practice—and loving every minute of it. It doesn’t take long for her to fall in love with hockey…and Jake’s not half bad either. But she knows it can’t last. As soon as her dad finds out, she’ll be benched. For good.

She’s absolutely not going to tell her parents until she’s sure it will be worth the inevitable fight. Not only is she skipping shifts at Slice Pizza while a foodie reality show is on the horizon, but her lies are starting to take their toll on her game. It’s only a matter of time before everything falls apart.

With the team counting on her and with her relationship with Jake on the line, will she have to sacrifice the thing she wants most for the people she loves? Or can she step up and take her best shot?

Hot boys on cold ice…and pizza to boot? The title is spot on because any way you slice it, this book is sheer adorable. - Author, Jen Malone (MAP TO THE STARS and WANDERLOST)

ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT will make you root for the team, hungry for pizza, and dying for that first kiss. - Kristy Acevedo (CONSIDER and CONTRIBUTE)

Perfect portrayal of small town life, charming characters, pizza, and hockey . . . ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT is a must-read for anyone looking for a sweet romance! - Lindsay Currie (THE PECULIAR INCIDENT ON SHADY STREET)

Adorable sweet romance about a girl balancing family life, sports, and a boyfriend! Tweens and up will enjoy this cute story. The story was well-written with lots of emotion and tension. I loved the relationship Pen (Penelope) had with Slice, the family restaurant. Lots of depth and great backstory to back up what the characters were experiencing. Highly recommend! - Goodreads Review

Perseverance 2017--or Query Reality Check

noreply@blogger.com (Kristine Asselin) — Fri, 24 Mar 2017 15:19:00 +0000

Persevering in the Query Trenches (taken with a Dose of Reality)

This post first appeared as part of WriteOnCon 2017, in February 2017

Perseverance—my favorite word

Today, I’m talking about Persevering in the Query Trenches. It’s one of my favorite topics. Every time I have the opportunity to talk to authors just starting out, I will eventually get to this subject. First, my own story.

I was first agented in February 2011. It took 67 queries, spanning about 2 years, for a YA contemporary that was near and dear to my heart. This was after a failed attempt to query agents for several picture book manuscripts over two years prior to that. My agent left the field about sixteen months later, leaving me agentless. I was sad at first, then determined to get back into the query trenches. She’d given me a handful of referrals, and I began the query process again. A month later, I had an offer. After 25ish queries. Alas, my second agent parted ways with her agency about a month after I signed with her, leaving me agentless a second time in just over four months.

I might have had a glass or two of wine at that point. I won’t lie. It was frustrating. I felt like my career was stalling through no fault of my own. But life happens. If you quit, you won’t get where you want to go.

Here’s where the part about perseverance comes into play.

I started querying again. This time I had two finished projects. And several more in the works. I’d met agents through conferences. I had author friends with agents. I focused my search. I asked for referrals. I made connections. I had done it before; I knew I could do it again. In August 2013, I signed with my third agent, Kathleen Rushall. Kathleen had seen previous work of mine, we’d stayed friendly, and when the right project crossed her desk, she signed me. (And I love her for it every day, three and a half years later.)

The book I queried her with hasn’t sold yet. But we’ve sold two other projects; a digital contemporary YA to Bloomsbury Spark published in 2015, and a Middle Grade time travel novel to Simon and Schuster/Aladdin (which I cowrote with Jen Malone), coming out in 2018. My overnight success story only took 15 years.

What does this mean for you?

The complaint I hear most often from people who are just starting to query is that it’s hard to take rejection. Not to mention writing the actual query letter.

Let’s start with the part about rejection. Let’s just put it out there. Rejection sucks. It’s hard. It’s hard to put your words out in the world and have people reject them. It feels personal.

Can we all agree not to call it rejection? Let’s call it what it is: A Decline. An agent declines your work. They pass. That’s all. They aren’t rejecting you as a person.

You have to get comfortable with agents declining your work. Rejection implies a judgement on you. As with anything creative, not every work of art is going to appeal to every agent (just like not everything you write is going to appeal to every editor). When you get a decline, take whatever you can learn from it—and then move on. Don’t burn bridges either, because maybe your second or third project might be the best fit for someone who previously declined. Take it from me, it happens.

But that’s the game. There are literally hundreds of agents representing children’s books (or adult romance, or science fiction). At any one time, half of them may not be accepting submissions. (note: I made up that statistic. I have no idea exactly how many agents are representing any genre or how many aren’t accepting submissions at a given time). They might not rep what you write. They may be looking for something super specific. This is not rejection. This is them looking to add to their own client list. This is them passing. Declining, not rejecting.

I wanted to share some data I collected for this blog post. The raw data of the survey is available upon request, but here’s my analysis.

I asked five questions of agented authors.

1. How many queries did it take to sign with your first agent (and any subsequent agents, if you're not still with your first.)
2. Are you still with your first agent?
3. Were these queries all for the same project? If not, how many different projects did you query?
4. How many months/years were you in the query trenches before signing for the first time/second time, etc.?
5. Since signing with an agent, have you published the work queried? Have you published a different work?

Data Analysis—Reality Check Time

Now it’s time to get real.

Forty-nine people answered the questions through a private Facebook page and through a survey posted on Twitter. Please understand this survey is not scientific. And I can’t share personal anecdotes, just the raw data, so it’s difficult to get any nuance from this. Also, don’t try to figure out who the authors are—even I don’t know, as it was an anonymous survey.

Here’s the down and dirty:

Number of queries sent before signing ranged from one to one thousand (you read that right, from 1 - 1000).

Takeaway? You might be in this for the long haul. Get comfortable with the word “decline” (see above).

Of the forty-nine (49) respondents, sixteen (16) are no longer with their first agent – that’s a little over 30% who aren’t with their first agent. This survey did not ask why—but reasons can range from agent left the field, to the relationship not working out, or not having a sale. Remember, this is a business relationship that either party can sever.

Takeaway? Having had multiple agents does NOT make you or the agent with whom you parted ways a bad person or a bad writer. No one thinks this and you do NOT need to be ashamed of having had more than one agent.

Of the forty-nine (49) queried, twenty-six (26) queried more than one project. Underscore this: More than half the respondents queried at least two projects over the course of their process. Out of those twenty-six, seven had four or more projects.

Takeaway? Write something new while you’re querying.

Length of time in the query “trenches” ranged from one day to ten years, and lots of variation in between. There is no rule of thumb here. Your process can be short or long; and is in no way a judgement on you as a person or a writer.

Takeaway? If you keep working at it, you can (and will) go on to sell your book.

Overall, those who have a second or third agent took less time to query and fewer queries for the second and third processes.

Takeaway? It gets easier the more you do it.

Twelve out of the forty-nine haven’t sold their queried project, though some have sold subsequent projects. (And that means that thirty-seven SOLD the project they queried. YAY!)

Takeaway? Having an agent doesn’t mean you will sell your project, but the odds are that you’ll sell something else.

Don’t toss out the baby with the bathwater

For me, the biggest takeaway is that whatever your expectation of the query process is, you need to toss it out the window. We love to think that we’re going to be the exception—that we’ll be the one person who sent one query and signed in a day (and great, if you are!). But realistically, the odds are that it’s going to take longer. Honestly, it should take longer—you need to vet potential agents as much as they vet you. The person who sold their eleventh project in the tenth year of querying, is a New York Times best seller (and yes, I know I said it was anonymous, but this person made themselves known to me). If that person had quit in year eight, we wouldn’t have those amazing books.

Some of the results might be skewed by personality types—it’s hard to know, but someone who holds onto a manuscript longer, revising multiple times, and then querying, likely has fewer overall queries. Others might query too early, with a MS that isn’t ready, adding time and numbers of total queries to their process.

In conclusion

Your query process is yours alone. It won’t resemble anyone else’s. Take these results with a grain of salt—they are not meant to depress you or overwhelm you. My goal is to demonstrate, with real data, that the process is different for everyone. As long as you don’t quit, you keep practicing your craft, and you PERSEVERE in both your writing and your querying, you will achieve your dreams.

My simple rules of thumb are: keep it short (one page or less), talk more about your book than yourself, and make every word of the query count (no need to dwell on backstory and be sure to include the stakes for your main character).

I’m taking questions here on this blog post—let me know if this has been helpful, or if you want to chat! I wish you all the best of luck—if anyone is going to be at New England SCBWI in April, please be sure to say hello!

If you’re looking for someone to critique your query letter, I do that under the guise of QUERYGODMOTHER.com – find me there for details.

Deleted scene from ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT (First kiss)

noreply@blogger.com (Kristine Asselin) — Fri, 30 Dec 2016 21:09:00 +0000

This is a deleted scene from an early version of ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT. In honor of the winter weather today, I thought I'd post it. I was never an ice skater, but parts of this remind me of a boy I once knew who was a skater.
ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT is available here from Amazon.

***

My nose and cheeks tingled with the cold the second I pushed open the car door. In ten minutes, I’d look like Jack Frost’s twin sister, but I didn’t care. No way Jake was going to beat me today; I’ve been working too hard for him to out skate me this time. I pulled on my gloves and grabbed my skates off the back seat. He was hot on my heels, but I didn’t even look back at him as we sprinted to the dock to lace them up.

“Bet you an extra-large chocolate chip scone you can’t beat me to the middle!” he yelled, sliding down next to me and throwing off his boots.

I rolled my eyes, and bumped his shoulder. “Seriously? We’re not ten anymore.” But the second I finished my laces, I took off, pumping my arms to pick up speed. We’d done this race a gazillion times, but it never got old. I could do it with my eyes closed. It didn’t even really matter who won—it was just what we did when we skated on the pond.

I raised my arms in victory when I got to the spot we always called the finish line. “I am the winner!” I started my victory dance, knowing he’d have done the same if he’d been first. I took a bow, and twirled around gracefully on my skates, just in time to see him come speeding at me. The moment before he careened into me, he stopped short, sheering ice everywhere. “You really are still ten, aren’t you?”

“Only when I’m with you,” he said, as he glided along the ice in a perfect figure eight.

“Ha! Aren’t I the luckiest girl.”

When the sun dipped below the tree line, something about the weird shadows chasing Jake around the pond make me stop and watch him. With a pretend stick in his hand, he raced toward an imaginary goal. “He shoots! He scores! And the crowd goes wild!”

His energy and joy wafted toward me like a palpable breeze, and everything melted away. No coach, no parents nagging me to do the right thing, no team counting on me to lead them to victory. None of that was going anywhere, but for now, I’d block it all from my brain. I’d just enjoy myself.

The ice on this part of the pond was about two and a half inches thick but the way the light reflected off the smooth surface, made it seem like it went on forever. The first time it cracked it sounded just like thunder, rolling far away in the distance. “It always freaks me out when it does that!” I said to myself, knowing he was too far away to hear. I skated in a few lazy circles, before Jake’s fancy moves drew my attention again.

He spelled his name and twirled a few times. The guys on the team would never let him live down some of the girlier ice dance moves, but he really was amazing on his skates. His stupid hat trailed behind him like a tail. It was so long, it could double as a scarf and wrap around his neck four times. He turned and waved the pompom on the end in my direction. It was the smallest of gestures, but suddenly I felt my face flush. It was like someone turned up the heat—like I was almost breaking a sweat. If I’d been near a chair, I’d have sat down.

“What’s up? Why aren’t you skating?” He stopped a few inches away and squinted at me like he could see into my soul. “You feel okay? You look like you’re about to pass out.”

Before I could answer, the thunder came from directly beneath us. In that second my only thought was if we were taking a plunge into the icy depths, we were going to take it together.

My next thought hit me like a hockey stick to the gut.

Oh my god, I’m in love with Jake.

In that instant, waiting for the surface to break open and the icy water to swallow us whole and knowing beyond any doubt that I loved Jake Gomes with my entire being, my reflexes reacted and I gripped his forearms like a life preserver.

He grabbed my arms in return and, I saw panic flash across his face.

We stood face to face, linked. Panic gripped my heart as I waited for the inevitable. My brain tried to get my feet to move and skate to shore, but I couldn’t let go of Jake arms.

He relaxed first. “Pen, what the hell’s wrong with you today? The ice is totally thick enough here. It’s not cracking.” But as he said the words, he pulled me into his chest and held me for a long time. I could feel his heart beating through his parka and I knew I’d scared him. I buried my face in his coat. I couldn’t look at him; if I looked at him, my eyes would betray my heart. As terrified as I was of my heart, I’d never felt safer in my life wrapped in Jake’s arms. Like I’d come home. After being away for a very long time.

He finally loosened his grip and looked down at me. I might have been crying or maybe my eyes were watering from the cold. And I wasn’t sweating anymore; my body shook with fear and cold and confusion. How could I never have known that I loved Jake Gomes? He took off his glove and wiped my cheek. Why had I never noticed that his eyes are turquoise? I’d been looking at him since we were seven, but I’d never noticed.

My heart had just started to calm down from my earlier panic, but as Jake leaned toward me, my pulse quickened in my ears.

I’d never imagined kissing Jake. I have no idea why I never imagined kissing Jake. Kissing Jake was amazing. I wished we weren’t wearing parkas because I wanted to get so much closer to him. He pulled away first, and started skating backwards away from me. He looked more scared now than he did when the ice cracked. “I’m sorry.”

I felt like I’d been punched again. I whispered, “Why are you sorry?”

He looked surprised. “I…I mean…I didn’t mean to kiss you.”

I skated forward, closing the gap he’d created. “I’m glad you did.” I wasn’t trying to be sexy, I just wanted to be kissing him again. In hindsight, maybe I was too enthusiastic. I misjudged the distance and caught him off guard. We both lost our balance and went down hard onto the ice.

When he started laughing, I started breathing again. I wasn’t sure what to do with this new Jake. The Jake who kissed me. The Jake with the beautiful blue-green eyes. The war in my head raged. This was the same Jake who had been like my brother for the last eight years. There was no reason to be nervous. “Thanks for breaking my fall,” I said, holding out my hand to help him up. I could pass my shaking hands off as being cold, right?

Jake grasped my hand and pulled me back onto the ice next to him. He pulled my hat off and ran his fingers through my hair, and then, finally, he kissed me again.

Perseverance and Dory

noreply@blogger.com (Kristine Asselin) — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 11:47:00 +0000

Perseverance

It might be my favorite word. I’ve blogged about it before, here (talking about querying) and here (talking about rejection).

Recently, a query godmother client emailed me about her desire to quit. She didn’t feel like she was ever going to get the query right. It just wasn’t coming together.

And I immediately replied to tell her to NOT QUIT!

It’s so easy to look around and see what feels like everyone on twitter announcing that they’ve just signed with an agent. But listen, those people have their own journey. Maybe that woman who just announced her new agent has been querying for ten years. Or maybe she’s only sent one query. You just can’t compare yourself to someone else’s process, because you have no idea.

I do know one thing. No one who quit ever published a book.

A couple of years ago, I polled agented authors about how many queries it took them to get an agent. The results were surprising--we're talking hundreds. Years. Multiple manuscripts. The thing you have to keep in mind (and it's hard, I know, to not feel that pang of jealousy) is that you have no idea what someone else's journey is like.

Here's the post with those results. It's not meant to be depressing, only honest. I’ll say it again, no one who gave up ever published. http://krisasselin.blogspot.com/2014/01/how-many-queries-does-it-take-to-get.html

Persevere. Keep writing. Keep querying. Keep connecting through your writing community. Keep learning, growing, submitting.

As Dory would say, “just keep swimming.”

Kristine Carlson Asselin writes Young Adult and Middle-Grade fiction. Her YA novel Any Way You Slice It (Bloomsbury Spark) is currently available and her debut middle-grade, The Art of the Swap (co-authored with Jen Malone) has recently sold to Simon and Schuster for publication in 2017. Kristine is also the author of sixteen nonfiction children’s books for the elementary school library market. Kris does query package critiques under the alter-ego @QueryGodMother and loves doing school visits for kids all over New England.

To keep up with Kristine, follow her on Twitter at @KristineAsselin and check out her website at www.kristineasselin.com.

Digital Books for your Library's Collection through Overdrive

noreply@blogger.com (Kristine Asselin) — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 19:27:00 +0000

The Summer Reading for 2016 is Get in The Game. I'd love to get ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT into the hands of kids reading for the theme. The only way to do that through public libraries is through Overdrive.

Here's an overview of how to get a "digital only" book from your library.

With the influx of "digital only" and "digital first" books on the market, how does a library stay current? I've been approached recently by several YA librarians who have asked about getting Any Way You Slice It into their kids' hands, so I've done a bit of research.

Most digital books are going to be available through Overdrive. Overdrive is a giant online clearinghouse of books, in their digital format. The thing is...your library STILL has to purchase the digital title from Overdrive in order to house it on their own virtual shelves. Just as you would recommend they purchase a physical copy of your favorite title, you can request they purchase a digital title.

Consider doing this for all your favorite digital books at your local library.

Here's how it works:

1. Go to Overdrive and sign in: https://www.overdrive.com/
2. Search for your own library/library consortium and save it as a favorite library, then click on the library name to search what's available in their list of digital titles.
3. You will need your library card, so it must be library to which you have a card!
4. Put Any Way You Slice It (or your favorite digital title--you can do this as many times as you want) into the search engine. If it doesn't come up in your library's collection, hit the button that says "search for more titles" and the search engine will go to Overdrive and pull up the cover.
5. Recommend it as a book your library or consortium should consider making available to their digital readers.

Personally, I'd love to get my book into the hands of teen and tween readers, and having it available through libraries is a good way to start! But if you're not inclined to recommend my book, consider any of the other Bloomsbury Spark titles listed here: http://bloomsbury.com/us/bloomsbury-spark/

Jobs in Publishing

noreply@blogger.com (Kristine Asselin) — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 11:08:00 +0000

I was honored to be invited to present at the local Career Day at Littleton High School, in Littleton, MA. As a resource, I promised the students some "read more" information. These are a few of my favorite resources about careers in publishing.

How to Get a Job in Book Publishing by Brian O’Connor http ://www.bustle.com/articles/33160-how-to-get-a-job-in-book-publishing
Getting a Job in Publishing by Bookends Literary http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/2009/03/getting-job-in-publishing.html
Careers in Publishing at YA Highway:http://www.yahighway.com/2008/01/careers-in-publishing.html
Ask the Agent: Jennifer Laughran http://literaticat.tumblr.com/post/137913327055/my-long-term-goal-has-been-to-work-in-publishing

Thank you and Deleted "First Kiss" Scene

noreply@blogger.com (Kristine Asselin) — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 13:53:00 +0000

I'm celebrating Any Way You Slice It being out for just over two months! I'm so happy that people are loving it--it was such a labor of love.

One of my favorite scenes had to be cut because it didn't really fit in with how Pen and Jake's relationship was progressing...but I'm happy to be able to share that scene as a thank you to newsletter subscribers.

"Show" V. "Tell" in Fiction

noreply@blogger.com (Kristine Asselin) — Tue, 16 Jun 2015 15:25:00 +0000

I recently presented a workshop on the differences between “showing” in your writing vs. “telling” in your writing. I thought I’d share some of that workshop here, for you!

***

Have you ever been told that you “tell” too much in your writing; that you need to “show” more? What does that even mean?

“Show, don’t tell.”

When an agent or editor says this about your writing, they mean:

1. Don’t just tell me the story…show me, using your words.
2. Place the reader INTO the story. This is especially important in first person POV—but also equally important in close third.
3. Use the senses to bring the reader along for the ride. Sight, Sound, Touch, Taste, Smell.
4. Use specificity

For example…in my first draft of a YA contemporary romance, I might describe the love interest this way. This is Telling:

I watched John walk into the room. He was hot; maybe the best looking boy I’d ever seen.

My first draft is always messy. It's full of telling. That's okay. When you revise, you'll use more detail to make the story come alive. Rewriting the scene by using specificity and the senses, here’s my new introduction. This is Showing:

John didn’t walk into the cafeteria. He swaggered like the Mayor of Westfield High School, as he shook hands and slapped shoulders. If there had been a baby somewhere, he would have kissed it. Normally, that sort of attitude makes my stomach turn, but not today. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. He even nodded at the lunch ladies. When he got to my table, our eyes met for the briefest of moments, and I felt like the only girl in the world.

You can add character detail, voice, and setting at the same time. This is showing. This is what they mean.

What’s the Difference?

When you “show,” use physical attributes, or active descriptions to convey emotion—without “telling” the reader what the character is feeling.

When you “show,” the reader should be able to infer emotion or character trait based on the language you’ve chosen.

You *do* need to be careful, you don’t need to show absolutely everything, especially if it’s not important to the forward motion of the plot. You risk the danger of being too lengthy or detailed if you’re not careful. NO three page descriptions of the woods.

When you “tell,” the narrative or character “tells” the reader the emotion or action.

“Telling” is often used to move the action along quickly or tell necessary backstory in a shorter word count.

You run the risk of “info dump” if you tell all the backstory this way.

Use a combination of the two to amp up your storytelling!

Tips

Imagine a movie scene in your head—emotion is often conveyed with music. Write all the detail that you see. No “floating” heads of dialogue—be sure to describe where people are standing, what their hands are doing, noises in the room, where they are.
Dr. Albert Mehrabian, author of Silent Messages, conducted several studies on nonverbal communication. He found that 7% of any message is conveyed through words, 38% through certain vocal elements, and 55% through nonverbal elements (facial expressions, gestures, posture, etc). convey nonverbal communication in your writing.
Consider investing in the Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman to get a sense of how physical movement conveys emotion.

Try some Writing Examples

Jarrod was sick

Brainstorm what the sick room looks like; surroundings, smells, sounds. What does Jarrod look like? Taste in mouth, sensations of being sick?
Write a paragraph “showing” us Jarrod.

Do the same for these two examples:

2. The house was haunted.
3. The pizza was delicious.

Memorial Day 2015: Women in World War I

noreply@blogger.com (Kristine Asselin) — Sat, 23 May 2015 17:56:00 +0000

We are all familiar with the story of Rosie the Riveter and how women jumped to action during World War II to keep the country moving forward. But did you know decades early, in 1917, the Navy officially enlisted the first women in the military when the United States entered World War I?


" Marines conduct a recruitment campaign in New York, NY, 1918.

Before women had the vote, Before women’s fashion allowed for wearing long pants or even skirts above the knee, Before television or radio—women were enlisted to support the war effort. Don’t get me wrong, women had been involved in war before—as spies or nurses or even as disguised soldiers during the Civil War. But never before as official enlisted personnel.

US Army Signal Corps telephone operators or "Hello Girls," Tours, France, WWI. Elizabeth Anne Browne Collection, Gift of L.C. Jones. Women's Memorial Foundation Collection.

By the end of World War I in 1918, more than18,000 women had been enlisted in the Navy, Marines, Coast Guard to work in clerical jobs at bases all over the country. Thousands more women had worked in the Army Nurse Corps or as nurses, ambulance drivers, telephone operators, and general volunteers on or near the front line for the Army Signal Corps, Salvation Army, American Red Cross, YMCA, and YWCA among numerous other organizations.

In some instances, it took until 1977 for women to be recognized as veterans of the war and to receive military benefits. Most would not be alive to enjoy the recognition.

On this Memorial Day 2015, and because I’m working on a nonfiction project about women in World War I, I wanted to take a moment to recognize the contributions of these incredibly brave women. Not only did they contribute to the war effort, they also changed the way society viewed women and paved the way for future progress for women’s rights.

The Might Women of World War I

Pictures from: http://www.womensmemorial.org/H&C/History/wwi%28war%29.html

One Month Anniversary Contest for AWYSI

noreply@blogger.com (Kristine Asselin) — Tue, 19 May 2015 19:26:00 +0000

Any Way You Slice It has been out for about a month, and I’m so excited about the response it’s been getting!

One of my favorites is from a reader on goodreads.com. She says, “There is just so much to love about this book. A female trying to make it in a man's sport always excites me. She goes after what she loves, even if her parents don't agree. Penelope wants to play hockey instead of following in her father's footsteps of slinging pizzas but her parents have a different idea. This book has all the elements of a great book. A good plotline, great characters, A strong female lead and a romantic arc!”

To celebrate a month of being out in the world, I’m holding a selfie contest! Here’s how you can play…

Take a #selfie eating pizza OR playing hockey OR holding your favorite e-reader with the cover of AWYSI showing. Any combination of the three earns you more points!
Post your picture on FB or Twitter with the hashtag #AWYSI and, this is important, you MUST tag me so I’ll see it! I’ll copy all the pics to my Pinterest page, so everyone can see them.
That’s it!

I have four amazing celebrity judges who will help decide the winners.

Jen Brooks (author of In A World Just Right)
K. R. Conway (author of Undertow and Cruel Summer)
Trisha Leaver (author of Secrets We Keep, Creed, and the forthcoming Sweet Madness)
Jen Malone (author of At Your Service, and Map to the Stars)

The Judges will vote on their favorites, basing the winning entries on creativity, and personal preference. I will make the final decisions, with their input.

Prizes: free Query Critique from @QueryGodMother (value $20), $15 Gift card for Papa Ginos, $10 Amazon Gift Card, Digital copy of Any Way You Slice It.

Thanks for helping me celebrate! I can't wait to see your selfies! Say “bacon pizza!”

Recommending a Digital Book to your Library

noreply@blogger.com (Kristine Asselin) — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 11:26:00 +0000

With the influx of "digital only" and "digital first" books on the market, how does a library stay current? I've been approached recently by several YA librarians who have asked about getting Any Way You Slice It into their kids' hands, so I've done a bit of research.

Most digital books are going to be available through Overdrive. Overdrive is a giant online clearinghouse of books, in their digital format. The thing is...your library STILL has to purchase the digital title from Overdrive in order to house it on their own virtual shelves. Just as you would recommend they purchase a physical copy of your favorite title, you can request they purchase a digital title.

Consider doing this for all your favorite digital books at your local library.

Here's how it works:

1. Go to Overdrive and sign in: https://www.overdrive.com/
2. Search for your own library/library consortium and save it as a favorite library, then click on the library name to search what's available in their list of digital titles.
3. You will need your library card, so it must be library to which you have a card!
4. Put Any Way You Slice It (or your favorite digital title--you can do this as many times as you want) into the search engine. If it doesn't come up in your library's collection, hit the button that says "search for more titles" and the search engine will go to Overdrive and pull up the cover.
5. Recommend it as a book your library or consortium should consider making available to their digital readers.

Personally, I'd love to get my book into the hands of teen and tween readers, and having it available through libraries is a good way to start! But if you're not inclined to recommend my book, consider any of the other Bloomsbury Spark titles listed here: http://bloomsbury.com/us/bloomsbury-spark/

Blog Tour Schedule for AWYSI

noreply@blogger.com (Kristine Asselin) — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 13:17:00 +0000

I'm so excited that ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT will be out in the world on April 21. I'm doing a blog tour to celebrate!

Here's the schedule for anyone who is interested.

April 19th Curling Up With A Good Book REVIEW + INTERVIEW
April 20th LuLo Fan Girl REVIEW
April 21st Bookhounds YA REVIEW + WHAT'S IN KRISTINE'S BAG?
April 21st Sporty Girl Books INTERVIEW
April 22nd Swoony Boys Podcast REVIEW + TEN RANDOM THINGS
April 23rd Her Book Thoughts REVIEW
April 24th The Unofficial Book Addiction Club REVIEW + INSPIRATION BOARD
April 24th Writers Rumpus, Guest Post
April 25th Bibliophilia: A Love Story REVIEW + TENS LIST

Cover Reveal for SWEET MADNESS by Trisha Leaver and Lindsay Currie

noreply@blogger.com (Kristine Asselin) — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 10:00:00 +0000

SWEET MADNESS

Coming September 18, 2015 from Merit Press

Lizzie Borden took an axe,

And gave her mother forty whacks.

When she saw what she had done,

She gave her father forty one.

BLURB:

Who was Lizzie Borden? A confused young woman, or a cold-hearted killer? For generations, people all over the world have wondered how Andrew Borden and his second wife, Abby, met their gruesome deaths. Lizzie, Andrew’s younger daughter, was charged, but a jury took only 90 minutes to find her not guilty. In this retelling, the family maid, Bridget Sullivan, shines a compassionate light on a young woman oppressed by her cheap father and her ambitious stepmother. Was Lizzie mad, or was she driven to madness?

Mark it to read on Goodreads

Preorder Sweet Madness:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Trisha Leaver lives on Cape Cod with her husband, three children, and one rather irreverent black lab. She is a chronic daydreamer who prefers the cozy confines of her own imagination to the mundane routine of everyday life. She writes Young Adult Contemporary fiction, Psychological Horror and Science Fiction and is published with FSG/ Macmillan, Flux/Llewellyn and Merit Press. To can learn more about Trisha’s books, upcoming shenanigans, and her quest to reel in the perfect tuna, please visit her website: www.trishaleaver.com

Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

Tumblr

Lindsay Currie lives in Chicago with her three awesome children, husband, and a one hundred and sixty pound lap dog named Sam. She has an unnatural fondness for coffee, chocolate and things that go bump in the night. She spends her days curled up in the comfortable confines of her writing nook, penning young adult psychological horror, contemporary fiction and science-fiction and is published with Flux/Llewellyn, Merit Press and Spencer Hill Contemporary. Learn more about her at www.lindsaycurrie.com

Twitter

Instagram

Facebook:

To celebrate, we are giving away four AMAZING books from our publisher Merit Press.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Trailer for ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT

noreply@blogger.com (Kristine Asselin) — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 20:38:00 +0000

Cover Reveal for The One Thing by Marci Lyn Curtis

noreply@blogger.com (Kristine Asselin) — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 11:00:00 +0000

I can't tell you how thrilled I am to be a part of Marci Lyn Curtis's cover reveal for THE ONE THING. First of all, she is one of the sweetest authors I know, and second of all, her book absolutely rocks. I had a chance to read a pre-copy edited version and I absolutely fell in love with Marci's characters. I can guarantee this is one to put on your TBR and most anticipated list!

Without further ado, here's the cover--isn't it gorgeous!!

BLURB:

A soaring tale of life and love, of sacrifice and renewal, and learning to see people as they really are.

Maggie Sanders might be blind, but she won't invite anyone to her pity party. Ever since losing her sight six months ago, Maggie's rebellious streak has taken on a life of its own, culminating with an elaborate school prank. Maggie called it genius. The judge called it illegal.

Now Maggie has a probation officer. But she isn't interested in rehabilitation, not when she's still mourning the loss of her professional soccer dreams, and furious at her so-called friends, who lost interest in her as soon as she could no longer lead the team to victory.

When Maggie first meets Ben, she thinks she can add crazy to her list of problems. But the precocious ten-year-old isn't a hallucination. Maggie can actually see him. She immediately befriends the kid, desperate for any chance to see again.

It turns out Ben's older brother is Mason Milton, the the ridiculously hot lead singer of Maggie's new favorite band. Music is the first thing that has made Maggie feel alive since losing her sight. But when she learns the real reason she can see Ben, Maggie must find the courage to face a once-unimaginable future...before she loses everything she has grown to love.

About the Author:

Marci Curtis grew up in Northern California, where she went to college and met an amazing guy in a military uniform. Two college-aged kids and one dachshund later, she lives in Maryland, where she laughs too loudly and eats peanut butter off spoons. Her YA contemporary debut, The One Thing, comes out September 8^th, 2015 via Disney-Hyperion. Learn more about her at Marcilyncurtis.com.

Website: http://marcilyncurtis.com/

Goodreads): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18369372-the-one-thing

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Marci_Curtis

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marcilyncurtis

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/marcilyncurtis/the-one-thing/

Cover Reveal - ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT

noreply@blogger.com (Kristine Asselin) — Fri, 23 Jan 2015 07:30:00 +0000

It's a party day!

My cover reveal is all over the interwebs today...most notably on the Sporty Girl Books blog, where you can enter to win some fabulous prizes. Here's the link!

Sporty Girl Books

Thanks for celebrating with me today!

Recap of My #pitmad tips

noreply@blogger.com (Kristine Asselin) — Sun, 07 Dec 2014 17:48:00 +0000

As some of you know, I'm a #pitmad success story. Back in 2013, I attracted the attention of Meredith Rich of Bloomsbury Spark with my pitch for my novel THE SWEET SPOT. That's not the book that I ultimately ended up writing with Bloomsbury, but it started our relationship. Link

Needless to say, I love #pitmad. This past week, I got to help out Brenda Drake by co-hosting the most recent. I spent the day tweeting tips, so I thought I'd put them all here in one place.

I'd love to answer questions about pitches. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions about my experience!

***

Be professional on twitter. An agent during #pitmad mentioned being turned off by someone's negative tweets & chose not to favorite. #pubtip

Tweets are public. Expect industry pros to look at your feed and bio. Act accordingly if you expect to be treated professionally. #pitmad

#pitmad tip. Now that you have your pitch, practice it out loud so you can answer "what's your book about?" in line at the grocery store.

If agent is open to queries and reps what you write, query traditionally, even if they don't favorite. #pitmad.

Pitching today during #pitmad? Be sure you have a MS ready to send in case someone "favorites" it! Be prepared to submit!

#pitmad tip. Change your pitch to focus on different angles of the story. Include specifics.

Share the #pitmad love. If you like a pitch, retweet it. Leave stars (favorites) for the pros. Total heart attack for the author. #pitmad

The best pitches are specific. MC, goal, stakes, and genre. Hard to do, but worth the effort. #pitmad

Pausing the Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Kristine Asselin) — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 18:16:00 +0000

Alas, I do not want to abandon this blog, but I just noticed I haven't updated since July. It's been a nice way to track the journey. However, I'm barely keeping up with my blogging responsibilities at www.sportygirlbooks.com AND www.fallfourteeners.com, and I'm a host on the weekly twitter chat #mglitchat (Thursday nights at 9 p.m.). Oh yea, and writing. Writing a lot.

And yes, I have a book coming out!

ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT will be out next spring from Bloomsbury Spark. Cover reveal scheduled for early November (stay tuned). Add it to your TBR pile here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18800714-any-way-you-slice-it

My website is up to date here: www.kristineasselin.com

You can follow me on twitter here: @KristineAsselin and here: @QueryGodMother

I hope to get back to being a regular blogger, but for now...you can find me in those other places!

Love,

Kris

Why did the Chicken cross the road?

noreply@blogger.com (Kristine Asselin) — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 17:49:00 +0000

I don’t really know or care about WHY she crossed the road right now. That’s plot. That’s motivation. That's a different conversation.

What I really want to know is HOW the chicken crossed the road. Does she march with pomp and circumstance, holding a baton and humming ‘76 Trombones’? Or does she sneak on her belly, stealth like in dark colored parachute pants?

Showing how your character does a simple task tells us more about the character than if you tell us she’s a band leader or a ninja.

Writing prompt: Write a paragraph of how your character crosses the road without telling us who she is. Demonstrate an aspect of her personality by how she moves.

You’re a writer? Then Write

noreply@blogger.com (Kristine Asselin) — Wed, 16 Jul 2014 17:56:00 +0000

What do say when someone asks you what you write? YA? Middle Grade? Picture books? Magazine stories? Newspaper articles?

I would argue that you should explore at least two or three genres/mediums. More, if you can manage it. Not only will writing in more than one medium help shape your writing and your craft, it might also get you published quicker, and give you more credentials.

I started writing picture books (well, the text for picture books) about ten years ago. That morphed into writing a short story, which later became my first completed YA novel. Around the same time, I started to explore nonfiction. And then middle grade. I’m also a freelance copy writer. And my day job is grant writing.

I write. A lot. It’s just not always on the topic or project on which I’d prefer to be working at any current moment. But that doesn’t matter (unless I’m on deadline. LOL). I’m honing my craft. I’m working on word choice. I’m practicing brevity—or depending on the project, I could be practicing the art of descriptive story telling.

Lo and behold, it was the nonfiction that stuck first. I was able to transfer my attention to detail and research skills into Work-for-Hire nonfiction. That gave me the confidence to keep working at my real love, which is YA and Middle Grade.

I wish I could say that I’ve mastered the art of writing. Of being a writer. I spend far too much time on social media to be the productive writer that I know I could be. But by diversifying my writing style, working on a lot of different projects, I feel more confident in my work. More confident in my ability to take on a project and see it through to completion. I’ve also found that it has given me a comfort level to hear criticism of my work, whether from a critique partner or an editor.

What genre or medium do you wish you could tackle?

Our 2014 Summer Recommendations

noreply@blogger.com (Kristine Asselin) — Sun, 25 May 2014 19:28:00 +0000

This list is compiled by Kate (11) and Kris. Some of our favorite (recent) Middle Grade reads.

We're excited about AT YOUR SERVICE by Jennifer Malone -- due out in August 2014

from Goodreads.com

Thirteen-year-old Chloe Turner wants nothing more than to follow in Dad’s footsteps as a respected concierge in a posh NYC hotel. After all, living at a hotel is heaven, and perks like free concert tickets and all-access passes to boutiques, restaurants, and attractions aren’t too shabby either.
When the spoiled brat child of an important guest is only placated by some quick thinking on Chloe’s part, Chloe is awarded the role of Junior Concierge. But she might be in over her head when tasked with tending to the every whim of three royal guests: a twelve-year-old princess who can’t stand Chloe, a cute fourteen year-old prince(!), and their ten-year-old sister, who has a nasty knack for getting herself lost. After the youngest princess slips Chloe’s care, Chloe and the remaining royals must embark on an event-filled hunt for her through NYC’s best tourist spots.

This is a fun, seat-of-the-pants adventure.

THE EMERALD ATLAS by John Stephens

from Goodreads.com

Called “A new Narnia for the tween set” by the New York Times and perfect for fans of the His Dark Materials series, The Emerald Atlas brims with humor and action as it charts Kate, Michael, and Emma's extraordinary adventures through an unfo
rgettable, enchanted world.

These three siblings have been in one orphanage after another for the last ten years, passed along like lost baggage.

Yet these unwanted children are more remarkable than they could possibly imagine. Ripped from their parents as babies, they are being protected from a horrible evil of devastating power, an evil they know nothing about.

Until now.

Before long, Kate, Michael, and Emma are on a journey through time to dangerous and secret corners of the world...a journey of allies and enemies, of magic and mayhem. And—if an ancient prophesy is correct—what they do can change history, and it is up to them to set things right.

From the author of Artemis Fowl, a great new time travel adventure.

THE RELUCTANT ASSASSIN by Eoin Colfer

from Goodreads.com

The reluctant assassin is Riley, a Victorian boy who is suddenly plucked from his own time and whisked into the twenty-first century, accused of murder and on the run.

Riley has been pulled into the FBI's covert W.A.R.P. operation (Witness Anonymous Relocation Program). He and young FBI Agent Chevie Savano are forced to flee terrifying assassin-for-hire Albert Garrick, who pursues Riley through time and will not stop until he has hunted him down. Barely staying one step ahead, Riley and Chevie must stay alive and stop Garrick returning to his own time with knowledge and power that could change the world forever.

One of our favorite time travel novels (are you sensing a theme?)

THE TIME TRAVELERS
(also known as GIDEON THE CUTPURSE) by Linda Buckley-Archer

from Goodreads.com

Gideon Seymour, cutpurse and gentleman, hides from the villainous Tar Man. Suddenly the sky peels away like fabric and from the gaping hole fall two curious-looking children. Peter Schock and Kate Dyer have fallen straight from the twenty-first century, thanks to an experiment with an antigravity machine. Before Gideon and the children have a chance to gather their wits, the Tar Man takes off with the machine -- and Kate and Peter's only chance of getting home. Soon Gideon, Kate, and Peter are swept into a journey through eighteenth-century London and form a bond that, they hope, will stand strong in the face of unfathomable treachery.

We love this contemporary Middle Grade...lots of Broadway Show name dropping!

BETTER NATE THAN EVER by Tim Federle

from Goodreads.com

Nate Foster has big dreams. His whole life, he’s wanted to star in a Broadway show. (Heck, he'd settle for *seeing* a Broadway show.) But how is Nate supposed to make his dreams come true when he’s stuck in Jankburg, Pennsylvania, where no one (except his best pal Libby) appreciates a good show tune? With Libby’s help, Nate plans a daring overnight escape to New York. There's an open casting call for E.T.: The Musical, and Nate knows this could be the difference between small-town blues and big-time stardom

We love Disney, so this adventure around the parks is a favorite.

THE KINGDOM KEEPERS (DISNEY AFTER DARK) by Ridley Pearson

from Goodreads.com

In this fantastical novel, Disney's Magic Kingdom suddenly becomes a bit eerie. Finn Whitman and four other teens have been hired as Disney World guides, but with an odd twist: With cutting-edge technology, they have been transformed into hologram projections capable of leading guests around the park. What begins as an exciting theme park job turns into a virtual nightmare as Finn and his pals attempt to thwart an uprising by a menacing group of Disney villains.

A fun mystery, with a twist ending. I love the friendship in this one.

THE WIG IN THE WINDOW by Kristen Kittscher

from Goodreads.com

Best friends and seventh graders Sophie Young and Grace Yang have made a game out of spying on their neighbors. On one of their midnight stakeouts, they witness a terrifying, bloody scene at the home of their bizarre middle-school counselor, Dr. Charlotte Agford (aka Dr. Awkward).

At least, they think they do. The truth is that Dr. Agford was only making her famous pickled beets! But when Dr. Agford begins acting even weirder than usual, Sophie and Grace become convinced that she’s hiding something—and they’re determined to find out what it is.

Soon the girls are breaking secret codes, being followed by a strange blue car, and tailing strangers with unibrows and Texas accents. But as their investigation heats up, Sophie and Grace start to crack under the pressure. They might solve their case, but will their friendship survive?

Perfect for fans of The Mysterious Benedict Society, The Wig in the Window is a smart, funny middle-grade mystery with a REAR WINDOW twist.

We haven't read this one yet, but we love Anna's other books, so we're really excited to pick this one up!

THE DIRT DIARY by Anna Staniszewski

from Goodreads.com

WANTED: Maid for the most popular kids in 8th grade.

Cleaning up after the in-crowd gets Rachel all the best dirt.

Rachel can't believe she has to give up her Saturdays to scrubbing other people's toilets. So. Gross. But she kinda, sorta stole $287.22 from her college fund that she's got to pay back ASAP or her mom will ground her for life. Which is even worse than working for her mother's new cleaning business. Maybe. After all, becoming a maid is definitely not going to help her already loserish reputation.

But Rachel picks up more than smell socks on the job. As maid to some of the most popular kids in school, Rachel suddenly has all the dirt on the 8th grade in-crowd. Her formerly boring diary is now filled with juicy secrets. And when her crush offers to pay her to spy on his girlfriend, Rachel has to decide if she's willing to get her hands dirty..

NESCBWI Conference Wrap Up

noreply@blogger.com (Kristine Asselin) — Mon, 19 May 2014 17:53:00 +0000

I can’t believe the NESCBWI 2014 is over. Since being asked by Joyce Johnson at the end of the 2011 NESCBWI in Nashua, New Hampshire, I have been anticipating the weekend of May 2-4, 2014.

There were times, it seemed like it would never arrive. Despite a few unexpected bumps along the way, I can safely say that this year’s conference matched EXACTLY the vision I had for it when we started planning. We all know how often that happens. So the only explanation is that it must have been magic!

In choosing the theme, CREATE BRAVELY: MAKE YOUR MARK, the idea was to encourage and inspire new writers and illustrators, as well as veterans. I’ve talked to enough people to feel like we achieved this goal! I’ve talked to seasoned professionals as well as those brand new to the SCBWI who told me they attended life-changing sessions.

The weekend kicked off with nine concurrent workshops, including a Pitch Practice session and a new incarnation of our mentor roundtables, called #AskAMentor. After a break for dinner, the conference officially kicked off with our opening ceremonies hosted by the incomparable Jane Yolen—who never ceases to inspire.

Pitchapolooza was a huge success, hosted by the Book Doctors, Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry, joined by Kendra Levin of Viking, Alexandra Cooper of Harper Collins, and Sarah Crowe of Harvey Klinger Agency. Random names were drawn to give a one minute pitch of their book. The three winners (Shawn Anderson, Meg Thacher, and Melanie Ellsworth) had all participated in the pitch practice in the afternoon, so they were well-versed on how to give a great pitch! We wish them the best of luck with their books! We were so happy to see how this new program was received by everyone. The weekend started with such a positive energetic feeling. And such bravery!

Saturday opened with a fabulous keynote speech by Peter H. Reynolds, author, illustrator and entrepreneur. Peter motivated us to continue to be brave in our craft, and make our personal marks on the world. He shared his inspiring life story with the group—and left us all pondering ways to Make Our Mark.

Saturday’s workshops totaled thirty, including two industry panels in the ballroom. Ranging from hands-on workshops for illustrators, two hour intensives for advanced writers, craft oriented workshops for new writers, and business-related workshops for all skill levels, Saturday was a full day of information overload.

A special part of Saturday’s formal luncheon was the annual announcement of awards. Awards included Mary Cronin for the Ruth Glass Award, Sarita Rich for the Ann Barrow Award, Tamara Ellis Smith (prepublished) and Dana Meachen Rau (published) for the Peg Davol scholarship, Jen Betton for the Portfolio Showcase, and Kevin Barry and Renee Kurilla for Portfolio Showcase Honorable Mentions, Kevin Barry for the Michelson Prize, Marlo Garnsworthy for the Michelson Prize runner-up, and finally, Jo Knowles for the 2013 Crystal Kite.

Saturday night’s open mic night attracted a large crowd, by now we were all finding our Brave. In addition, for artistic types, we offered a Self Portrait party, opportunities for peer critique, and genre roundtables. It was impossible to go to bed not having learned or sampled or experienced something on Saturday

Sunday’s keynote speaker, middle grade and picture book author Laurel Snyder, told us how to write for our imaginary best friend and first reader. She shared her personal super powers and talked about how, as creators of content, we need to tap into our OWN super powers—and let go of the things that are not our stories to tell. Laurel left us all moved and inspired by her story.

Sunday—typically a day of rest—gave attendees 36 workshop choices, bringing our total workshop offerings to a record 75 for the weekend.

We welcomed two art directors, ten literary agents, and ten editors—all of them worked their magic-- finding time to critique, mentor, serve on panels, be a part of the bravery posse, and be visible and accessible for the weekend.

Sometimes it takes a push, or a nudge, to remember to take a risk and be Brave. Sometimes all it takes is a little encouragement. I want to personally thank the keynoters, the industry faculty, and the workshop faculty for taking the theme to heart—and for encouraging us all to be brave. It worked so well because it was underscored at every turn. We rewarded people for their brave acts, whether asking a question, going first for Pitchapalooza, or approaching an agent with a polite greeting.

The weekend ran with precision because of a number of amazing volunteers, including Joanie Duris with door prizes, Heather Kelly with volunteers, Jean Woodbury with faculty transportation, Val Giogas and Laura Pauling with critiques, Sandy Budiansky and Shirley Pearson with registration, Josh Funk and Alicia Gregoire-Poirier with the Open Mic, Jennifer Malone and Dee Romita with the #AskAMentor roundtables, Trish Leaver with the Pitch Practice session, John Bell for his amazing moderation of panels, Sally Reilly for creating all our signs, Denise Ortakales and Ruth Sanderson for making sure illustrators are taken care of, Susan Garrett with the Bookstore and countless other who worked the event onsite.

Natasha Sass, my fearless co-chair, suffered phone calls from me virtually daily for the last year. Marilyn Salerno was my rock—stepping in when needed, but not micromanaging. Along with 120 other volunteers who took onsite roles, this organization runs on our amazing and tireless volunteer team.

Thank you – all 647 of you – for making this conference magical for me. I’ve had a lot of people thank me—and while I was instrumental in the administrative details, it was truly our energetic, friendly, and brave members who make the New England SCBWI conference a magical experience for everyone involved.

My Writing Process Blog Tour

noreply@blogger.com (Kristine Asselin) — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 14:50:00 +0000

I'm taking part in My writing process Blog Tour!

Thanks to Sarah Schmitt for inviting me to participate -- You can check her out at http://sarahjschmitt.com/ -- Sarah and I are both part of the Fall Fourteeners. You can check out ALL the fall fourteener books at: http://www.fallfourteeners.com.

Here's a bit more about my writing process:

1) What am I working on?

I'm working on final revisions for ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT, my YA contemporary coming out in the fall from Bloomsbury Spark.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I like to think my work will complement the other books out there in its genre. It's YA contemporary romance, but has a sporty girl feel. Lately there have been a few books with hockey as the sport of choice. I hope my book (pitch: MYSTIC PIZZA meets THE CUTTING EDGE) will be a welcome addition to the bookshelves of girls who love this type of story.

3) Why do I write what I do?

I love YA contemporary -- and I think there needs to be more books for girls who love sports. All sports.

4) How does my writing process work?

This is a hard one. I found that my writing process was really different for this book than its been in the past. I fast drafted this book by getting up at 5:30 a.m. every morning until I hit 50K words. Then I started the revision/refining process. I love being able to be free of my internal editor, so the fast drafting process worked for me. At least it did this time. :)

I've tagged the following people:

Jen Malone (posting on March 24) - Jen’s debut middle grade AT YOUR SERVICE publishes on August 26, 2014 with Simon and Schuster and is available for pre-order now. She lives north of Boston with her three children and (as soon as she wears down her husband) a pet hedgehog. Blog link: www.jenmaloneblogs.com

Trisha Leaver (posting on March 25) - Trisha Leaver is the author of THE SECRETS WE KEEP, a YA Contemporary coming winter of 2015 from FSG/ Macmillan and Creed, a co-authored YA Psychological Horror coming fall 2014 from Flux. Her blog is here: http://trishaleaver.blogspot.com/

JOSH FUNK (posting on March 26). Josh lives in New England with his family. He is the author of the forthcoming picture books LADY PANCAKE AND SIR FRENCH TOAST (Sterling) and DEAR DRAGON: A Pen Pal Tale (Viking/Penguin). He writes picture books, not bios. Sorry. Find out moderately more information at www.papajfunk.com.