SUCCESS! WINNER! Confetti has sprinkled down among the keyboard!

I reached the most gratifying moment of 2010 here at 11:47 tonight! I was working so diligently on my nanowrimo novel and I reached my ultimate goal of 50,000 words in just 15 days! I worked hard today and wrote just about 15k today alone just to see if I could pull it off.

My hard work paid off, I found a great storyline coming together and just have to fill in a couple large gaping plotholes and will be up and ready for a first draft next month. Now that's a scary thought. Editing is the most daunting task I think, and reading what I actually wrote will be most entertaining. What the hell was I thinking, and that totally doesn't make sense, and why did I just jump three months ahead and then fall into a flashback? So the joys of editing will be among me.... BUT FIRST, I will finish what I started. I will keep going and see if I can get about 80k. Depending on how I can wrap up the holes and filter out any last plot bunnies that are hopping around. So in the least, I can share this with you:

That today I am an overachiever:

A synopsis awaits...

I just finished writing the synopsis along with finding the most interesting excerpts of what I have written so far. It's no where near finished as I sit just over the halfway point of my wordcount. I think, I really do, that I will sit around 80-90k when all is said and done with this one!

Visit:
http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/224498 to find out what my new novel 'Breaking the Chains' is all about~

I can't believe I'm already thinking about the sequel as well!

Breaking the Chains....this years Novel for Nano.

A synopsis is on it's way...now that I've hooked your attention.

My favorite line...

As I sat here today I found myself thinking about that one line that I wrote earlier.  This line could totally take the story on a different loop altogether.  As I'm pursuing my quest to write a new novel this month I sit just about...5000 words in.   I wrote a sentence earlier today that made me laugh out loud and I keep thinking back to it.  It's hard to imagine someone just sitting at the keyboard, with their fingers tapping away and then just laugh.  Not just a har har har kind of chuckle, It made me laugh out loud because of all the different directions this story could go. 

Where do you think this bottle of vodka could take my character?

Here goes the line:  :

A friendly face was what he needed; that and large bottle of vodka. 

November Stats...keeping you up to date

November is here

I will make every attempt at keeping my current word count up to date on my blog.  I hope you check in on me and see how I'm doing for the next 30 days.  There will be overly caffeinated sleepless nights of finger taps on the keyboard while eating leftover Halloween candy.  Oh the joys of writing during Nano. 

What are your favorite nano traditions? 
Mine is to eat all the Milky Way Midnight's first, then move on to Twix.  If I could find Dark Chocolate Twix's I'd be in my happy place.  When I'm out of that I resort to 'other' chocolate-types i.e., Snickers, 3 Musketeers, etc.   Then I throw away the wrappers so the kids don't know I snuck some all the while participating in as many word wars as possible!

Feel free to 'buddy' me.  I can be your buddy during nano.  Search for me!  pati_blue

November 1 is right around the corner...

November 1 is almost here and if you haven't heard there is a wonderful resource out there, ready to help you make that dream a reality.

It's called National Novel Writing Month and it has become outrageously popular.   Take a moment and check out http://www.nanowrimo.org/ and join in the fun.  The best part is... ITS FREE.  I will be participating for a 4th time this year, and have "won" every year and completed the task of 50,000 words in just 30 days.  It's not easy and takes dedication but it's worth it!  Your triumph will prevail!

Anyway... if you own a dream and it involves writing a story...Nanowrimo is here to help.  Join me on a 50,000 word goal starting November 1 and make your dream a reality.   It made mine a reality and I'm still living the dream.

Feel free to find me:  Look for pati_blue, and send me a buddy request.  I'm here to give you inspiration; friendship and support as we write our novels together!

Stir up those creative juices...

You want to write.  You know you do; but you just don't know where to start do you?  Or you are probably stuck in the mud with a giant wall of writers block standing before you.  I know, I can sympathize with you.

I've got a great easy solution that I have a lot of fun with when I run out of creative juices.   There are various writing competitions and short story competitions everywhere and it would be a great way for you to start your own story.   It's a fun way to get your feet wet with writing and a great way to take a break from your everyday novel that has been haunting you 24/7 and start something new and fresh.

I'v been actively following Writers Digest's competitions/contests.  They have many great competitions going on right now that you can partake in.   Come on!   I'll do it if you do....

Check out this month's Your Story competition, the deadline for the 25 word submission is December 10.  There's plenty of time to find 25 words and send them in.  

I'll share mine when it's ready.... will you share yours?

Update on query letters and some helpful links...

The query letters have come back and the results are in: My final number thus far; 12 out of 13 rejection letters and one with no response as of today.

So... I checked in to find some help on how well my query letter was.

First things first.... I need to find out what genre my book falls into. Exactly what genre and I was a little tossed. So after a little surfing I found this site of Genre definitions and examples.

Now that I've classified my book as a Paranormal Conspiracy Thriller I'm ready to move on to revising my letter in general. After a brutual evaluation of my letter many other members of agentquery offered support and critique. So I'm on my way to writing a new query letter. I found some helpful information regarding this and I'd like to share this with you:
How To Write A Query by Noah Lukemans

Need a list of agents to peruse? Check out AgentQuery and their forums!

I'm off to work now, bye!

New Blog I started about my life...

I've got everything from Tips and Tricks in my everyday life to fantastic Words of Wisdom my children bless me with.

This is my outlet to everyday writing and I have a lot of fun doing it!

Please follow along: Sorry Honey, the Keyboard ate the meatloaf and see what it's all about.

National Novel Writing Month

It was nice knowing you... those will be the last words you hear on Halloween eve. When the clock strikes twelve...on October 31, a new month begins! November arrives! National Novel Writing Month 2010 begins! Feel free to sign yourself up on a 30 day pursuit to happiness by writing 50,000 words in 30 days. Join the hundreds of thousands of others that will be doing the same thing! Join me... and find me: pati_blue in the members search. Send me a nano mail; or I'll find you just send me your user name!

Follow me on my adventure of writing this year's book. I will be partaking on a mission of a sequel to A Castle Inside.

Inside the Castle in the depths below a secret Library awaits. Valen and Sylvya become passers-by in the Castle of a thousand residents. Who will stumble upon the eerie library?

The wrought iron cursive letter from over a hundred years ago still sings a happy introduction to the cobweb invested dreary hall that leads to the condemned library. What happened there so long ago for it to be exiled?

Only November knows...

Only 98 days until NaNoWriMo 2010!

There are only 98 more days until NANOWRIMO 2010. Are you ready??!!

Self-Promoting 'A Castle Inside'

As I followed a friend's review of my book, A Castle Inside, on goodreads.com I found many unexpected surprises!

My book is now available on
Amazon.com
Amazon's Kindle/Digital Version
Barnes&Noble.com.
Borders.com
Booksamillion.com
IndieBound.com
alibris.com
Google.com

I cannot tell you how excited I am about the extended distribution channels that Createspace has offered me. If you want to learn more about their self-publishing services give them a click!

Thanks so much for the reviews you all have given me so far. I would love it you took a few minutes out of your day and write a review about the book on any of the above websites!!!!!!

All about sharing info...

I'm all about sharing info with all my fellow writers out there, I just came across another great resource to use while fishing for an agent!

www.1000literaryagents.com/literary-agents-xyz.php?alpha=B

www.aaronline.org

Have fun searching for that agent and good luck, I'm hoping for the same! You only need one "yes".

Queries on the loose

Watch out! There are query letters on the loose. I'm hoping that I can be "found" by an agent so they can see what wonderfully creative ideas I have! I have been blessed with rejection letter #3 but I'm still holding my head up high with hopes of being found very soon. I will not give up!

See my newest addition to my published family:

https://www.createspace.com/3454211

Students from Memorial Elementary in Garden City, Michigan created the Roadrunner Writing Club for the school year 2009/2010.

Eleven students successfully completed the challenge of creating their own short story.

One Day In Garden City...

A Collection of Short Stories Created by Roadrunner Writing Club 2010
Authored by Aaron Bartlett, Camrie Cervantes, Alexis Dutoit, Macy Forthun, Brianna Fuches, Matthew Gourley, Amanda Pomorski, Claire Wandoff, Kayleen Wilson, Mikayla Wrobel, Dezaray Dunigan
Introduction and notes by Trish Green,
Patricia (Pati) Bartlett


Giving up their precious lunch hour recess two to three times a month these students worked hard to present this collection of short stories to you.

The stories are written in their own words, and are based in Garden City, Michigan. Each student created their own character to use in their own story.

At the end of our book we present Aliens Attack! Each character makes a reappearance to help save the school!

A special thank you goes to Trish Green,
and Patricia (Pati) Bartlett. (that's me!)
Both are local authors and Garden City, Michigan residents. They volunteered time and put lots of effort into putting this book together for the children and their school.

You can find more info about Trish Green, and her Fearless Moms Devotions To Go here: www.fearlessday.com

Queries are out!

I have been diligently working on sending out several queries to different literary agencies. Each agency has different requirements on what they are asking for wether it be a chapter synopsis, a sample chapter, or what they would like in their cover letter so I can't just cut and paste all the info into each email. I am hoping that I will get a positive reply. I understand that this will take time. If I don't make time to send out queries then I can't expect to get replies!

I will stay positive as I make my way through this endeavor and I know my hard work will pay off.

Stay tuned... I'll post an update after this weekend to see how many I can get sent out.

Have a safe and happy Memorial Day, and remember that our freedom isn't free. We owe it to our soldiers!

First Query Letter has been sent!

BLUE SKY EXPOSURE (approximately 88,000 words) is waiting to take you on a thrill ride of curiosity. Each chapter is designed to change point of views among the characters so you can see the story from all points of view. BLUE SKY EXPOSURE is written for the genre of Murder/Thriller. You should be afraid; everyone else is.

The Craybell Institute of the Mentally Impaired is located in Rolling Hills, Indiana. There they subdued Robert Dorgan, but he escaped. Now his name is spoken with fear. On a quest for revenge he carries an advantage that was gifted to him unwillingly. See for yourself through his eyes, what he is going through with his newly found ability of Extrasensory Perception. The blue sky exposure he wants is freedom; it is at his fingertips but always out of reach. Through murderous ploys, he plans his vengeance against them all. You will be able to see inside Robert's mind and decide for yourself if he really is mad.

I would be honored to have you as my agent because...(my secret information I cannot share ....)

My passion with my writing career is stronger than ever as my credentials show my hard work. My novel, A Castle Inside, a Romance introduced in October of 2009, was my first published work. I am currently a co-editor and a representative of distributing A Collection of Short Stories by the Roadrunner Writers Club with expected publication date of June, 2010 with an ISBN number already assigned. I also am a confirmed winner and participant of National Novel Writing Month, www.nanowrimo.org, for the past 3 years and I am looking forward to this November to participate a fourth time. I was publicized in the Garden City, Michigan Hometown Observer & Eccentric Newspaper with a press release on November 8, 2009 premiering A Castle Inside. I have also starred as a guest speaker for the DHCT (Dearborn Heights Civic Television), on their show How-To. My episode was featured as How-To Self-Publish, which is still currently being aired on civic television in Dearborn Heights, Michigan.

BLUE SKY EXPOSURE is finished and available in full manuscript upon request. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to your reply.

Snuggle up with your Kindle I've got something new for you...

Now advertising A Castle Inside on Kindle! It was just listed today on Amazon.com.

Get your Kindle on and find a cozy place to snuggle up for a romatic and thrilling love story!

http://www.amazon.com/CASTLE-INSIDE-Valens-Love-ebook/dp/B003HGGI32/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1271467038&sr=1-1

You are cordially invited:

You are cordially invited to the Plymouth District Library for the locals author's fair!
Saturday April 17, 2010 @ 12:45pm.

I was selected to be a featuring participant in the Plymouth, MI District Library local author's fair. Each author will have about 5 mintues to do a presentation about their work, life as an author, and their share their path of how they became an author. I am very excited to share this experience with the world and have high hopes of showing everyone my self-published work A Castle Inside. This title is available for sale via Amazon.com and Createspace.com. It is also coming soon to Amazon.com/Kindle option.

I will have plently of copoies of 'A Castle Inside', to purchase. There will be book signings & more not only from me, but from the other featuring authors as well.

They are featuring fifteen local authors and each will be there to share their stories, along with their latest works.

My goal when this invitation was first presented to me in December 2009, was to have my next work in progress available for viewing I am very close to having the manuscript of my next work "Blue Sky Exposure" available for a sneak peek only for those that come to the fair. If you can make it to Saturday's event you will be able to view the manuscript and steal a glance at the upcoming, thrill ride "Blue Sky Exposure". You won't want to put it down once you start!

Please join us for an afternoon of interesting reads!
I feel very honored to have close family and friends there to share in my experience with one of my first debuts as an author. I can only hope that I have many more fun experiences just like this.

To reserve a seat in the audience for the fair visit: http://plymouthlibrary.org/regis_friends.htm for a quick and simple reservation process.

Coming Soon: A Castle Inside on KINDLE

I just finished my latest quest of A Castle Inside by converting my self-published book to the digitial platform of KINDLE! It may take up to 48 hours to be available via Amazon.com but you will soon be able to purchase A Castle Inside for your KINDLE as soon as Monday!

Interested in converting your own book to Kindle: Check out what Amazon.com has to offer...
https://dtp.amazon.com/mn/signin?openid.assoc_handle=amzn_dtp&openid.claimed_id=http%3A%2F%2Fspecs.openid.net%2Fauth%2F2.0%2Fidentifier_select&openid.identity=http%3A%2F%2Fspecs.openid.net%2Fauth%2F2.0%2Fidentifier_select&openid.mode=logout&openid.ns=http%3A%2F%2Fspecs.openid.net%2Fauth%2F2.0&openid.return_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdtp.amazon.com%2Fmn%2Fsignin&

Update:

I'm still deligently working on my revisions of Blue Sky Exposure which I hope to have manuscript ready in less than a month! It's an exciting time with the Authors Fair at the Plymouth District Library coming up in April I will be posting more information as the library's website updates it! Look for me making an appearance at the fair!

Also;
http://www.writersdigest.com/YourStory/

Writer's Digest is hosting it's new short story contest about April Fools! Check it out, submit your own story and see if you could win! I'll have mine posted when it's ready!

Interview on public access TV !

I just returned home from my first official interview that will be publicized on local public access television through Dearborn Heights, MI. I am very privileged to have a network of friends that can offer me support and help me promote novel writing in general. I hope I didn't sound like a blubbering fast-talking salesperson, but I had so much information I wanted to share....

I gave lots of helpful information leading to sites such as:
www.nanowrimo.org
www.createspace.com
www.writersdigest.com
www.writersgazette.com
www.ebookscafe.com
www.writersmanual.com

Just to name a few of the sites I have actually registered with and all of them are FREE to get started. Take a moment to see the links I have listed on the Left side of my home page for my blog as I have several of these resources listed there, along with my own personal interviews on there, and success stories of my own.


My most recent task is pursuing this site:
www.aaronline.org with my new quest of fishing for an agent to publicize my newest release Blue Sky Exposure with a publishing company. Wish me luck on this new adventure!


I do not know when it will be aired, but I will definately makes sure I know when it's on so I can advise the viewers!

I'd like to personally thank Marc Walentowicz. Thank you Marc!

Diaries of a Domestic Goddess: $10 Starbucks Gift card GIVEAWAY!!#comment-form

Diaries of a Domestic Goddess: $10 Starbucks Gift card GIVEAWAY!!#comment-form

My Story - Short story contest for Writers Digest

Here it is; Writersdigest short story contest called Your Story ends in less than an hour and I successfully uploaded this month's submission this evening. I hope that one of these times I get to be in the top 5 and heck I'd be beside myself excited if I actually won!

The short story contest rules are that the story must not exceed 750 words, and that it must be based off the prompt they provide. This month's prompt was:
Something bizarre occurs at the table next to a couple on their first date.

This story was submitted for the purpose of the above short story contest. Copyright rules are in place. You may not reduplicate this story without the author's permission.

Roadrunners Writing Club - co-organized by yours truly...

Memorial Elementary school in Garden City as asked me to help organize and host a young writers program in the school. We asked all students if they were interested in joining the club to learn how to write a story. They will learn sentence structure, character development, outlining, etc, and they just need to give up a lunch hour recess twice a month. At the end of the school year we would put together a book of their stories, publishing it into a soft cover book and allowing anyone (parent, teacher, student) to purchase one at a really really low price. We just want to help the kids see their work in print. *crossing our fingers* we hoped to get 50 students involved. When the Principal advised us that she ran out of the 100 flyers by the time she went through K, 1st, & 2nd grades we were astounded. We'd probably have to make a guess that over half the school wanted to participate. Now as the club prepares for it's first gathering on Thursday, we are hoping it goes by smoothly.

Now we are thinking... what did we get ourselves into? I hope we get as good of a turnout as we originally had. I don't want to turn any child away, if they want to write a story, then please share it! We are welcoming donations in any increment or supplies for the class. If you have anything to donate for the Writers Club, please send me a reply and I will let you know what we need. Some basic items are notebooks, pencils, and erasers.

I'm not sure where this club will take us, but I can't wait to help the kids get their stories that are brewing in their head onto paper. Let the imagination begin!

EXCITING NEWS on the homefront!

I am proud to announce that Blue Sky Exposure has been completed! The last of the final draft edits have been completed and I am now ready for a few select friends to proofread it for me. In as little as 30 days I hope to have query letters peppering the mail with hopes of finding an agent! I also hope that Blue Sky is loved by all.... doesn't is sound so pretty? The title: Blue Sky Exposure.

Here's a little synopsis of what it's about. This synopsis was written very fast and here in the middle of the night and is not in final form:

Robert Dorgan is a troubled man seeking revenge. Everyone in the town Deso Latt, Indiana fears the hospital due to unspoken rumors. Everyone at the Craybell Institute for the Mentally Impaired , located in Deso Latt, fears Robert Dorgan; especially the staff and doctors.

Throughout the discouraging chain of events, the novel will take you from one point of view to another. The events change depending on who's eyes you are looking through, Robert's or the rest of the worlds. Robert will search desperately for a way to fulfill his addiction. From theft to murder, he is on the border of sanity with a thirst for more. Thorough his endeavor Robert tries to deter unsuspecting victim, young Tessie Lynn away from the taunting Doctor Al Linden, and Doctor Derek Scott.

Also introducing Bluoxscen, a non-FDA approved drug that he craves and will stop at nothing to taste again. Giving him the extra strength and power that any man would crave, he also carries a new founded ability. Will the blue skies ever be exposed for Robert in his attempt to free himself? Or will the hospital be able to continue hiding what they've been hiding for years?

Almost.....

Blue Sky Exposure is almost done! I've spent the last 12 hours today working hard. I am on the last few chapters making sure all the loop hole character ploys have been fufilled and I will soon be ready to offer this book to just one more friend that would like to offer to proofread it. I would assume that it be ready by THIS Monday!!!! So if you are free this January and want to take a good long 34 chapter, 300 page read. It's almost....almost almost almost ready.

I am looking for honest opinions of storylines; character descriptions, and general plot holes that may risen unintentionally. Any grammatical or spelling advice is appreciated also and I would ask that if you choose to proof it for me, I would like a full read and reply within 30 days. My goal is to have this book in an agents hands by February and the search for an agent can take months! So the sooner I have opinions and corrections done, the sooner I can get this book in the hands of agents!

I already have 2 persons lined up to read. I'm looking for just one more. Please let me know if this is something you would consider!? You can be the first to taste Blue Sky Exposure...