Category: YA

Cover reveal: Dating on the Dork Side!

Coming November 30, 2015

Come to the dork side … we have cookies.

front cover rgb jpg

Stung by an epic betrayal, Camy Cavanaugh relies on the sure things: her best friend, her job as peer tutor, and her safe spot on the sidelines of life. But when she hacks into a secret, trash-talking website, it ignites a war between the sexes that won’t end until the whole school is turned upside down—and Camy’s world is turned inside out.

Now the hottest girls in school refuse to date the A-List boys. But with the Homecoming dance looming, everyone from the queen bee to the girl “most likely to” pushes Camy to hook them up with guys from the nerd herd.

And then there’s quarterback, A-lister—and former crush—Gavin Madison. He hasn’t spoken to Camy in three years … but he’s talking now, begging her to pair the guys on the football team with girls from the Honor Roll.

It’s a contest of wills and everything is on the line—even Camy’s heart. Will she retreat to the sidelines, or will she find the courage to get back in the game?

Today is cover reveal day! Dating on the Dork Side will launch into the world on November 30th. In the meantime, add it to your shelf on Goodreads. Want an email when it’s available? Sign up for my mail list.

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the frozen fairy tales

Darcy and I have been busy with getting everything set for the launch of Dating on the Dork Side. We’re gearing up for a cover reveal on the 19th, along with a variety of other things.

I did manage some Coffee & Ghosts writing, nearly 5,000 words.

And, of course, the publication of the Frozen Fairy Tales anthology, which includes my story Simon the Cold.

Want to get in on the frozen fun? Hop on over to Enchanted Conversations for a chance to win $100. No, really. All you need is no more than 700 words, but no less than 200, depicting some aspect of Sleeping Beauty set in winter. For all the details, see the contest post.

Writing Work:

  • Coffee & Ghosts season two, episode two: 4,750 words
  • Dating on the Dork Side launch activities

Submissions:

  • None

Rejections:

  • Knight in the Royal Arms
  • The God of Bright Red Things

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

IMG_0781It’s in the (snowy) wild! You can read more about it in my post here.

You can also hop on over to World Weaver Press for more information on this anthology and a bunch of other really cool speculative fiction.

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the cat on the printer

 

printerA quiet week this week, although I did do a fair amount of writing. Darcy and I did a fair amount of Dork Side launch brainstorming. Final page proofs for an anthology that comes out this week.

I feel like I was much busier than my list below might indicate.

There are weeks when you feel like you’re accomplishing a lot but don’t have much to show for it. The showing comes later.

One bit of news! I found out that The Fine Art of Keeping Quiet placed first in the International Digital Awards contest and The Fine Art of Holding Your Breath placed third–both in the young adult category.

Yeah. I knew something else happened this week.

Writing Work:

  • Outlining and brainstorming episode two
  • Coffee & Ghosts season two, episode two: 6,800 words
  • Dating on the Dork Side launch brainstorming
  • Final page proofs for Frozen Fairy Tales anthology

Submissions:

  • None

Rejections:

  • None

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

  • None

Weekly writing check-in: the one with more vine leaves

coffee1I’m happy to report that the first episode for season two of Coffee & Ghosts is complete at 24,000 words.

Yes, I’ve moved into novella territory, and it feels right. I hope it reads that way.

I even have tentative titles for the three episodes:

  • Ghosts of Christmas Past
  • The Ghost That Got Away
  • The Wedding Ghost

But that’s changeable. And I realize that there are about 20,000 other stories on Amazon with a similar title to Ghosts of Christmas Past. That’s just the way it is. It’s a Christmas story. It’s about ghosts (and coffee). What are you going to call it?

Darcy and I continue to fill in all the blanks for the Dating on the Dork Side release. I added in pieces that were missing from the book files (about the authors, acknowledgements, etc.). We reworked descriptions–short and long–for the book, and other small things that pop up when you’re getting ready to launch a book.

And of course, the nice surprise below. I found out this week that Steps to Goodbye will be included in the 2015 Best of Vine Leaves Literary Journal.

Writing Work:

  • E-book and print layout for Dating on the Dork Side, tweaking and adding
  • Coffee & Ghosts season two, episode one: 4,600 words, complete at 24,000 words
  • Outlining and brainstorming episode two.

Submissions:

  • None

Rejections:

  • Incriminating Evidence

Acceptances:

Publications:

  • None

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the everything week

Well, if last week was quiet, then this one was more than exciting. Look below. I have something in every category I track, from submissions to publications. I love that sort of week. It’s a writer’s writer sort of week.

I also continued the Photoshop tutorials, did some revision work on a couple of stories, and started getting the last Coffee and Ghosts episode ready to publish.

All in all, not a bad way to end the summer.

Writing Work:

  • Photoshop tutorials
  • Revision work
  • Ghost publication work

Submissions:

  • Gretel and Hansel
  • A Most Marvelous Pair of Boots
  • The Perfect Canvas

Rejections:

  • A Most Marvelous Pair of Boots
  • The Perfect Canvas
  • Gretel and Hansel

Acceptances:

Publications:

CicadaStoryStraying from the Path in the September/October issue of Cicada.

Look at that gorgeous layout!

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the banner week

So this past week? This was a banner week. I sold not one, but two stories to pro-paying markets, including one of my dream markets, Cicada. They bought reprint rights to Straying from the Path, which just goes to show that you can sell a story more than once, and do so at a good rate as well. One myth dispelled.

Plus, I finally found a home for The Life Expectancy of Fireflies! It’s a quirky, slightly disturbing story that’s received a lot of personal rejections along the lines of good story/not quite right for us/send us your next thing. This sort of response is gratifying if a little frustrating. But Fine Linen Magazine looks like a grand home for it.

I finished up the week with a rejection (because you can’t win them all) and with the final scenes for Gone Ghost. Last week? I like you very much.

Writing Work:

  • Calvino class: Finished reading If on a winter’s night a traveler, drafted my essay. Now all I need to do is post it and respond to the other essays. Almost there!
  • Writing ~ 3,000 words
  • Finished Gone Ghost

Submissions:

  • Knight in the Royal Arms

Rejections:

  • Knight in the Royal Arms

Acceptances:

  • The Life Expectancy of Fireflies
  • Straying from the Path

Publications:

  • None

Memorial Day 2015 Charity Challenge: Gone, but Not Forgotten!

Memorial Day 2015 Charity Challenge: Gone, but Not Forgotten!

During Memorial Day week, from the 22nd to 29th of May, more than 70 veteran authors will pledge 100% of their book royalties to their favorite charities.

Once again, I will be participating in the Vets Give Back charity challenge, this time for Memorial Day. My organization of choice is Helping Paws, a local organization that has a pilot program to provide veterans with service dogs. I am pledging $100 as a baseline PLUS all royalties I earn for the week.

While I will donate all royalties, my pledge book is The Fine Art of Holding Your Breath because of its military theme.

Fine Art_blue

MacKenna’s mother died when she was a baby, a casualty of the first Gulf War. Now seventeen, MacKenna has spent her life navigating the minefield of her dad’s moods, certain of one thing: she is destined to follow in her mother’s combat boots. But when she pursues an ROTC scholarship, she finds herself at war before even enlisting.

Her father forbids her from joining the military, inexplicable considering he’d raised her to be a “warrior princess.” MacKenna turns to her grandmother—who arms her with an ammo crate containing her mother’s personal effects from the war. Hidden in the crate’s false bottom is a journal, one her mom stashed there hours before her death.

While MacKenna untangles the secrets of her parents’ tragic love story, her own life unravels. Dad’s behavior becomes erratic, her best friend grows distant and even hostile, and a boy from her past returns—with a life-threatening secret of his own.

If ever a girl needed her mother, it’s now.

The pen might be mightier than the sword, but are a mother’s words strong enough to slice through years of hidden pain? Can those words reach through the battlefields of the past to change MacKenna’s future?

Kindle, Nook, iBooks, Kobo, Print

Be sure to check out all the books on the challenge site. There is something for everyone. And if you’re a subscriber to Kindle Unlimited, you can even give for free by borrowing many of the authors’ books. So you can donate and grow your to-be-read pile all at once!

Happy reading and thank you!

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the 99 cent sale

YA Spring Fling Contemporary

The YA Spring Fling continues this week, so if you haven’t had a chance to enter, head on over. Lots of books, lots and lots of books.

I’m continuing with both of my classes (I should probably go post my homework), managed a little writing, a little outlining, a little ghost research. Plus I sent a new story out into the world.

Also, if you want to grab Now and Later for 99 cents on Kindle, it’ll be that way for a week.

Writing Work:

  • Writing work ~ 2,300 words
  • Description class
  • Narrative Design class

Submissions:

  • In a Manner of Speaking

Rejections:

  • Abandonment Issues

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

None, but the Goodreads giveaway is still going on! Enter to win a print copy of Now and Later.

Or … grab the Kindle version for 99 cents. One week only!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Now and Later by Charity Tahmaseb

Now and Later

by Charity Tahmaseb

Giveaway ends April 02, 2015.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

YA Spring Fling Blog Hop with H.S. Stone

The YA Spring Fling is still going strong and there’s plenty of time to enter the giveaway. Want to know what you might win? Well, keep reading to learn a little more about one of the authors, H.S. Stone.

YA Spring Fling med

What’s your favorite thing about spring?

The fact that it’s not winter anymore! Cold weather and I don’t get along very well.

What’s the best thing about being a writer?

I love coming up with new story ideas. I’ve been inspired by dreams, books that I read, or just from taking a walk. Whenever a good idea hits me, I write it down in a notebook. As a result, I can’t wait to finish my current manuscript because there are so many new ideas beckoning me!

What’s the worst thing about being a writer?

For me, the revision process is the most painful part of creating a book. After the first draft, I’ll go over my manuscript several times before sending it to an editor, and by then, I’m usually sick of reading my story.

Tell us more about your books.

I write young adult speculative fiction. About half of my books can be classified as dystopian or post-apocalyptic, while the remaining ones fall in the realm of science fiction or fantasy.

Coffee or Tea?

Coffee, but I also like tea. I like coffee-flavored anything: ice cream, cake, candy, etc.

Plotter or Pantser?

I used to be a plotter, but now I’m somewhere in between. I start out each story by writing an outline, and while I try to follow it when I write the first draft, the characters invariably lead me in a different direction. I then revise the outline to match and continue with the draft, iterating when needed until I’ve completed the story.

Are there any books involved in the YA Spring Fling that you’re secretly lusting after?

Oh yes, there are several! But since I’m secretly lusting after them, I won’t reveal which ones. I think there are lots of great books being offered, and I’m grateful to be part of it.

What are your top tips for surviving a bad review?

Remember that everyone has an opinion, and even the best books aren’t for everyone. Re-read your positive reviews to remind yourself that there are readers who enjoyed what you wrote.

What are your top tips for surviving a zombie apocalypse?

Zombieland provided some very useful tips, so I’ll refer to that list: http://www.zombielandrules.com/.

Remember the double tap.

Where can readers find your books?

You can find a full list of my books from my website with links to the retailers that carry them:

H.S. Stone’s books

 

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the YA Spring Fling

YA Spring Fling Contemporary

So, yes, the YA Spring Fling started on Friday. There are lots of books, not just contemporary YA, but fantasy, sci-fi, horror. Have a favorite genre? You can probably find it in this giveaway.

In other news, I started another class this week. Why? Because I’m crazy. Well, yes, I am, but that’s not why. Way back at the start of the year, I signed up for the Description class at the Loft Literary Center. Then the Narrative Design class came along, and I decided to start that as well.

And things are just a little bit crazy, what with Girl Scouts and dance competitions and the like. But I know that:

  1. It won’t stay busy forever.
  2. It’ll be worth it if I hang in there.

Now, a deep breath before I jump into my busy Sunday (cookie booth, here we come).

Writing Work:

  • Writing work ~ 5,250 words
  • Description class
  • Narrative Design class

Submissions:

  • Straying from the Path (reprint market)

Rejections:

  • None

Acceptances:

Publications:

None, but the Goodreads giveaway is still going on!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Now and Later by Charity Tahmaseb

Now and Later

by Charity Tahmaseb

Giveaway ends April 02, 2015.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win