Category: Take the Reins

Win and give back–a contest from Brooke Taylor

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Friend, horse fan and author of UNDONE Brooke Taylor is hosting a wonderful contest on her blog! I’m reposting all of the details right here:

Okay ya’ll–you’ve heard of Bake Sales, but in response to the many horses in need due to the flooding in Washington a couple of amazing organizations are throwing a “Flake Sale” (more detail below) and since I’ve been super-duper excited about the release of Jessica Burkhart’s horsey series Canterwood Crest and it’s finally released today–well why not combine the two events somehow? This is what I’ve come up with:

For everyone who comments (tell me if you’ve had a memorable horse experience or other animal if you’ve never been around a horse OR OR OR purge your soul and tell me something you’ve totally flaked on)) I will donate $1 to the Flake Sale (so 100 comments = $100) PLUS you will get entered to win 1 of 3 Take the Reins (Canterwood Crest) books +Plus a super cute plush horse. Can’t beat that! (Deadline midnight Sunday January 18, 2009)

When Sasha Silver and her horse, Charm, arrive on the campus of the elite Canterwood Crest Academy, Sasha knows that she’s in trouble. She’s not exactly welcomed with open arms. One group of girls in particular is used to being the best, the brightest, and the prettiest on the team, and when Sasha shows her skills in the arena, the girls’ claws come out.

Sasha is determined to prove that she belongs at Canterwood. Will she rise to the occasion and make the advanced riding team by the end of her first semester? Or will the pressure send Sasha packing?

More info about the Flake Sale:

“In early January 2009, Western Washington experienced torrential rains resulting in devastating flooding in many areas. Over 18 counties declared a state of emergency, as a combination of heavy rain and previous snowfall caused a number of rivers to break their banks. 40,000 residents had to evacuate their homes, many with their pets and livestock. Over 300 horses are being temporarily housed at area fairgrounds.

As the waters recede, residents are returning to find that their winter’s supply of hay and grain has been destroyed by the rushing water. With hay prices at an all-time high, the flood damage has created a severe crisis for area horse owners.

To help the horses and owners affected by the floods, Second Chance Ranch, in partnership with HorseReunions.com, has established a Flood Relief Fund. This fund will provide emergency feeding grants to help Washington horse owners meet their horses’ immediate needs as they begin flood recovery efforts.

What is the Flake Sale?To fund this effort, we are holding a virtual “Flake Sale”. Just click to buy a virtual flake of hay for a horse in need via PayPal with your credit card, debit card or checking account. You can buy as many flakes as you like – just $5 will buy a virtual flake (in real life, it pays for enough hay to feed one horse for one day!) :

Official Website: http://flakesale.com/

So…head over to Brooke’s blog to enter! Thank you, B!! 🙂

Tick, tock.

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Last night, I hit 50 pages on the Triple Fault draft. It’s a start! 🙂

This week is just insane for me. I’ve been doing lots of blog interviews (thank you, all, for hosting me!) and have been lining up all of the publicity stuff that needs to be done over the next couple of weeks. Now is the time when I’m sooo glad I spent all of those hours months ago making my PR plan and compiling lists of what needed to be done in January. I think I’d be overwhelmed if I tried to start planning publicity at this late stage. And anyway, I’ll learn what works and what doesn’t for Take the Reins and can apply it to Chasing Blue. March 24 isn’t that far away. 🙂 I’ll have to make a new countdown clock when TTR’s expires. On January 27. 🙂

By the way, did I ever mention how much I LOVE that pub date? Two days before I turn twenty-two. That’ll be quite a week! I’ll be at the height of my book store stalking. You know, hanging out like a creepy person in the MG aisle and saying to anyone who walks by, “I wrote that!!” My local stores will probably take my picture and put up a poster warning the employees not to let me back inside.

🙂

Soon, I’ll be annoucing the release week giveaways and details about how those will work. Yay! Fun!

Also, I’m starting to feel the need to vlog (read: gush) about my excitment over Take the Reins. But I’m afraid it might turn into a weepy Oscar-like thank you to everyone who helped with TTR. Sappy, right? Um, yeah.

PR Ninja strikes again

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On Monday, I get to slip into my PR Ninja costume! (I really should find an avatar for this…) I’m going to meet someone downtown to do a PR-related thing. Could I be any more vague, LOL?

I’ll spill when it goes online. 🙂

(Other 2009 debut authors, does it just freak your freak (thanks, Ellen!) to see your countdown clock go down?!) I get dizzy/tingly/crazy watching my Sprout countdown clock tick.

~*~TRIPLE FAULT progress~*~

Yesterday: Um. *looks away* Well…okay. 4 pages. Distractions, distractions!
1 giant pumpkin spice-flavored coffee
20+ attempts to actually write
2:30pm was the time I gave up and vowed to start again the next day

P.S. My blog had its highest monthly hit total in December 2008 since I started blogging. Thanks so much, guys!

P.P.S. Want to win a signed copy of TAKE THE REINS? Check yesterday’s post for details.

TMG’s Jan/Feb 09 releases

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Oooh, cool!

My agency put up a list of January/February 2009 releases! So. Cool. 🙂

See it here!

They list TAKE THE REINS and fellow Aladdin MIXer Julia DeVillers and her sis, Jennifer Roy, have their book, TRADING FACES, on the list, too.

It’s starting to feel official now!

By the way, FAR FROM YOU author Lisa Schroeder did a wonderful post on her LiveJournal called “supporting authors when your heart is bigger than your wallet.” It’s a must read!

~*~TRIPLE FAULT progress~*~

Yesterday:

14 first draft pages down (oh, the horror of the first draft!) 😉 (Really shouldn’t be winking…)
2 1/2 cups of green tea consumed
1 cup of coffee (refilled at least twice)
0 instances of hair pulling

And, finally, I can’t believe it’s the last day of 2008. I’m sooo ready for 2009 to start and I’m ready to kick if off tonight!

Where’s Sasha?

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It’s a gift from Santa! Or, technically, Editor K.


Look! Sasha and Charm are chilling in the living room.


Gasp! My books on an actual shelf!


TTR found its way into my purse.


The copies are tired. Where will they go next? Hmm…

Happy holidays, friends! 🙂

Take the Reins copies! :)

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I got something AMAZING in the mail this morning.

Finished copies of TAKE THE REINS!!

OMG. The book that I’ve obsessed over, cried about, loved writing and enjoyed plotting is in my hands.

TAKE THE REINS started as a “I don’t know if I can do this, but I’ll try” NaNoWriMo 2006 project.

Wait, wait. How about a little time line instead? ‘Kay. Here goes.

Oct. 2006–I want to switch from magazine writing to novel writing. Can I do this?

Nov. 1, 2006–Yes, I can! Let’s write this book!

Nov. 15, 2006–Um, wait. Does this thing totally suck?

Nov. 17, 2006–Yes, this might really suck. But I’ll keep going.

December 1, 2006–*tired* Wow. I have a reallly bad finished draft. But it’s a draft!

December 2006–Revises.

January 2007–Agent A emails.

January 2007–OMG. An agent? Emailing me? Really? *Emails Diana Peterfreund for advice*

January 2007–Diana tells me to chill and not faint when I talk to Agent A for the first time.

January 2007–Talk with Agent A. We click and I don’t faint. Sign with Agent A.

February-May 2007–Revise, worry that I completely suck, revise, ooh! TTR is getting better, revise, graduate.

Late May 2007–TTR goes on sub. No time to obsess–gotta start next project

Late May 2007–Offer from S&S. I cry, scream and go through every possible emotion in all of five minutes.

And that’s how it happened! Of course, there were lots of revisions after that and all of the superfun stuff like the photo shoot, galleys, copy edits and finalizing titles happened between June 2007 and now.

But wow. The experience of holding your first book in your hands is a fantastic one that I’ll never forget.

Pictures to come! 😀

Hello, my name is PR Ninja

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I worked through Thanksgiving, and man, did it feel good! I got a lot done on BEHIND THE BIT and it’s looking pretty! 🙂

I think I blogged before (or maybe I Facebooked it) about how my room had become a post office with Canterwood Crest mail. Well, I couldn’t take the clutter, so I moved it out to the table.

This is what it looks like:

(The newest postcard!)

That’s minus a stack of envelopes that went out to indies that requested signed TAKE THE REINS postcards and offered to put them out in Jan. Thanks, guys! I really appreciate your interest. A few of the store owners said, “Oh, btw, we saw your book in the S&S catalog” or “I’m excited to recommend it.” One Kentucky bookstore owner even told me she was sure my book would do well in their state. You know, cause of the giant horse-loving population. That’s supercool!

Now, I have an excuse to buy the rainbow pack of Sharpies that I’ve been eyeing but previously had no use for. They’re perfect for postcard signing!

❤


The postcards go fast. Really fast. 500 TTR postcards–spoken for and mostly gone. Less than 10 are left. 500 Chasing Blue postcards–already being sorted for stores/groups/stables/libraries, etc. 500 dual TTR/CB postcards–just arrived today. (If you own a bookstore/stable/whatever else and you’d like signed postcards, e-mail me.)

Yep, the TAKE THE REINS countdown is, well, going down! Less than 8 weeks. OMG. Bring it on! I am ready! My PR plan is begging to go into fullout action mode. I’m set to be a PR Ninja. 🙂