Class of 2k10 set to launch!

I can't believe it's almost that time, but December 1st doth approach and the Class of 2k10 has some awesome stuff planned. Our beautiful website is live and waiting for you to discover 23 debut YA and MG authors with amazing stories to dig into for 2010.

Check out the author bios, book blurbs, covers, reader guides and trailers. The site is packed with literary goodness. I'll also be featuring 2k10 authors here on YAedge...I promise, you'll get insider information on this new crop of must read titles. ;)

2k10 will be hosting a month long Grad Party for the Class of 2k9 authors - watch for book giveaways and swag contests!

The class is planning to do some high profile author panels during Book Expo America in New York (May 2010) - if you're in the area, we'd love to have you hang with us. Watch out 2010, here we come!

NaNoWrimo Week 4- The Home Stretch

Wow, NaNoWrimo went fast this year! I can't believe it is the last weekend of November. I hope all of our US readers had a safe and fabulous Thanksgiving yesterday. I know I did. :)

Week 4 is a breeze, regardless of where you are in your word count. You know where you stand and you know what is ahead of you. Your word count is staring you in the face, challenging you to find a way to get to the end with 50,000 words. It's all about buckling down, opening up Write or Die and cranking the rest out. I know that's what I have to do this weekend.

Speaking of my story, I've come to realize I have just that, a story. It may not be written great and there might be slow moving points that need to see the chopping block before they make it into another draft, but it's nice to have something. So far, I have 42,180 words and probably only a few thousand are worth anything. That's okay, it's not like I thought I would have a beautifully crafted novel after 30 days of writing like a madwoman. Instead, I have learned so much about my plot and characters. It was nice to have a synopsis to fall back on, but I let my characters lead the way, regardless if it was in my original plot breakdown. It's freeing, yet nice to have that crutch.

I must now buckle down with the rest of you and write my heart out. I have a little less than 8,000 words to write in the remaining 4 days. Easy, right?

Good luck to everyone out there! I know you can all do it. For those of you who won't be hitting 50,000 no matter how hard you try, don't worry. If NaNoWrimo got you to put you butt in the seat and write even a few words, it was worth it!

Next week, I'll wrap up November with NaNoWrimo. Can't wait to hear all of your journeys this month.

Don't forget, we give a YA book to a random follower once we hit 30 followers to the blog. Just click the follow button in the side bar for your chance to win!

The Wild World of Author Visits

With my book launching in a few months I’ll all keen to get out in the world and do some presentations as a debut YA author. Earlier this year I did a few low key school visits, a public library teen book club visit and an online chat with teen readers at TeenRC. Those first dips in the author circuit pool will hopefully come in handy. But the thing is – I don’t want to be one of those authors.

If you’ve ever sat in on an author visit that’s going south – you know the ones I’m talking about - the author who never quite connects with his/her audience (however small or large). There’s a distance, a pretension that comes through loud and clear and no amount of high wattage smiles or scripted jokes can mask it.

Working in school and public libraries, I’ve been on the organizational side of an author visit – I know the value of a grounded author, one who is approachable, stays generally on topic and can put the crowd at ease with the appropriate level of goofiness or dramatic intensity as the occasion warrants.

I’ve seen authors choke at school visits (not physically, but you know what I mean) – they’re just too afraid to be silly, to be kid-friendly, to make mistakes. And then I’ve witnessed a whole gym full of kids from kindergarten to grade six absolutely enthralled at the retelling of childhood foibles that later became the basis of a writer's work. (I’m speaking here of Canadian author, Sigmund Brouwer, who wowed students and staff during an hour-long presentation we’ll not soon forget - if you ever get the chance to hear him speak....jump on it!).

So here’s to a debut year of author bookings, a year of goofing around, accidentally offending people (I tend to do that), of getting a few things right and a whole bunch of stuff wrong. If any of you have tips for the newbie, I’m all ears.

NaNoWrimo- Week 3...already?

See below on how to win a free YA book, but first we discuss NaNoWrimo!

I can't believe it's week three of NaNoWrimo already. Does that scare anyone else? I'm practically shaking in my boots...or Converse actually.

All in all, week three has been a success so far. I have yet to write today (today being Thursday afternoon) and I'm at 30,291. I was able to fill gaps and grow my characters while writing like a madwoman. I hope to come close to 35,000 today since I won't be able to write Friday-Sunday. At this point, I'm happy with my progress, despite realizing that I will have to rewrite the whole thing over again. That's what NaNo is for, right? Developing your ideas and characters before making the next draft pretty. Make sure to share how you're doing in the comments section.

Our frequent visitors may have noticed that we've placed a YAedge Follower widget in the sidebar. If you aren't following us already, please do so! Once we hit 30 followers, I will be giving away one YA book* to one lucky random follower. For every 30 followers, a new book will be available to win (one free book at 30, then 60 and so on)!

I hope everyone has a great weekend and hits their NaNoWrimo goals!

*I have yet to decide what book that will be, but will keep you updated.

Class of 2K10: Book Your Getaway

Take a break from NaNo, just a teeny one, and check out this update on the progress of the Class of 2K10.

In less than a month, the Class of 2K10 website and plan for world domination will unfold! The site has a fun passport theme with vintage images/tones – I just know you’re gonna likes it. ;) If you want to get ahead of the launch, we have a blog, Facebook page and Twitter profile - come and hang with us. You won’t want to miss our December long “Grad Party” sending the Class of 2K9 off in style.

We have several titles to launch in January, so we’re coming out of our corner swinging. In the meantime, here’s the promo trailer that the fabulous, amazing, stellar Madison at M2 Productions created for us. Enjoy the sneak peek at 23 must reads debuting in 2010!

Crawling Through Week 2

Happy Friday the 13th!

Week two ofNanowrimo is almost over and it hasn't been as kind to me as week 1 was. I've struggled due to work taking over, whether good or bad. Although not an excuse, I've been drained once home and have barely been able to open my laptop to start. The situation at work seems to be looking up, so here's to week 3!

This year for NaNoWrimo is interesting for me as far as my story is concerned. I'm writing a story I had previously started (but threw everything away from the first start, so I started from scratch) and had a complete synopsis for. I generally knew my characters, but not enough to really feel them, if that makes sense. Their words don't flow through my head, their action not obvious. I struggle each time they open their mouths.

Yesterday, instead of writing actual words, I decided to look through what I had written so far and use my plotting excel chart to see where the holes need to be filled. This helped a ton (despite the file now being corrupt) and I hope that it will speed up the writing process a bit. I won't be sending precious minutes trying to figure out what to write next.

Despite all of this, I'm not too far behind. I'm writing this at 3:30pm on Thursday, having yet written a single word for NaNoWrimo today. I hope to finish this post and get right to it, if work doesn't interrupt. My total as of right now is: 16,849

I will admit, every year I've done NaNo, I've had the hardest time in the middle of week 2 and the beginning of week 3. Hopefully that will happen this year and I will pull into the winner circle just in time.

That being said, I want to hear how all of you are doing! Please post your totals in the comments. I hope to have a contest soon, maybe next week. I just need to decide what YA books I have to use as contest giveaways, so stay tuned!

Book Fair Buys

There was a Chapters book fair at the local high school, so I dropped in to nab a few titles. While browsing, I chatted with my favourite Chapters manager, Bryan, and his lovely assistant, Megan - who, on a side note, pointed me in the direction of a publicist looking for clients. Books and a possible marketing guru connection! The trip was well worth the drive in the icky sleet.

I purchased a few titles I’ve been dying to get my hands on:

hush, hush by Becca Fitzpatrick – sure, there was a lot of hype for this release, and "angels might be the new vampires..." as Megan said - but still – I read this one in a night and will be waiting for the next book.

Going Bovine by Libba Bray – my twitter friends had me itching for this title, they said it was hilarious and I don’t doubt it. A kid with mad cow disease, a punk angel, a dwarf and a yard gnome go on a warped journey as they search for a cure. There’s a combination I couldn’t resist.

For my hubbie and love of my life (which is handy, being that we’re hitched and all), I purchased Tim Hamilton’s graphic novel adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s, Fahrenheit 451. He might get to read it….but only when I’m finished.

Bryan and Megan recommended I try Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey. If you can read the back cover blurb without buying the book, you’re no fiend of mine. ;) They also suggested The Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade. Canadian author and young adult steampunk thriller?! All too quickly, that gem joined my stack of finds.

And that was my little book shopping expedition at the high school book fair. Not too shabby. What have you picked up lately?