IWSG: In Need of A Good Day

Happy Wednesday, and Happy September!

As you may know by now, this is the Insecure Writer's Support Group, created by the awesome ninja Alex J. Cavanaugh. You can visit him and also sign on at the group's very own website, Insecure Writer's Support Group dot com. And a big thank you to the ninjas who are visiting us all, as we are in the HUNDREDS.

I'm writing this the night before so I can get it out and read other people's posts today, and while also hoping Wednesday is a better day than Tuesday. First but not first-first. I didn't make the Pitch Wars list. It's a surreal movie feeling as you hear the mentors you picked pick other people and you're counting down thinking, "Okay, four more...Three more...Two..." By the 4th mentor, I'd pretty much lost hope because they had moved onto the mentors who were looking for YA OR NA, but now I guess I'm in that phase of total depression before I pick up my things and keep moving. The least I can hope for is that I'll get feedback in 2 to 4 weeks.

I said it was first but not first-first because by 9am Tuesday, I knew that I no longer wanted to Tuesday. I'm in a job that doesn't challenge me and that I don't want to do anymore, but I'm either over- or under- qualified for every other job out there right now, so I'm basically just sitting at my desk feeling so ADHD that I don't know what to do anymore. I'm also an insomniac, but it only seems to be on weekdays (probably because I hate my job), and by 10am, I'm ready to go to sleep and just don't want to be bothered. That certainly doesn't help.

There was a familial issue that happened actually just before the Pitch Wars video went up that upset me, too, and while I was straining to hear the first 30 minutes of the video because of noisy family members (not related to the aforementioned familial issue), I was kind of hoping just a little bit, that I would be picked. And I slightly blame myself because I said I wasn't doing anymore contests, and I probably shouldn't have because I'm not emotionally built for them in any capacity.

So anyway, here's to a good day.

Friday Hops! The Interweb & Year-End Goal

Happy Friday, friends. :)

The countdown is ON! The Mentor/Mentee reveal for Pitch Wars is in 6 days, and I'm so anxious! The Twitter feed has been the solace for both sides of the fence since before the submission window opened, and the hints and non-hints have been killing at least me! Pray for me!

This week, the ladies at Cover Girls would like to know the 5 Websites/Blogs we visit the most!

1. Google

2. Twitter

3. Facebook

4. Blogger

5. Miniclip.com

The same ladies host Express Yourself Weekly, and they would like

to know what ONE thing we would like to do before the year is up!

You know, I've been single since 2006...It would be really nice to meet someone this year...Preferably someone with red hair, but at this point...lol. Not really getting any younger, although apparently the 30s are the new 20s, and I can get down with that.

Have a great weekend!

Creating a Dynamic by Accident

(No Random Reading today. I'm still reading Cloud City. I blame Pitch Wars. Stalking is busy work.)

This is Cyan and Ghuli, my MC and her 1st Lt. Watchman from my current query and Pitch Wars entry The Crystal Bearer. When I started writing this story 12 years ago (sheesh), as a lover of Final Fantasy games, one dynamic I purposely wanted to maintain was that the action took precedent over whatever romance I had in mind (I had been writing fan fiction romance and YA romance in high school, so that was easier said than done). I stayed very true to that and made sure as my writing sharpened up, I made it make more sense.

No, these two aren't romantically linked, by the way. They're actually adopted brother and sister. Their dynamic was something totally out of left field for me. Draft after draft, their relationship grew into something plausible, something I feel people will actually be able to relate to. Especially adding my "bookends" to the story; it almost created a new story within the story, about how no matter what is going on, and how much fighting they actually do among themselves, their love for each other is so evident.

I wish I had a brother. lol

Pitch Wars Mentee Bio + Friday Hops

This is a special edition of Friday and unfortunately (or fortunately, I guess), not the last you'll be hearing about Pitch Wars from me.

First off, hello! Many (let's be real) Some of you may be here because I tweeted something on the lines of #PitchWars #menteebio and put a link there which led you here. If so, Hello again!

I'm Deborah, Deb for short, Debra Renée for longhand authorship, Write Mage for Magic Tavern and blogger purposes. I started writing as a child in a classroom where they handed us a blank book and said, "Go!", but really, I fell in love with writing because of a little animated series called X-Men, and I've been battling my inner screenwriter ever since.

A little about me: I'm the middle child of three girls, left-handed, born under the sign of Cancer, so I live a complicated and imaginative life. I love music and have nearly perfect pitch. I pretend to play piano, but I'm not all that great. I apparently sit on the cusp of the Type B and C personalities and am known to my friends as having no filter. I'm either very chill or ready to kill. (Sounds like a movie hook.)

So what do you write, No Chill Deb? Well, I have a huge love for YA contemporary stories. They held the trophy for me for several years of my adolescent writing journeys, and I still dabble with them. At the moment, though, I am trying to push a YA Fantasy novel that came to me in a dream and was inspired by my favorite gaming franchise Final Fantasy (when I woke up). I started writing it just before college, so it took about 6 years to write the first draft and another 5 or 6 when I learned all that there was about what happened after you feel your novel is ready. There may be more Fantasy works to come for me, but only time will tell. I have a short speculative story published by Cactus Heart Press under my old pen name Debra McKellan, the biggest thing to happen for me this year, and the link to the e-zine is up above this blog somewhere, where all the tabs are (there's also a sample of my short). To have been recommended to submit was such an honor, and I was even more elated to be picked!

I'm not sure what else to say here...So if you want to stick around for Express Yourself and Fast Five Friday, you can! ;D Every week, two ladies you may or may not know (Dani and Jackie, the Cover Girls) created these hops to get know those of us who follow them, and that they're able to come up with so many questions is magical.

This week for Express Yourself, they asked us what TV or book characters do we relate to?

I'm going to go with TV on this one, and I chose Rory Gilmore from Gilmore Girls. When the show came out, I believe Rory and I were both sophomores. She was a quiet bookworm with a dream of journalism; I was a quiet bookworm with a dream of being an author. We both have very animated mothers and estranged grandparents (though I think my grandmother is NOTHING compared to Emily). We both had a bit of a bad boy phase, with virtually the same scenario playing out (except Jess got his life together, and I still wish he and Rory will be together in the non-existent GG future). We both took a break, though I took one after high school, and Rory took one during college, dated a douchebag boyfriend, and then graduated successfully. What a ride!

Now, Fast Five Friday (which I always almost spell Fast Frive) is a little quicker (obvs), and the ladies asked us to name our Top 5 Apps. Here are mine in alphabetical order, so I don't lose my mind.

GroupMe
Instagram
Pinterest
Shattered Pixel Dungeon
Twitter

Thank you so much for stopping by! Have a great weekend.

Pitch Wars and Random Words from the Jack Taylor Cases

There I was, giving up on watching the one Pitch Wars interview I finally got to watch because my cousin was over, and I happened to be in my email inbox when a Brenda Drake e-mail came through basically saying, "SURPRISE! THE PITCH WARS WINDOW IS OPEN NOW! GO GO GO!"

So, I submitted, and now I wait and stalk and wonder if the mentors I picked were talking about me at any point over the weekend. So nervous! I---ack! Can't talk about it anymore.

Years ago, I read my best friend from high school's debut novel Holiday Hotel (Jack Taylor Cases #1), and after not paying attention to the sequel's release, I saw on Facebook he was coming back to town for a book signing, so I finally bought the second book, Cloud City. I'm 2 years behind; the third book comes out this year, but anyway, if you like MG/YA Mystery and holiday spirits brought to life, you'll love these books.

Using Random.org, I will share with you a line from the book. Not sure if this is a good idea when it comes to a mystery; the chances are I'll give something away for myself, but hey, that's what I do.

There are 317 pages with words on them, and Random has chosen page 188, so let me look through...Yep, giving something away possibly. Sigh.

     A little over a minute later he heard another whisper in his right ear wave in and out as if breaking through barriers to get to him.
     ...Toymaker said they were unrecognizable, behind masks...

Creepy!

Express Yourself, Pitch Wars, and a New Ending

Happy Tuesday!

I'm still reading Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, so pray for me. I've less than 100 pages left, and I might not pick up another Gaiman for a while. Anansi Boys was the best for me so far. I could've dealt without the rest. To supplement my Random-reading share, I'm bring you all last week's Express Yourself question!

This bloghop was created by the Cover Girls, Dani @ Entertaining Interests and Jackie at Bouquet of Books. Not unlike Fast Five but more in depth, the ladies ask us a question each week so we can all get to know each other better. And speaking of mentors, last week, the ladies asked us to:

Name 3 people you want to learn something from.

Stevie Wonder - a musical prodigy! I would love to be able to play more instruments.

Stephen King - I need to know why so dark? lol

Joss Whedon - Because Browncoat.

Pitch Wars is now less than a week away, and I culled the mentor list last week, whittled my list down to those who wanted YA-Fantasy, then those who I felt gelled well, and then basically nit-picked until I had 5 mentors I'm ready to introduce to my baby.

Speaking of Writing, an amazing thing happened after I added this new scene that became a whole new chapter for my manuscript...A new ending! I'll admit, I had a lackluster "And they all lived happily ever after" going and didn't like it but wasn't sure what to do with it. But when I added the new opener, it was like a chain reaction happened, and I knew exactly how to end my story! Totally crazy thing to do when I'm talking about submitting to a contest in a week, but the beginning and the end tie in and compliment each other perfectly. They're like bookends in their parallelism, and I'm more than glad they're there now.

What 3 people would you like to learn something from? Are you entering Pitch Wars? Let me know!

Happy Friday!

That moment when you've been on vacation for 2 months and forgot you needed to post today.

That other moment when you decided to change up your schedule and forgot what you're supposed to be posting about today.

Oh, yeah. Hey, y'all!

I'm 66% done culling through the mentors on the Pitch Wars Mentor Blog Hop. I read the first half in one day, and man, my eyes are still weak. There are a LOT of great mentors of all age groups and genres, so if you're interested, I'm sure there's someone out there for you. You can choose 5 mentors, and even that is hard! I mean, there are 100 mentors after all. I'm still claiming that this is my year, and I'm praying that this is the beginning of something great for my story.

Now, onto Fast Five!

This little bloghoplet was created by the Cover Girls, Dani and Jackie, who also bring us Express Yourself Weekly. This week, they would like us to rattle off our 5 favorite couples. If you participate, don't forget to let them know in their comments.

In no particular order, the first five that came to me, (because there are so many more):

1. Katsa and Po (Graceling by Kristin Cashore)
2. Oree and Shiny (The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin)
3. Desi and Edna (Mr. Spaceman by Robert Olen Butler)
4. Ben and Tien (A Deep Green Sea by Robert Olen Butler)
5. Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen (A Song of Ice & Fire by George R.R. Martin)

"Wait, wait, wait," you should probably say, because #5 is more of a ship and a hope, but let's pretend, okay?

Let me know if you're participating, too, so I can visit your page!

Pitch Wars Mentee Bio

Good evening!

It's 10:34 as I start this, and it might have been 24 hours ago where I learned there was a contest preparing to open up for application! This is what I get for walking too far away from that rock I live under for too long. I almost missed it!

Pitch Wars (which I remember seeing last year) might be one of the biggest agent contests for burgeoning published authors. At midnight this morning, the Mentor Round began, where writers got to choose up to 4 mentors seeking their genre to help them polish their manuscript. Each mentor posted bios which included what they were looking for in a manuscript. Hence, the mentees decided to do the same thing (and I like the word mentee lol).

Also, a big thank you to Brenda Drake for hosting Pitch Wars!

So a little about me, shall we?

I'm a middle child of 3 girls, am a textbook Cancerian, and am a lefty.

I started writing when I was 7 and wanted to write stories like the "superhero action drama" X-men on TV.

I actually wanted to write horror stories but ran out of ideas early. Now, I try to stick closer to fantasy and superhero action dramas. lol (If you're wondering why I say superhero action drama, it's how the TV Rating system explained why they rated X-men. I don't even remember the rating anymore, just the reasoning.)

I love turtles. Ninja or normal.

I love babies but have very little tolerance for children...try to figure that out.

I love Final Fantasy games. I've played FFX three times.

I transferred colleges twice: University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Florida State, and Temple University. I have a BA in English.

I try not to use prepositions at the end of sentences (like I did way up at the top), but I don't like to sound too formal all the time. lol

I go to bed early according to my sister & cousin. I'm going to bed now. lol It's 10:54.