Monday's Muse ~ Secrets Revealed

I've kept you in suspenders long enough.

Four weeks ago I got THE CALL.

Last night I signed THE CONTRACT.

I now have an agent.

An agent!!

Here's a photo to illustrate how I feel. Yanno, in case you were wondering.

I get to cross #1 off my ThirtyBy30 list. And I'm feelin' pretty good about it. :)

2 Chicks Chat ... LINGER

Myra McEntire and I are starting a new feature at YABC called 2 Chicks Chat, where we let you in on our (embarrassingly candid) discussions regarding the latest in YA lit.

Our first installment?

A she said/she said review of Maggie Stiefvater's LINGER.

*Warning* This review contains mild spoilers and a blatant disregard for punctuation.  

Here's a snippet to get you started, then click on the "read more" link below to continue to the full chat transcript.

~Let’s start with Sam and Grace~

Myra: I think it was nice to see an established, obviously committed-for-the-long-haul couple in YA

In juxtaposition to a HOT NEW whatever it was with Isabel and Cole

MG:  Yes, I really enjoyed seeing Sam and Grace in an established place and seeing the trials teens in their situation would have to go through, in terms of being “too young” to be truly in love.

Myra: Holla to Maggie for bringing her A-game on the relationships.

I read for the relationships - to see how they develop. More so than for plot I think.

The relationships all felt real. Even Grace's journey with her parents.

I hope FOREVER explores Sam and Cole's relationship.

Click here to READ MORE!

Storm's A-Brewin'

Remember all those secrets I blogged about elusively (but not so elusively) a while back?

They've popped up again. Things are happening. The little world I live in is actually turning, moving, albeit slowly.

When I'm finally at liberty to speak about such things (things that must not be named), I plan to give away something celebratory.

What is it, you ask?

The answer is yet another secret...but may have something to do with something you keep in your garden or front lawn (or on top of your desk, if you're like me).

I know the suspense is killing you. Eating away at your gut, gnawing, like stomach lining deterioration. I'd like to share all I know with a squeal of girlish glee, but the powers that be have me tight-lipped, my pockets lined with shiny coppers.

Not really.

In other news, while in Missouri for the 4th of July, my extended family threw me a surprise 30th birthday party. As I'm still 29 (and will be for another 3 months, 3 days, 4 hours, 19 minutes, 28 seconds thankyouverymuch), I'm not sure how I feel about the whole thing. The cake was AWESOME:

 
I got a lot of nifty gifts, too. But I still have my ThirtyBY30 list to complete. I couldn't stop thinking how it wasn't fair, I thought I had more time. And when they made me wear a pin that said, "Over the Hill," my brother added lovingly, "For all you know, you might be."

Several folks have said I'm going to love my thirties. I hope they're right. But I'd really rather stay 29. For a few more years at least.

Remember my Cool Factor post? The one where I casually mention possibly, who knows, maybe going to the Twilight triple feature? Remember when going would knock my coolness down -125 points?

Well get out the whackin' stick, baby.

I did indeed spend 7+ hours in a theater with screaming middle-aged women (surprisingly, there were only a handful of teens in attendance), but I swear I have no recollection of Eclipse. I'm starting to doubt I even saw it. I was so tired by the time it came on that I may have fallen asleep a few times.

I'm not proud of it, but I guess once you're over the hill, there's no turning back. Pretty soon I'll be slack-jawed, snoring, and drooling all over myself while watching my daily dose of Gilmore Girls.

Now that's depressing.

Secrets!

Name Our Store!

After a week on vacation and a week desperately catching up on work, I'm back in the blogosphere. And nothing says "Welcome back!" like a contest. Am I right?

Since Bria and I have been doing so well with Romance Yardsale, we decided to build an actual online store, where all our writerly swag can mingle and play together in one easy-to-navigate locale. Problem is, we don't know what to name it.

The name "Romance Yardsale" made sense because we started out raising money to attend the RWA conference in Nashville. But now that we plan to continue selling our designs after the conference, we need a name befitting our awesome writers gear.

That's where you come in. We want YOU to give us suggestions and spread the word! We'll have a random drawing and the winner gets a mug or notebook with the design of their choice. How awesome is that?

Here's how you get points:

- 1 point for commenting here with an ingenious name suggestion for our new store: cafepress.com/romanceyardsale

- 1 point for contest Tweet or RT (please mention @briaquinlan or @mgbuehrlen in your tweet or RT or else we may not see it!)


- 1 point for linking to our new store (cafepress.com/romanceyardsale) on your blog


- 1 point for blogging about your favorite Romance Yardsale item with a link to our new store (add 1 bonus point if you include a photo of the item!)


- 5 bonus points if we pick your name!


Make sure to tally your points and let us know your total in the comments for best results. Good luck! *Contest ends Friday, July 16th*


Here are just a few of the gems you'll find in our online superstore:

I suffer from Writer's Butt

Writer's Block: When your imaginary friends stop talking to you

What came first? The writing or the drinking? 

I'm not crazy, I'm just plotting

and more!