Urban fantasy newsletter to debut in July

Follower Alexia Chamberlynn (http://alexiachamberlynn.blogspot.com/) announced yesterday the launch of Raven Moon, her new monthly urban fantasy newsletter. Content will include:

• Agent, author and publisher profiles;
• New releases for the month;
• Giveaways and contests;
• Book trailers;
• Must-visit Web sites and blogs;
• Industry news;
• Notices of upcoming conferences;
• Book reviews; and
• Interviews.

For more details or to subscribe, visit http://alexiachamberlynn.blogspot.com/2011/06/urban-fantasy-newsletter-and-free-stuff.html. I've already signed up! Even if you don't write fantasy, I would highly recommend this publication just for its inspiring content and design ideas. Alexia also is hosting a giveaway in conjunction with her newsletter launch and is open to guest contributors, which is another outstanding opportunity for us writers. I hope to see you there!

The legend of Aunt Maggie

Maggie Day Nation

When my favorite uncle suggested I honor the memory of his aunt and my great aunt by posting a blog about her, I asked our family’s Facebook group for their favorite memories about Maggie Day Nation.

Maggie and her husband, Ivy Day, were Louisiana sharecroppers who raised eight children and nurtured and encouraged others, including my dad, Paul Jack Erwin. Although her own education had been cut short, she encouraged people like Dad to aim for the stars, making sure he knew how proud she was when he graduated from eighth grade, then from high school. In fact, she was the one that went out and bought a suit for him to wear at his graduation ceremony, an act of love Dad never forgot.

Top row, from left: Nick, Ellis, Elvis, Carl and Grant.

Bottom row, from left: Audis, Lauree and Lynn. 1969.

Yes, Aunt Maggie was a hard worker who loved her family fiercely. But from her nephew down through her great grandchildren, many of the best-remembered memories center around Maggie’s incredible home-cooked food served with a big helping of love.

Aunt Maggie could have defined the phrase “comfort food.”

“She could make a meal faster than any one I know,” wrote Frank Jasper Eldridge, youngest son of Aunt Maggie’s only sister, Winona Cutrer Erwin Eldridge. “There’s her tomato gravy that even her daughter, Lauree, can’t compare making, but Verda Strickland, Lauree’s daughter, can sure make the biscuits.”

The cooking skills Aunt Maggie passed on to her daughter and her daughter’s daughter turned into a career with the opening of Hart’s BBQ and Seafood in Kentwood, Louisiana, hometown of Brittany and Jamie Lynn Spears. I think this restaurant is the perfect way to honor Aunt Maggie’s memory, by cooking up good food that makes people feel good.

Frank also remembers how Aunt Maggie’s cooking could make even a harvest day fun. “Sometimes when the peanuts were ready, we went over to her place. Carl, Nick, Grant and Lynn, four of Aunt Maggie’s sons, would hitch the mule up to a sled and head off to the peanut field. She had a big old wash pot that she put the peanuts in to boil. We kids would play tag or something until they were ready. I remember how good they were.”

Younger generations remember Aunt Maggie and her home cooking as well. As Courtney Day Passman wrote, “Her chicken and dumplings were the absolute best!” They must have been out of this world, for another granddaughter, Gwendolen Day, recalled a similar memory, “I remember Mawmaw Maggie’s chicken and dumplings and her rice and gravy!” Verda said she still makes Aunt Maggie’s chicken and dumplings, adding that what she remembers is “you could go there any time of the day, and she had food; (my grandmother) loved to cook.”

It could be that some of those rosy sunsets we’ve been seeing the last few years have been Aunt Maggie pouring her world-famous tomato gravy over fluffy cloud “biscuits.” And knowing her, she’ll be urging you to come on in and enjoy yourself for a spell, too. “There’s more where that came from,” I can hear her say. Now that’s some comforting food for thought.

I’d like to thank Uncle Butch, aka Frank Jasper Eldridge, for inspiring this post and for all the family members who took time to write down their favorite memories.

What are some of your family’s comfort foods?

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Irresistibly Sweet, Stylish Blogger awards given forward

It’s always an uplifting surprise to check your e-mail messages at the end of a hectic day and find you’ve been recognized for your work. That’s what happened last night—not once, but twice!—when I learned I’d been selected to receive two blog awards from critique partner, fellow blogger and author extraordinaire Elizabeth Varadan (http://elizabethvaradansfourthwish.blogspot.com/). Elizabeth, whose book The Fourth Wish kicked off my summerlong series of reviews and author interviews, passed along The Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award and the Stylish Blogger Award. I am so honored; thank you very much, Elizabeth.

As with other blogging awards, these are meant to be given forward to other bloggers, and there are a handful of general guidelines for accepting and passing them on: 

• Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award. 
• Share seven random tidbits about yourself. 
• Pass the award on to five others and link to their blogs. 
• Let those people know you’ve given them the award.

Well, I’ve just done No. 1. Now let’s see, what will be the first seven random thoughts about myself to pop into my mind …

1. When I was growing up, chickens were my favorite pets, and I loved caring for any that were sick or being picked on. Cinnamon loved to go for rides in the car, perched on his personalized poopy-catching throne held by yours truly. Blue, another invalid, had my family and me so well trained, if he left his recovery nest and ran to the front door, it was our cue to open it up and let him out. And Jennifer Kathleen, with whom I spent several weeks one summer giving her claws physical therapy until she was able to walk again, turned out to be our best broody hen. 
2. I am an only child and an only grandchild, but I swear I’m not spoiled! But it could explain why chickens were my friends … 
3. My middle name, Lee, has been a source of frustration most of my life, because it accidentally got spelled the boy way. I can’t tell you how many teachers in school called me Michael or Mitchell as a result. And don’t you know what a trauma that was for a girly girl? Still, there’s a fascinating explanation for the snafu. At 4:55 p.m. on a Friday, Mom received a call from the adoption agency letting her and Dad know they finally would be parents—but they were typing up the paperwork RIGHT NOW and what did they want my name to be. Sheesh, I’m glad they didn’t call at 4:59 p.m., or there’s no telling what would have gotten put down for the rest of my moniker. Speaking of names, both Dad and my husband, Marcelo, independently selected the same nickname of Bird for me. And even though I’m adopted, Mom and I look and act so much alike, no one would ever guess. It makes me believe in fate. 
4. I can hum and whistle at the same time, but I can’t ride a bike or swim. 
5. It took four years to officially fight the Civil War but almost five for me to research and write my YA The Underground Gift. Luckily I love my day job as an editor with the University of California. By day I edit information about insects, but at night it’s all about the invasive pest Massa Benjamin Michaelson. :) 
6. The front door of our home faces the back of our property, the main floor is on the second floor because the home is built into the side of a baby hill, and our mailing address isn’t the road on which we live. 
7. My writing desk is a wooden drafting table, circa mid-1960s. The computer is an iMac, of course!

For No. 2, I’d like to pass along the awards to the following bloggers, in order of newest to those who’ve been with me since the beginning: 

1. Romantic fantasy author Ebony McKenna (http://ejmckennablog.blogspot.com/), whose blog and Web site are beautiful, informative and witty. Plus Ebony is one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet in the blogosphere. 
2. Urban fantasy author Alexia Chamberlynn (http://alexiachamberlynn.blogspot.com/), whose blogs and Tweets consistently contain excellent resources for writers. Her Web site embodies elegant simplicity, and she also is one of the nicest writers I’ve ever known. Even though Elizabeth just forwarded these two awards to Alexia, I still wanted to give her a well-deserved shout out. 
3. Fantasy and science fiction author Kimberly (http://meetingswithmymuse.blogspot.com/) has the most beautiful background on her blog, and you can tell by her posts that she is a sweet person indeed. 
4. Romance author J.L. Campbell (http://thecharacterdepot.blogspot.com/ and http://readerssuite.blogspot.com/) has two highly informative and enjoyable blogs as well as an excellent Web site. There must be something about writers, because Joy also has an award-winning personality. 
5. Children’s author Rosi Hollinbeck (http://rosihollinbeckthewritestuff.blogspot.com/) has known me for the better part of my writing career, and anyone who can look at upteem revisions of the same picture book has to be sweet. :) Plus her blog is well designed and an informative pleasure to read.

I’ll be sending an e-mail message to my own version of the Big Five letting you know officially that I think you rock!

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Fourth Wish winner announced!

Bird's-eye View subscriber Jay Amidon is the winner of the giveaway contest for Elizabeth Varadan's book The Fourth Wish. Thank you very much to everybody who stopped by and commented and/or follows my blog, Facebook fan page and tweets. Elizabeth and I truly appreciate it. The winner was selected by www.random.org.

Stay tuned, as Australian author Ebony McKenna has just announced that she's in for an author interview and book giveaway contest for her two romantic fantasies, Ondine: The Summer of Shambles and Ondine: The Autumn Palace. Details will be available later this summer along with book reviews for both titles.

And now for a well-deserved shout out. Elizabeth's book is on a list Jennifer Bertmann has started on her blog, From the Mixed-Up Files. On Wednesdays Jenn will be doing a round up of good titles for young people that are "round and light" in contrast to "dark and edgy." She's put together a great list of books, and The Fourth Wish is featured at http://writerjenn.blogspot.com/2011/06/light-and-round-project_15.html; Jenn is looking for books to add to her list, and details are available at this same address.

If you enjoyed reading this post, I hope you'll leave a comment. If you're reading this as an e-mail message, don't forget to click on the hyperlinked headline, which will take you to my blog, which not only looks more attractive than an e-mail but contains extra information I hope you'll enjoy and find useful. If you're reading this post online, just click on the link that follows the post that reads Post your comment, or see what others are saying. Thank you very much!

Authors sought for pitch contest, SF anthology, new imprint

If you write historical fiction, Irene Goodman of Irene Goodman Literary Agency is running a pitch contest until July 1. She will ask to see chapters on the pitches she likes, and if she likes the chapters, she will ask to see a complete manuscript. Winners will be offered representation, and Irene says she hopes there will be more than one winner.

Irene will consider anything European, but especially plots set in England, Scotland, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Ireland. She also will consider some American settings and a few Asian subjects, but says "selectivity will be crucial." Irene isn't looking for books set in ancient Egypt, Greece or Rome at this time.

Historical means anything from the dawn of time to World War I, but the book must be a based on real or fictional historical events. Time travel is OK, but other paranormal elements should be limited. Books set both in the present and in the past are welcome as well.

Irene currently represents historical fiction authors Diane Haeger, Carrie Bebris, Amanda Elyot, and newcomers Anne Barnhill and Juliet Grey as well as and other New York Times bestselling authors.

Additional details are at www.irenegoodman.com/historical_fiction_contest.php, and winners will be announced Aug. 15.

Another pitch contest I'll be following is one Debra Dixon of Bell Bridge Books hosted at http://ridingwiththetopdown.wordpress.com/2011/05/31/debra-the-three-sentence-pitch. Not only is Bell Bridge on my short list for shopping my Civil War YA The Underground Gift, Debra and other members of Bell Bridge's editorial team accepted a range of genres and got back quickly with incredibly detailed and helpful feedback for those who submitted a three-sentence pitch. Plus Debra asked to read more of any pitch that sounded especially intriguing.

Debra passed along this information. "In a rare opportunity for unpublished writers, I'll give you a tip on one thing I'd like to see: YA science fiction in a novella length. We'll be doing a science-fiction anthology next year featuring New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop and urban fantasy author Anthony Francis. We have a couple more spots. If you've got a novella, now would be a great time to pitch it."

I've entered Gift in both contests and will be following the progress of several other authors who've also entered, including Rosi Hollinbeck, Elizabeth Varadan and Alexia Chamberlynn.

Another publisher I'll be following is Sky Pony Press. According to their tweets, they are a new children's book imprint seeking picture books and middle-grade fiction and nonfiction whose first list is scheduled to launch either this fall or next. Their Web site, www.skyhorsepublishing.com, is being updated and should launched soon, they tweeted, but in the meantime they're accepting e-mailed submissions to skyponysubmissions@skyhorsepublishing.com.

Happy Fathers' Day! Please consider this week's extra post my gift to all of my followers who are dads and the women who love these special men.

Socially networked reader in progress prepares to shop manuscript

After posting the book review of Elizabeth Varadan's The Fourth Wish earlier this month, something magical happened to me: I took the plunge, and I'm now on Facebook. So for an additional chance to win an autographed copy of this delightful book, like my fan page and/or mention the contest on your Facebook page to help share the news. Please let me know which you did by leaving a comment on this blog post.

As if that weren't enough excitement for one week, I also sent my first few tweets. To nab an additional FOURTH chance to win a copy of Elizabeth's book, follow me @Michelle_Fayard and/or tweet the contest. Again, please let me know you have done so with a quick comment on this post.

The contest will be open until midnight June 17, and the winner will be announced June 22. Wishing you much good luck!

It's been a busy last couple of weeks in other ways as well. I had the opportunity to be a reader in progress for two excellent manuscripts, Stephen Barnett's second novel, whose working title is Soldier, (For a review of his first book, click here.) and Elizabeth's mystery chapter book Imogene and the Case of the Missing Pearls. It's always exciting to read work that soon will be read by agents and editors.

The fourth news item is I've finished writing the synopsis and query letter for my Civil War YA The Underground Gift and am looking forward to shopping the manuscript with Memphis-based publisher Bell Bridge Books. Like their parent company, BelleBooks, this imprint specializes in Southern fiction but also publishes young-adult books. Their editors are looking for Civil War fiction in particular. President and CEO Debra Dixon is a quilter, so I am hoping she'll connect with one of my book's themes, the role coded quilts might have played in helping runaways navigate the Underground Railroad.

What plans do you have for this summer?

Interview with author Elizabeth Varadan: Part II

Earlier this week author Elizabeth Varadan talked about her recent book The Fourth Wish (CreateSpace, reprinted in 2010). Today she's back to talk about marketing, publishing and what it’s like to be a writer.

By the way, Elizabeth would like to send a signed copy of her book to one lucky winner. Contest details are at the end of this post.

Did you miss the first part of the interview? It’s available at http://michellefayard.blogspot.com/2011/06/interview-with-author-elizabeth-varadan.html.

What marketing have you found works best for your genre?

Here I must confess that I more or less dropped the ball on marketing. I did have postcards printed up, mailed out mailers to people not online and notified everyone I knew online. I did start a blog and a Twitter page and a Facebook page. And I did install a widget on FB and my blog (http://elizabethvaradansfourthwish.blogspot.com). I even had a school visit. But then I got complacent, partly because by then I had so many other things I wanted to work on. And then I got busy writing again! And I do have a lot to show for that: I finished three picture books, two middle-grade chapter books and one early chapter book, and I’m presently rewriting, for the third time, a historical MG novel.

Can you tell us a little about the challenges of getting a first book published?

This was a self-published book, which means marketing it is harder and more time consuming. On the other hand, it jump started me into starting a platform, although I didn’t even know what platforms were two years ago! But now I’m submitting to agents and publishers again. I know there is still a lot of work these days on the author’s shoulders, but there’s a greater chance of seeing your work in bookstores.

What top piece of advice would you give to someone publishing through CreateSpace?

I think it is a great site for authors who want to self-publish. And they regularly update you with information about marketing, changes in the industry and new ways to garner attention, etc. They also offer help with questions. You just have to be willing to take the time and trouble.

Do you ever experience writer’s block? If so, what is your most effective cure?

I do, now and then, though not often. If I have it, I read, I garden or I work on something else while my mind is mulling over the part that gives me difficulty. And I make lists, all kinds of lists—colors, flowers, action verbs, etc.

What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?

Recently, a very good writer in my group pointed out that chapter beginnings in my work in progress are slow and could be better focused—which means another revision after this current one. On the upside, in my present WIP and in earlier works, readers get very attached to my characters and say they are so real they feel like they know them. I work very hard to make that happen, so of course it gives me a lift every time I hear that.

If you had to choose, which writer would you like to have a mentor?

Oh, so many! Lewis Buzbee, Kirby Larson and Kate Di Camillo, for starters.

Can you share a little about your current work with us?

It takes place in 1919 in Sacramento, after World War I and the influenza epidemic are over. There’s a mystery, and a ghost is involved.

What do you do when you aren't writing?

I paint and garden, and one day a week I teach an after-school art club at a community center for children 8 to 12 years old.

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

Advice I am sure we’ve all heard before: Write, write, write! Read, read, read! Then write, write, write!

What is something about you or your writing that might surprise your readers?

My mother was an opera singer, though not famously so. Consequently I grew up with a love of music—all kinds—and even now, music plays a role in inspiring some of my stories.

WIN A COPY OF THE FOURTH WISH!
Would you like to have your own copy of this magical book? You can enter to win up to three ways:

Comment on this post. If you commented on last week’s book review or the first part of the interview, commenting on this post will count as an extra vote. :) For an additional entry, follow Bird’s-eye View. Or become a subscriber, which will give you yet another entry. If you’re already a follower or subscriber, please let me know in your comment.

The contest will be open until midnight June 17, and the winner will be announced June 22. Wishing you much good luck!

Interview with author Elizabeth Varadan: Part I

Last week I reviewed a book I greatly enjoyed reading, The Fourth Wish by Elizabeth Varadan (CreateSpace, reprinted in 2010). Elizabeth is not only a gifted writer but a delightful person to know. I hope you'll also enjoy learning more about this author and some behind-the-scenes details about her book in this two-part interview. The second part is scheduled to run the end of this week, so be sure to watch for it!

By the way, Elizabeth would like to send a signed copy of her book to one lucky winner. Contest details are at the end of this post. Did you miss last week's book review? It's available at http://michellefayard.blogspot.com/2011/05/book-review-and-giveaway-contest-fourth.html. And now for the interview ...

When and why did you begin writing?

Oh, I've been writing all my life, ever since my mother let me use her typewriter when I was 10 to write my little stories. But when I was 6, I was making up comics about a frog named Leapy Plop-a-doodle.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Probably when I was doing that comic book. 

What was your favorite chapter (or part) of The Fourth Wish to write and why?

I really liked the scene when the crullers started multiplying and no one knew why. It was just a lot of fun to imagine that scene and the ones ensuing from it.

Did you have a favorite character and why?

My favorite character was Arthur. He just seem to spring full blown from my head, and I felt ahead of time that I knew everything he was going to say. He was engaging and humorous, and I've found out since the book came out that he was a favorite of quite a few others as well.

Is there a message in The Fourth Wish you hope will resonate with readers?

Hmm. I suppose the importance of being kind would be one thing. Another would be a twist on that old adage, "Be careful what you wish."

Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or is it all imagination?

This book was completely imagination, all about "What if?"

What was the hardest part about writing this book?

The famous "middle" that always bogs down in early drafts. Thank goodness I had a good writing group and people kept asking questions.

Did you learn anything surprising when writing your book? If so, what was it?

Well I did wonder at one point just who Mrs. Seraphina was. And then, when I realized, I thought, "Of course!"

If readers could remember only one thing about you and The Fourth Wish, what would it be?

There's more to magic than meets the eye ...

Visit Elizabeth Varadan at http://elizabethvaradansfourthwish.blogspot.com.

WIN A COPY OF THE FOURTH WISH!
Would you like to have your own copy of this magical book, inscribed with a personal message from Elizabeth Varadan? You can enter to win up to three ways:

Comment on this post. If you're reading this as an e-mail message, click on the hyperlinked headline then scroll to the bottom of the blog page. If you're reading this online, click on "Post your comment-or see what others are saying!" If you commented on last week's book review, commenting on this post will make you eligible for a FOURTH time.

For an additional entry, follow Bird's-eye View. If you're already a follower, please let me know when you comment on this post.

Become a subscriber, which will give you another entry. If you're already a subscriber, please let me know that as well when you comment on this post.

The contest will be open until midnight June 17, and the winner will be announced June 22. Wishing you much good luck!