Cleaning House: YA Giveaway and GUTGAA!

When we meet next, I will have put away the pool toys, vacuumed all the sand from out of my car (yeah right) and put summer things away until next year. School is upon us and only have time for two things:

Gearing Up To Get An Agent (GUTGAA)
When I participated in Deana Barnhart's blogfest/pitchfest last year it was really cool. I won a 10 page critique by an agented writer - and that crit helped me polish my pages. Which in turn (after a lot of additional work) helped me get an agent. It's not magic, it hard work. And GUTGAA is a wonderful way to focus your work and your mind. If you're ready to start querying, or think you are, but you don't know how to get started, this is the place for you. This year's GUTGAA is bigger, better and more intense than last year. You're mind may be blown, is all I'm saying. Seriously, if you think you're ready to take the next step, this is the perfect place to test your mettle. Plus, I'm one of the judges this year so I'm dying to lay my peepers on all the awesome stories out there!

YA FEST GIVE AWAY

Over at Bucks County Writer's Group we're giving away awesomesauce signed books. SEE!

All this can be YOURS!

Just head over to the Bucks County Writer's Group site, comment saying 'i want a chance at swag' or something similar, and follow us, if you don't already. THE DEADLINE IS TOMORROW! (please enter just once! GOOD LUCK!

Madness is:

Trying to get writing done in the days before school starts. Yet, I AM MAD.
I'm almost a third of the way through FIND ME and I'm so freaking pleased with myself, I must be annoying my friends and family. I just love Mop and her story, her world so much.

As a result of writing while buying glue sticks and plaid skirts, I have let the blog slide a little. I was shocked to realize that I hadn't updated in two weeks - yikes. I will don the hair shirt and get out the cat-o-nine tails (mixing religious and pirate metaphors there, I think) as a penance, but in the meantime:

YA FEST GIVE AWAY
Over at Bucks County Writer's Group we're giving away awesomesauce signed books. SEE!

All this can be YOURS!
Just head over to the Bucks County Writer's Group site, comment saying 'i want a chance at swag' or something similar, and follow us, if you don't already. You have until the end of August to enter (please enter just once! GOOD LUCK!

BOOKS I WILL BE DIVING INTO AS SOON AS SCHOOL STARTS:
GIRL OF NIGHTMARES by Kendare Blake
TOUCHED by Cyn Balog
WHY WE BROKE UP by Daniel Handler and Maira Kalman

So when the weather crisps, the apples bake and the sweater weather returns triumphant, what books will you be curling up with?