Hi Again/Mark Your Calendars!

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I had a relaxing break with lots of food and fun while visiting with my parents, sisters, nieces, and nephew in Austin, TX. My husband, however, came back with a sore back. Can you imagine why?

EXHIBIT A:

EXHIBIT B:








Okay, enough silliness.
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A few announcements for the coming weeks:
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1. Authoress and Miss Snark’s First Victim are back for 2011 (she got an agent over the holidays!!), and the first Secret Agent contest will be announced with guidelines on Monday, January 10th. Keep an eye on her website on Monday for details.
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2. Amazon is having a debut novel contest starting January 24th (taking submissions through February 6th). The categories are Adult and YA (sorry middle grade writers!). Winners get a $15,000 contract. Click HERE for more information.
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Random Tidbit-
Nelson Literary Agency just emailed their January newsletter (sign up for free HERE) and they listed several things they're looking for in 2011, including:

MG for boys- A current client has a super exciting project I’ll be shopping soon. Would love to see more innovative stories in this realm.

YA-any and all. I love that we are seeing more contemporary, non-paranormal stories, but if it’s an inventive story even in the hot trend, we’re open (*she also mentioned YA Steampunk in the newsletter)
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What’s up next? **Friday’s post will showcase a magic trick involving submission materials. Get your wands and keyboards ready :)