Wednesday, September 18, 2013

What's Up Wednesday - 9.18.13


What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme geared toward readers and writers, allowing us to touch base with blog friends and let them know what's up.

You can participate by going to Jaime's blog here. Or Erin's blog there.

You know, I've never loved Wednesday so much since I started participating in this blog hop!

What I'm Reading

Reading Jennifer Laam's THE SECRET DAUGHTER OF THE TSAR. Jennifer is a Twitter friend of mine (aren't Twitter friends awesome?!) and she gave me an eARC of her book. I don't typically read outside of my genre (young adult), but I was so interested in reading my very first Russian historical. Plus, Anastasia!! Romanovs!! Lost princesses!!

Jennifer and I have a fun blog interview planned for tomorrow so stop back and say hi to her!




What I'm Writing

I hit 50K words this weekend, which means I have alllmost a pretty solid first draft. I feel like there's still lots to nip and tuck and add and blend together, but it's getting there. That's always an awesome feeling when you feel a manuscript starting to solidify.



What Else I've Been Up To

My new blog series Agents Like Us is so much fun. I love reading all the different answers agents give. My favorite question is what they do right after they make a deal--like, I can imagine how the author might feel or react, but the agents celebrate too.

Next week, Katie Grimm's interview goes up and she says she has a Deal Jig that she does whenever she makes a deal.

What Inspires Me Right Now

You know, I'm starting to go to more book signings. I absolutely love hearing other authors talk about their books and their processes and how they got where they are. It gives me a lot of hope and confidence.

Plus I just love having a shelf full of specially signed books. I'm going to see Leila Sales this month! I absolutely can not wait to read THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE.

Are you going to see anyone on book tour this fall?
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13 comments:

  1. Laura ClipsonSeptember 18, 2013 at 10:35 AM

    Congratulations on hitting 50K :)

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  2. Jaime MorrowSeptember 18, 2013 at 1:19 PM

    I'm so happy you like WUW! We love having you on board. :-) I might have to check out the book you mentioned. I'm currently working through WAR AND PEACE, so I'm totally in the mood for Russian stuff. Congrats on the awesome WIP progress, Valerie! Woohoo! I've really been enjoying your Agents Like Us series. It's a great reminder that agents are people too. I like seeing them like that. As for book signings, I've only been to the one at SCBWI NYC. BUT! I'm hopefully going to a Maggie Stiefvater signing in October, so that's awesome. Have a great Wednesday and a great week! :-)

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  3. Miss ColeSeptember 18, 2013 at 2:29 PM

    Congratulations on hitting 50k! Woo hoo! :D

    Oooh, that book has an awesome cover! Very dramatic.

    Have a great week!

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  4. Tracey NeithercottSeptember 18, 2013 at 2:54 PM

    Congrats on hitting 50K! What an awesome milestone. :)

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  5. Simply SarahSeptember 18, 2013 at 3:06 PM

    Congrats on the 50k! I love the look of that book! I've always liked books in that era/locale.

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  6. ELAdamsSeptember 18, 2013 at 5:00 PM

    I love reading interviews with agents - it's great to get an insight into what agents are looking for, and the blog series is a fab idea! Congrats on hitting 50K, too!

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  7. Erin L. FunkSeptember 18, 2013 at 6:08 PM

    Ooo, Anastasia and the Romanovs? Sounds intriguing, and the cover is gorgeous too! Congrats on reaching the 50k mark! That's great that your first draft is feeling solid.

    As for book tours, Maggie Stiefvater is going to be at a bookstore about 10 minutes away from where my parents live on her tour for THE DREAM THIEVES. That's about 6 hours away from here, but I'm really, really tempted to go. When you like in the middle of nowhere in Canada you don't get the chance to attend many book signings. We'll see what happens, I guess!

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  8. prerna pickettSeptember 18, 2013 at 8:02 PM

    i've only been to one book signing, but it was so inspiring, I really need to get out there more. Congrats on reaching 50,000 that's a huge accomplishment!






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  9. Alison MillerSeptember 18, 2013 at 8:47 PM

    This: "I've never loved Wednesday so much since I started participating in this blog hop!"

    ME TOO.

    Congrats on the 50K! That's awesome! And have fun at the book signing. I haven't been to one in a while and you're right - they are fun and inspiring! Enjoy!

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  10. amySeptember 18, 2013 at 11:45 PM

    Congrats on hitting 50K! That's awesome! That cover of This Song Will Save Your Life looks so cool. Have a great weekend!

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  11. Colin SmithSeptember 19, 2013 at 9:07 AM

    Ooo... SECRET DAUGHTER OF THE TSAR sounds interesting. I've added it to my TBR.

    Well done for passing the 50K mark on your current WIP! I know that feels good. :)

    I look forward to reading about Katie's Deal Jig next week. One of the great things about your Agents series is it reminds us that agents are people too, and they get excited about making The Call, and are disappointed when things don't work out.

    Have a great week, Valerie! :)

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  12. Ghenet MyrthilSeptember 19, 2013 at 12:52 PM

    Congrats on hitting 50K!!

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  13. UnknownSeptember 19, 2013 at 4:22 PM

    Sadly, I don't have any book signings to go to in the near future. I live pretty close to Powell's (the biggest indie bookstore in the world) and get their upcoming speakers schedule emailed to me every week. Even though they have 10 readings a week, it seems like it's been months since there has been a YA author. I may have to break down and go to readings by an author or two that writes in a different genre. Have fun at your Lelia Sales reading.

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