C. LEE MCKENZIE GUEST POST AND DOUBLE NEGATIVE GIVEAWAY

Happy Monday Everyone! Hope you're having a great week. I'll be honest. Last week was kind of hard. Sunday was the six month anniversary of Rudy's death. And then on Monday at work our manager announced that an attorney will get their layoff notice the end of October for the end of November and there will be other layoff notices the end of December for the end of January so that most secretaries and attorneys are gone and just a very few left in each office. One of our secretaries had just gotten her layoff notice for the end of October but can work part-time in November.

This is part of our company's closing next year. I expect I'll get my notice either this month or the end of December because we only have 3 attorneys and the managing attorney. I'll be glad to get through this next super big life challenge and am getting ready. A career counselor they hired to help us wrote an awesome resume for me that I'll use when I make a career change to an administrative position. And this blog is in there to show my technology skills. I've been working on my cover letters and starting to network with a few people I hadn't told yet. One asked me to send him my resume now. I'll keep you all posted. And I am so glad to have this blog and all you as friends as I go through this challenging time.

FOLLOWER NEWS

Jessica Sayler's debut book SECRET CATCH just released. Here's a blurb: Tyler Koontz is Trojan gold

all the way and Sam Nolan is Skyhawk red born and raised. There’s one rule in this town... Trojans and Skyhawks don’t date. EVER. So when Tyler and Sam fall fast and hard for each other, what are they to do? Keep it a secret of course. The problem is in a town this small, secrets don’t stay secret for long.  And here's a few links:

Amazon paperback- http://smile.amazon.com/Secret-Catch-Becca-Ann/dp/1500652776/ref=pd_rhf_eetyp_p_img_1

Amazon kindle- http://smile.amazon.com/Secret-Catch-Cassie-Mae-ebook/dp/B00MQ8YP0K/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_img_1

And I have a few winners to announce:

The winner of SURVIVAL COLONY 9 is Carl Scott!

And the winner of SALT AND STORM is Suzanne Warr!

Congrats! E-mail me your address so I can send you your books. Please e-mail me by the end of Wednesday or I'll have to pick another winner.

Today I'm thrilled to have long time follower and friend C. Lee McKenzie here to share a guest post on how to get your first few pages of your story right and a giveaway of her new YA contemporary DOUBLE NEGATIVE that released in July. Details of the giveaway are at the end of the post.

So here's Lee!

It’s the beginnings that are the hardest for me to write. I spend more time on that first sentence, that first paragraph, page or chapter than I do with the whole book—almost. And even after I rewrite for the hundredth time, I’m not one hundred percent satisfied. I’ve come to understand that this is my “insecurity” showing up.

Here’s why. Book browsers usually give a book no more than three pages before making the decision to buy or to put a book back on the shelf. Three pages!

“Deal with it, baby.” That’s what I finally told myself.

But how? There had to a way I could rewrite my beginnings and not wind up in a puddle of despair with every book.

When all else fails, I like to resort to logic, so that’s where I went for help. I turned on my left brain coordinates and created a Checklist Of Questions for myself. It has helped, so I thought I’d share that checklist with you today.

Now, in all honesty, some items are mine; some I stole and can’t remember who I stole them from, so if

you see something here that you thought of before me, let me know. Some items are pure common sense and come under the Everyone Knows That For Heaven Sakes Category.

01.Do I have a HOOK?

02.Where is it? (First line? First page?)

03.What’s the HOOK’s question?

04.Is that question big enough to catch the readers’ interest? Will “What happens next?” pop into their minds?

05.Is my main character clearly established?

06.Does my main character have a clearly established goal or desire?

07.Is there any scene that I can improve with better characterization?

08.Is my inciting event in the right place?

09.Will my readers know where and when the story takes place?
10.How much white space do I have? (Where can I add some with dialogue or shorter, quicker-paced sentences?)

11.Do I have any long narrative or descriptive passages that I could a) delete b) break up?

12.Do I use passive voice, and get too wordy?

13.Do I establish and keep the tone I want for the book?

14.Do I have any “blah” description?

I don’t bother with this Checklist of Questions until I come to that miracle called The End. When I type that, I know it’s only the beginning, but I’ve accomplished phase one of my book. That’s when I go back and shred and shred and shred the beginning, using my list of questions.

Do you have a checklist for your beginnings? Anything I need to add? Are beginnings a challenge for you?

Thanks for the advice. Love the list, Lee!

You can find Lee at:
 

@cleemckenzie

http://cleemckenziebooks.com

AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0042M1KYW

EVERNIGHT TEEN: http://www.evernightteen.com/double-negative-by-c-lee-mckenzie/

Here's a blurb of DOUBLE NEGATIVE from Goodreads:

"My life was going, going, gone, and I hadn't been laid yet. I couldn't go into the slammer before that happened." Hutch McQueen.

Sixteen-year-old Hutchinson McQueen is trapped in a dysfunctional family. Shackled by poor vision and poor reading skills, he squeaks through classes with his talent for eavesdropping and memorizing what he hears. After another suspension from school and suffering through one of his mother’s violent attacks, he escapes to a friend’s house that turns out to be a meth lab. The lab is raided and Hutch lands in juvenile detention. When the court sentences him to six months in a new juvenile program, he meets a teacher with Alzheimer’s who will change his life and hers.

Lee has generously offered a copy of DOUBLE NEGATIVE for a giveaway.  To enter, all you need to do is be a follower (just click the follow button if you’re not a follower) and leave a comment through October 18th. I’ll announce the winner on October 20th. If your e-mail is not on your Google Profile, please leave it in the comments.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry. Also if you like Lee's new Facebook page and add DOUBLE NEGATIVE to your Goodreads list, mention this in the comments for extra entries. You must be 13 or older to enter. This is an International giveaway with a print version for U.S. and e-book for International.

Here’s what’s coming

On Wednesday I'm giving away a number of recently released Harper Collins middle grade books that I know many of you would enjoy.

Next Monday after that I have a guest post by another long time follower and debut author Kim Van Sickler and a giveaway of her YA contemporary SNACHED IN GULLYBROOK.

Tuesday that week I’m participating in the Spooktacular Book Giveaway Blog Hop. I’ll have lots of great choices for you or an Amazon Gift Card if you don’t like what I picked.

Wednesday that week I'll be hosting a giveaway of the entire YA urban fantasy Heir Chronicles series by  Cinda Williams Chima, one of my all time favorite authors. So excited about this!

And the Monday after that, I’ve got a huge celebration giveaway because we’ve reached over 4000 GFC followers. They'll be a huge giveaway of both MG and YA books and a grand prize Amazon Gift Card. Hope you'll stop by to help celebrate!

The following Monday 'll be thrilled to share an interview with debut author Martina Boone who so many of us know with a giveaway of her fantastic YA Gothic romance COMPULSION. You'll love the small town Southern setting and the characters who are all so unique.


And don’t forget Casey’s Thursday Agent Spotlights.

Hope to see you on Wednesday!