Monday, July 23, 2012

got giveaways?

I'm so pleased to be a guest on Beth Fehlbaum's blog and website for YA Writer Wednesday--okay it's not Wednesday yet. Beth sneaked me in little earlier. Click on the link below for a chance to win a signed copy of A Closer Look plus a surprise gift but "Do Not Open Until Page 153." All you have to do is leave a comment to enter to win. A winner will be drawn on August 28th. ~Karen




http://bethfehlbaumbooks.com/1/post/2012/07/ya-writer-wednesdays-welcomes-karen-dellecava-author-of-a-closer-look.html

Also check out Beth's amazing book, Hope in Patience, a A 2011 YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

got giveaways?

Our fellow WestSide author and friend, Beth Fehlbaum, is hosting an interview and book giveaway for Dave Hendrickson's brilliant novel, Cracking the Ice. All you have to do is post a comment to be entered to win a signed copy of Dave's book. A winner will be drawn on July 24th. Good luck! ~~Karen

Here's the link: http://www.bethfehlbaumya.com/apps/blog/show/15596361-ya-writer-wednesdays-welcomes-dave-hendrickson-author-of-cracking-the-ice-?

Read my review of Cracking the Ice: http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Ice-Dave-Hendrickson/product-reviews/1934813559/ref=sr_1_1_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1


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Friday, July 13, 2012

got winners?

Check out our two top picks for last week's prompt by Fire and Maggie M.  Awesome work, ladies! The prompt appears in boldface. Thanks for submitting everyone! And Happy Friday the 13th!



Morning offers little comfort after a night of sheer terror. I want to pretend that the slaughter and senseless deaths are a dream but the silvery bloodstains on my hands tell a different story. Exhausted, I remove my breastplate and tuck that and my saber away.

While my brother sleeps, still safely hidden, I scrub myself clean. Dear, sweet, Jake, only five years old could never comprehend that for us to survive, I will fight again tonight.

    

 I don’t know why I bothered washing the blood off; it might as well have been stained on my skin. My breast plates stained and damaged covered with senseless deaths and pointless battles. How long would this continue before I got a break?

“Andy?” Jake wiped the sleep from his eyes.

“Hello bug.” I wiped my hands and kneeled next to him. He found his way into my arms closing his eyes once again but not sleeping.

“Where did you go?” 


How was I supposed to tell him what I was really doing out there, how I’d killed for our survival? I closed my eyes fighting back the night terrors, the constant haunting of not knowing if tonight is your last night. I knew the time would come when I would have to tell him the truth. 

“Don’t worry bug, I’ll tell you one day.” I brushed my hand down his head controlling my breathing and the rapid speed of my heart. “It will all make sense one day I promise."
Five years old and so unaware of what is really out there of what is really after us. For us to survive I would have to fight again tonight, I would have to continue fighting. I watched the moon as it rose to the top of the sky. It was a full moon like tonight’s that it all began. 


by Fire 


***


Jake startled me when he emerged from his secret compartment of our cave. He squinted his eyes against the morning light streaming in through a series of cracks in our stone ceiling. 


"There's my Jakey," I said as I dried my aching hands. "Did you have sweet dreams?"


I asked him this every morning so I could begin to detox my brain of the misery from the previous night. But this morning something was different about Jake. His eyes were different which are normally a sky blue--if you're lucky enough to see the sky through the sick green fog that usually hovers over us. It appeared that his eyes have been drained of color and replaced with silvery liquid lead. I gasped. They were here last night. He is one of them!


"What's wrong, Tess?" Jake asked with an eerie tone.


"How did this happen?" I started to walk backwards toward where I hid my saber. But wait. This is my little brother who I've protected for months and months. How could I ever hurt him even if he is one of them?


Jake took a step closer and I had to fight my survival instincts. Why has my own brother become my enemy?


by Maggie M.

Friday, July 6, 2012

Got Winners!

Comics Wallpaper: Joker and Harley Quinn

Riddle me this!

Our winning entry for the riddle/prophecy/puzzle prompt from last week comes from Hannah Henry:


Hannah Henry Entry:

Stopping short just in the dark damp cave Jonah pulled me to the side making sure we were no longer followed. I couldn’t tell which of us was shaking the most. He pulled me to the ground making sure we were still hidden as he pulled out the cloth of paper; 

Two shall answer the call
On the blood moon that dwells in the mist
You will face that which you never thought possible.
Two children of the meadow
Fight till death falls upon a king who has strayed,
Jonah and Katarina prepare for what is to come.


Thanks, Hannah. This is a great example of how to start your story off with fireworks, and pull your reader into your world.


EJ Patten's giveaway!

Mathew MacNish is the winner of the epic interview giveaway from EJ Patten. He'll get ten pages of manuscript reviewed by EJ!

Congratulations all. We'll be taking a hiatus next week for some well earned vacation and we'll all be back with more Gotteenfiction on Monday the 16th. 
- best Joe, Karen, Shari, Selene

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Two States of Being a Writer - Got Inspiration?


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What does it feel like to face the blank page? I mean not just blank pages of a not yet completed novel, but short stories, essays, a blog post, or a letter - really anything that you have to write. I have a range of feelings about it.

For the blank page, sometimes my stomach feels fluttery, but not like when I'm in love, more like when I'm about to be sick, only not quite so bad, otherwise ... I'd be sick. My mind races on old worn paths leading to 1) disturbing thoughts about my future, 2) bad things that have happened in my past, 3) a voice inside my head - sometimes loud and sometimes soft - that says, "You can't write so just give up," and 4) another voice - sometimes equally loud and sometimes soft that says, "You've done this before so get your fingers typing and it will all work its way out through your fingers."

Here's how it feels when I'm writing. My stomach settles. My mind grows calm and focused. Sometimes my fingers cramp up if I'm typing too fast. I feel a sense of being in the right place, in the present, in the here and now. It feels like an exhale.

So here's my question for you. What does your blank page feel like? What about when you're writing?

Knowing these two states of being a writer (either facing the blank page, or writing) can help you to move from one to the other.

We'll deal with revisions later...

In the mean time... enjoy your fireworks.
- Joe

Monday, July 2, 2012

got writing?

Morning offers little comfort after a night of sheer terror. I want to pretend that the slaughter and senseless deaths are a dream but the silvery bloodstains on my hands tell a different story. Exhausted, I remove my breastplate and tuck that and my saber away.


While my brother sleeps, still safely hidden, I scrub myself clean. Dear, sweet, Jake, only five years old could never comprehend that for us to survive, I will fight again tonight.


Write a short scene with some dialogue between our main character and Jake after he wakes up and be sure to give this brave girl a name.


Happy writing!


Karen


Email your awesome writing skills to gotteenfiction@gmail.com by July 11th.