Was WriteOnCon awesome or what? I was preparing for and having a garage sale during the days of the conference, but made sure I took the time to participate in most of the live panels and read most of the posts so far. I came away so informed and so inspired. I thought I was about done with my middle grade manuscript, but the conference (and critiques) taught me that there is still so much work to be done! I'm looking forward to using my new knowledge and energy to tackle it full force when the kids go back to school soon.THANK YOU to all of the wonderful organizers and contributors. It was amazing.
See that pile of books in the left hand corner? I bought those this weekend! Most are gifts (some for my childrens' upcoming bdays, shhhh. Happy eighth birthday to my daughter today!), but I bought a few for myself and to pass along to my mom and sister. I have been dying to read Fat Vampire by Adam Rex and Linger by Maggie Stiefvater. And now I have them! Woo hoo!! I just started reading Fat Vampire and I already laughed out loud twice at the first page of the first chapter. I kid you not, people.
The best part about these books? I bought them with a gift card that I won!
When my mom, sister and I went to Printer's Row Fest in Chicago, I entered a contest. There was a Hyundai filled with paperbacks, and you wrote down your info and your estimate of how many books were in there. Guess who was closest in all of the Chicago participants??? Little ole me! I won a $100 gift card! The funny thing about it was that my original guess was 350 or something and my mom looked at it and said, "Kelly! There's more than that!" I looked at her guess and my sister's guess. Their guesses were over 700. I then entered a new guess, 692. So, thanks Mom! She's an avid reader and will definitely benefit from my winnings. I still have about $20 left that I'll save for future birthday gifts (or I should say gift, hardcover books are expensive!).
Speaking of awesome books, a big THANK YOU to Patricia at Simplicity in Volumes. I won third place in her Writing Triathlon and the upcoming release, The Duff. Another book I am looking forward to reading!
What new books are you excited about?
