Double Trick = Double WOOT!

What is a WOOT!, anyway? It's a shout of joy, a more civilized form of SQUEE!

Double Trick was named a FINALIST for the 2012 Northwest Houston RWA's LONE STAR contest!

My La La La sister Jaye Garland (aka 007, the reasons of which will not be divulged here) is a member of NWH and she called last Sunday to share to wonderful news - but I had to keep it under wraps for a little while. Now I'm free to spread the news and SQUEE from the rooftops!

I mean, WOOT!

Happy Writing,

Ava

Great Things...

Double Trick is a WINNER!

Thank you so much to the coordinators and judges of Valley Forge Romance Writers. I am so proud to call the Sheila my first WIN!

Now I'm polishing the manuscript to make it super shiny for the editors who have requested it!

(Yes, I think this news is worthy of all the exclamation points)

Also, check out this cool logo designed by Julia Williams (found her on Etsy - JWilliams creative). I love, love, love it!


Break's over - back to revising :-)

Happy Writing -
Ava

WOOT!

My work in progress, Double Trick, is on the contest circuit and I just learned that it's a Finalist in the Vally Forge Sheila!

I received great feedback from the first round judges and am now revising before it goes to the final round judge / editor at Berkley. So exciting!

I choose which contests I'm going to enter based on final round judges and contest reputation. Coming up are The Maggies, The Lone Star, and The Golden Pen.

Wish me luck!

Research...

Just got back from a long weekend in the Great Smoky Mountains. Quick rundown of happenings:

• Unintentionally hiked 5 miles through Athens, GA, looking for a Jittery Joe's.  Afterward, my husband named my new GPS "Maddie", in honor of Madeline Martin. 
• Zip Line tour - AWESOME. Loved every minute. 
• Rented a nice little cabin and explored the Gatlinburg area.
• Drove 15 miles to find a Starbucks. Luckily, they were open. And luckily, we had the foresight to be in the car that time. 
• Ate some pancakes. 
• Beat my husband in 4 rounds of mini golf, by a total of 8 points. He hammered me on 1 round. We tied twice. Not that we're competitive or anything. 
• Ate some pancakes.
• Watched a couple of bears eating leaves out of a tree about thirty feet above the road. 
• Hiked 3 hours over steep grade and a bunch of rocks. AWESOME. Loved every minute. Even Scott said he only thought about being on his bike twice, but the thoughts were fleeting. 
• While on the hike, ran into a guy who was trying to convince his girlfriend he was Survivor Man. "If you're ever lost in the woods. what you find under a rock may or may not help you." Uh, thanks?
• Slept really, really well.
• Ate some pancakes. Seriously, Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge is like the pancake capital of the world. 

Mama and Baby Bear
(Mama is in the tree on the right)

Moving On....

I did it.

I sent my last submission of Dark Water last night. I've entered the manuscript in contests, exchanged with critique partners, revised, revised, revised, and queried agents and editors. I've gotten great feedback, but where it counts, I've been told that it's just not quite right for the market. From this point on, it's all about new stuff.

Writing is kind of like being on one of those climbing walls. Sometimes it's tough to find the right hand-hold. Sometimes you have to sweat and struggle to just not fall off, even though every part of you is shaking with effort. But you always have to LET GO and reach for the next thing or you'll never get to the top.

I bought myself a new white board yesterday and wrote my goals so I could see it and ask myself, "What have you done TODAY to meet these goals?" 

Keep your eyes on the prize!

Happy writing,

Ava

Props to the Honey Badger

A few things about my friend Madeline Martin (author of fabulous Scottish Highlander romances):

• She's absolutely beautiful and stylish, but it's nicely balanced by her clumsiness and self-deprecating humor;
• She's quick to offer a smile and encouragement, even when she's probably thinking, "That's the craziest thing I've ever heard."
• She balances her virtual Red Pen critiques with :-) and LoLs, so I feel like my manuscript is happy to be bleeding to death;
• She points out major details missed in a scene... because I've gotten distracted by the hot hero;
• All those wildly inappropriate thoughts that jump into my head? I can say them to Madeline, because she's thinking them, too;
• She gives "creative" driving directions after an evening of celebration (still better than Siri, in my opinion);
• She's up for almost any adventure;
• She writes a fabulous blog : www.madelinemartin.com.  Not every day you find a site that discusses the historical significance of penis enlargement AND beheading, right?
• And finally - She's my Mud Run Buddy - Team Dirty Writers AKA Team Honey Badger and Combat Barbie AKA Team Spider Monkey and Baby Bear.

OK - that last one was a sneaky segue. 2012 MS Society Muck Ruckus is coming soon - check back for photos!

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:-)

Ava

Moonlight in the Garden of.... Decatur

October brings Moonlight & Magnolias, a weekend writers' conference sponsored by Georgia Romance Writers. Fabulous, as always! Sally Kilpatrick, Anna Stefl and all of the volunteers who devoted much sweat and tears (maybe blood, but I didn't hear any stories of that) absolutely ROCKED. Editor and Agent appointments went well, inspiring me to work on the series that's been a little nugget in my mind for the last year or so.

It was great to spend a weekend immersed in writing, and to catch up on some much-needed Girl Time. My La La La sisters codenamed Honey Badger, Wicked Awesome and Wild Thang were a balm to my Muse. :-)

Also, huge congrats to my FCRW Chaptermates Heather Nickodem and Vanessa Kelly on their shiny new MAGGIE AWARDS!

NaNoWriMo is just around the corner - jump in and WRITE!

Ava