Why My Birthday was Awesome!

There was cake.

Sometimes on my birthday I make a cake for myself. However, I believe that this is so way cheater-pants behavior. Making your own birthday cake is like reviewing your own book. (We totally know what we all think about that.)
Anyway, this year my dearest Shannon made me a lovely spice cake and it was awesome.
BUT...this wasn't the only thing that happened.

I started the morning with toast and jelly from my daughter. My mom and Shannon took me to lunch and there was steak--on a weekday. Then, as if this wasn't enough splendor, my brother gave me an ARC of Cold Days!



Then, I picked up the kids from school and when I came home there were huge bunches of beautiful flowers from the Dear Husband and a bottle of pink champagne!
Then The Evil League of Evil Writers fab Dina James posted for my birthday!
And the fun just went on! The fabulous Heather Brewer was signing that night at our local Barnes & Noble so I went to see her with my daughters. SHE IS MADE OF GLORY and if you ever get a chance to see her you should totally go!

So the daughters and I were having so much fun that I didn't even see the attack coming. All of a sudden, I hear Heather calling me and she made the whole store sing Happy Birthday. It was AWESOME and I got a present, too!

So this was the best birthday ever!

5 Ways To Know if Book Reviews Are Fake :: Buzzy Mag – Sci-Fi News, Reviews, Interviews and Original Fiction. – Science Fiction Source

5 Ways To Know if Book Reviews Are Fake :: Buzzy Mag – Sci-Fi News, Reviews, Interviews and Original Fiction. – Science Fiction Source

REVIEWERS, AUTHORS, AND THE ICE CREAM WAR

I'm blogging today at Buzzy Mag. I may also be totally ranting. http://buzzymag.com/reviewers-authors-and-the-ice-cream-war/

I'm blogging today at Buzzy Mag. http://buzzymag.com/the-zombie-horde-and-publishing/

So my new article is up at Buzzy Mag. You can read it http://buzzymag.com/how-to-be-and-online-social-media-guru/ and click on all the things.

The Ten Commandments of Query Letters

The Ten Commandments of Query Letters

1. Verily I say unto you, it is forbidden to mass query to Agents. Thou shalt not put many names and email addresses in the address line nor in the Carbon Copy nor in the Blind Carbon Copy. For each agent has a name.
2. And thou shalt personalize thy query to each agent with a name and each has a name.
3. Thou shalt put thy email address and thy street address and thy phone number on the query or thy children and thy children’s children shall rise up and call thee Stupid for missing an opportunity.
4. Thou shalt not send a query for an unedited manuscript even in the enthusiasm following Nano for thy name shall be Mud and thy query rejected verily.
5. Thou shalt respect the silence of Agents who have posted no response means no on their websites on pain of losing the opportunity to query to them forever and of taking the privilege from thy brothers.
6. Thou shalt go onto the internet to research agents and to follow their guidelines lest thy query be lost to the evil of spam folders.
7. Thou shalt keep thy query letter to one page for Agents have eyes and eyes can be broken.
8. Thou shalt only send a query letter to an agent who represents thy genre which has a name.
9. Thou shalt not hassle an agent about thy query on twitter or facebook or any social networking sites for they are there to be social. They are people and they have a name.
10. And on the seventh day if a rejection shall come, thou shalt rejoice for thy skin is thicker with each rejection and thou shalt need a thick skin when you have a name, for lo and verily there are reviewers.