MOVING BLOG TO NEW HOME!

Hey everyone! This blog has moved to my new website! You can find me at www.rosegarciabooks.com.

See you there!!

Rose

Getting Connected with the Writing Community

Way back when, when I first ventured into the world of writing, I knew I needed a guide. A mentor, if you will. How did I know this? Well, it's a simple rule of business to surround yourself with like-minded people. And so I went on my quest to find writer friends.

The first place I searched was twitter and google. Lo and behold, I found Mary Lindsey. We live in the same city, both have legal backgrounds, both write paranormal. It was a perfect match! I emailed her right away, she responded right away, and we met for lunch. I can't tell you how much she helped me improve my craft and how she integrated me into the Houston writing community. I am so glad I found her!

Mary introduced me to Jessica Capelle and Iona McAvoy- more up-and-coming Houston writers! Together, the three of us formed the Houston YA/MG group. It was at one of these meetings that I met the amazing Rachel Harris. We hit it off right away and went to DFWCon together. (Along with her amazing hubs =)). She helped me with my pitch, gave me some great advice on my book, and slammed down some beers with me. She is AWESOME, and I am eternally grateful that we have connected! Her insights and advice are INVALUABLE!!

Another amazing person I have recently connected with is Diane Holmes of Pitch University. I sought her out for advice on self-publishing. She introduced me to a few folks who could help me e-pub, and now I am working with the super incredible Alicia Rasley. You may know her from the Editorrent blog. I am loving working with her!!!

So my point here with all this is...GET CONNECTED! STAY CONNECTED! RETURN THE FAVOR! BE OPEN! Writer friends can help you in so many ways!

All About the Hunger Games!

Oh yes... the Hunger Games movie is FINALLY here! The entire Moriarty gang is EXCITED! And yes, we are going to the movie today after school. I just hope, REALLY HOPE, it doesn't disappoint. 

Case in point, I LOVED the Percy Jackson books. My entire family devoured them. And then when we saw that a movie was being made, we were thrilled! I still remember sitting in the theater and seeing the trailer for the first time. Cute Percy Jackson, in the elevator, the numbers blinking so fast because he was going to the top of the elevator at lightning speed-- WOW! My body covered in goose bumps!

And then came the movie. Okay, I admit, I did like the movie. But COULDN'T BELIEVE HOW DIFFERENT IT WAS FROM THE BOOK!!! UGH!!!  I'm not talking a few changes here and there, I'm talking way different.

You know what I mean.

So tonight, as I stand in line with my husband, my kids, and their friends, I will pray the movie doesn't disappoint. And that Katniss and Peeta are as awesome as I always hoped they'd be!

The Year of the Dragon!

There's a lot of exciting things going on in my life right now. I can almost feel the positive energy surrounding me. Could it be because it's the year of the dragon? Who knows... But I do know this, 2012 is going to be great! It already is!

As for what's up in particular? Well, I've been meeting weekly with my crit partner and friend, Rachel Harris. SHE'S AMAZING!!! Seriously. She gives the best crit ever and is helping to keep me on track of my goals. I am so thankful for her!!

I have also recently joined the WHRWA. Talk about a great group! Tomorrow is the Emily breakfast. I'll be pitching to the very awesome Laura Bradford, and I can't wait to meet her!

The other thing that has me SO excited is my new WIP. One day you'll see what I mean! In the meantime, I'll be checking in here more frequently. And, of course, you can always follow me on twitter. (@roseonprose)

Until next time!

What? It's December?

Anyone else out there shocked that it's December already? As for me, I still can't believe it! As much as I LOVE the holidays, they totally stress me out. And for once, I'd like to just enjoy this month. So, here's my plan...

* Today we are decorating the house. (inside and out). Whatever doesn't get done, will NOT get done. Period. I'm not stretching out this whole decorating thing.

*Crazy but true, I've completed almost ALL my holiday shopping!! Hooray for me!! I will, I must, no matter what, finish my holiday shopping THIS WEEKEND. This is non-negotiable.

*I'm not sure how much writing I'll get done this month, but to keep my creative juices flowing, I've decided to make a writing plan. This is something I should've done a long time age, but because this will be a busy month with parties, luncheons, etc, I need to do it! And there's no time like the present!

*I will not over-extend myself this month. I cannot go to all the parties, luncheons, dinners, happy hours that I've been invited to. I just can't! Instead, I will choose to spend time with the people who REALLY matter to me; the friends that I love and who love me back.

So... that's all I can think of right now!! Now back to the decorations...

The Universe is Messing with Me!

(Note: the above is not my kitchen, but may as well have been!)

I love my house, but hate my kitchen! So, I decided to remodel. The job was supposed to have started and finished last month. But alas, the universe found out that I had signed up for NaNoWriMo and decided to mess with me.

Instead of starting on my kitchen last month, the builder couldn't start until this month. And then, everything that could go wrong, went wrong. I will spare you the gory details on that one, but will say that not having a kitchen sink for over a week really bites. Really, really, bites. But it seems like the worst is over, and if all goes well, my kitchen should be finished tomorrow!! Hooray! 

So what to do with Nano? Even though I won't meet my goal, I'm NOT throwing in the towel. My plan is to write full steam ahead as soon as I'm able. (Looks like I can focus on writing Friday!)

What about you? Did you sign up for Nano? If so, how's it going?

Pitch U and the Write Lawyer

I subscribe to and read tons of blogs. They keep me up to date on writers, publishers, agents and more. One blog I regularly read is the Pitch University blog.

Last week I noticed the Pitch U blog featured a column by Jeffrey V. Mehalic of the Write Lawyer. It was to be a featured column in which Mr. Mehalic would review and give his legal opinion on various publishing contracts.

As a lawyer, this really caught my interest, and so I read his review of the contracts from Sourcebooks, Crescent Moon Press, and Entangled Publishing. The rating for each? Sourcebooks: SHRED IT; Crescent Moon Press: BURN IT; Entangled Publishing: SHRED IT.

Today, as I review my RSS feeds, I find that Mr. Mehalic has announced the following: "Starting Monday, September 19, 2011, I will be posting my column on publishing contracts on this blog, rather than on Pitch University. I had my posts removed from PU (appropriate, eh?) after my post was altered by the owner of the site."

WOW.

First, let me say that contracts are ALWAYS skewed to favor the interest of the party who is presenting the contract. Which is, a no-brainer. That's why one must always have a contract evaluated and negotiated before signing. Plain and simple.

As a writer in search of a dream agent who will sooner than later be reviewing my own contract, I appreciated the advice and the heads up by Mr. Mehalic on some of the issues I will soon face. On the other hand, I can see how publishers might not appreciate their contracts on display without having a chance to first address the issues in the post.

But the question is: what do you think of Pitch U allegedly altering the posts? What does that say to you?