Happy Book Birthday to UNDER THE LIGHTS by Dahlia Adler!

Good Morning!

It's a glorious Tuesday! Know why? Because today is the official release day for my CP Dahlia Adler's newest book, UNDER THE LIGHTS!

Photo Credit: threehundredlittleducklings

You might remember last June, when I spewed gifs all over the internet in celebration of Dahlia's first book, BEHIND THE SCENES.

Well, Dahlia has done it again. And this time, as that awesome cover leaves no room for doubt, she's done it with really cute lesbians. (Yep, totally aware of how that sentence sounds, and pretty sure Dahl would want it no other way, and so I'm leaving it.)

Photo credit: justanotherbadfish

Photo credit: lezgirlblog

So, done what again, you ask? (*snaps fingers* HEY! Ogle the girl-on-girl gif later, I'm still talking!)

I've found that I have three main reactions to Dahlia's novels. First, there's this:

Hysterical, face-contorting laughter, in case I have to spell it out
Photo credit: isabelleadjanis

Then she has to go and throw in a few of these moments:

Because it's totally normal to sob over people you don't
know and won't ever meet. And also don't exist.
Photo credit: powerofdean

Mixed in with a good amount of these:

Self explanatory
Photo credit: mariahpapaya2

If this isn't you during the sex scene, I fear your pulse is nonexistent
Photo credit: tenpointstogifindor

And this book absolutely does not disappoint in any department. If you like funny, honest, heartfelt stories with diverse, realistic characters, then go pick this one up right now. I promise, you will be happy you did.

Happy Release Day, Dahlia!!!!

Photo Credit: bornthisday1995

It's a #YALoveFest Valentine's Day #BookGiveaway!

Happy Valentine's Day, everybody!

Yes, I know Valentine's Day is actually tomorrow, but I'm a romance writer and therefore it's never to early to celebrate a day that's all about LUUUURVE!

So, in the spirit of this festive Cupid-and-hearts themed holiday, I've teamed up with four other fantastic YA contemporary authors - Dahlia Adler, Marci Lyn Curtis, Lauren Gibaldi, and Katie M. Stout - for a YA Love Fest! Here are the deets:

That's right, you can win an ARC of all five titles featured above!

And all you have to do is tweet or Instagram a photo of something - or someone - you love, using the hashtag #YALoveFest by Wednesday, February 18th.

So what are you waiting for? Whip out those cell phones and aim them at something that makes your heart go pitter-patter!

Want to tag us in your posts? Cool! *But don't forget the hashtag!* We are:

Dahlia Adler: missdahlelama (Twitter and Instagram) Read more about UNDER THE LIGHTS!
Gina Ciocca: gmc511 (Twitter) and gmciocca (Insta) Read more about LAST YEAR'S MISTAKE!
Marci Lyn Curtis: Marci_Curtis (Twitter) Read more about THE ONE THING!
Lauren Gibaldi: laurengibaldi (Twitter) Read more about THE NIGHT WE SAID YES!
Katie M. Stout: katiemstout (Twitter) Read more about HELLO, I LOVE YOU!

Good luck and can't wait to see your entries! May the #YaLoveFest odds be ever in your favor!

Photo credit: teen.com

Happy Book Birthday to BEHIND THE SCENES by Dahlia Adler!

You guys! It's finally happening! The book I've blogged, tweeted and GIF'd my excitement about for months is at last out in the world! HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY, BEHIND THE SCENES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

High school senior Ally Duncan's best friend may be the Vanessa Park - star of TV's hottest new teen drama - but Ally's not interested in following in her BFF's Hollywood footsteps. In fact, the only thing Ally's ever really wanted is to go to Columbia and study abroad in Paris. But when her father's mounting medical bills threaten to stop her dream in its tracks, Ally nabs a position as Van's on-set assistant to get the cash she needs. 

Spending the extra time with Van turns out to be fun, and getting to know her sexy co-star Liam is an added bonus. But when the actors' publicist arranges for Van and Liam to "date" for the tabloids just after he and Ally share their first kiss, Ally will have to decide exactly what role she's capable of playing in their world of make believe. If she can't play by Hollywood's rules, she may lose her best friend, her dream future, and her first shot at love.

....And a huge congratulations to its fabulous author, Dahlia Adler! (And if you haven't already, click the link to purchase, because you're missing out if you don't!)

In honor of BtS's release day, I'm offering a little glimpse "behind the scenes" into my own writerly life.

Most of you know my own novel, LAST YEAR'S MISTAKE, comes out next summer. I'd love to show you a picture of my office and tell you it's "where the magic happened," but alas, the first draft of LYM was complete long before I moved to my house in Georgia. So.....

That's a picture of a fountain pen, very apropos for a writing cave!

My desk, which is supposed to have a corkboard above it, but doesn't
because I can't find one I like.

The obligatory bookshelf, complete with the stereo my husband gave me
in the 1990's, when he was my boyfriend and we were our own YA novel.

..... here is where the magic did NOT happen.

Unless you count revisions, which we probably should, since this office *is* where I took the "finished" ms from 64,000 words to 72,000. Curious to know what that looks like?

Well, it's a little something like this:

Normally I'm not nearly as organized about revising. I scribble down some notes on a sheet of paper, and cross them off as I address them. But as it turns out, realizing you need to rearrange chapters in the first half of the novel in order to address your editor's wish list  is a little more daunting than just revising from beta notes.

So this time, I was all about color-coded note cards (blue for Present chapters, white for Past). I paper-clipped them to their respective sections of the novel and laid them out on the floor so I could keep the timeline straight, and see the main points of each chapter at a glance. It was a HUGE help.

Especially since I can only work on my writing when this little guy naps:

Nap?! How can I nap when soon I'll be
holding the BOOK instead of the postcard?
FIST PUMP!

So there you have it - a little peek behind the scenes at how and where I revised LAST YEAR'S MISTAKE. It's also where I finished (but not started) BUSTED, where I'm currently turning my novella, JESSE'S GIRL into a full-length novel, and where I'll be revising SHADOW PARK.

And now I'd like to offer I'd like to offer a way less boring look behind the scenes - the actual book. One random commentor will win a copy of BEHIND THE SCENES courtesy of moi! 

For everyone else here's where you can go to get it:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Behind-Scenes-Dahlia-Adler/dp/1939392977

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/behind-the-scenes-phoebe-adler/1104516606

The Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/Behind-Scenes-Dahlia-Adler/9781939392978

Indiebound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781939392978

CONGRATULATIONS, DAHLIA!!!

Kickass Queries Series! # 2 - Dahlia Adler!

Hi All!

Today for our Kickass Queries Series, we're talking with one of your favorites and mine: Dahlia Adler!

Dahlia's novel, BEHIND THE SCENES debuts in three short months from Spencer Hill Contemporary, and if you need a reason (or twenty) to drop everything and pre-order it, you can find it here. She also runs The Daily Dahlia, a goldmine of information for writers in every stage of the game. Today she's sharing the query for JUST VISITING, the novel that landed her current agent, Lana Popovic, with Zachary Shuster Harmsworth.

Dahlia's Query

Reagan Forrester wants out--out of her trailer park, out of reach of her freeloading mother, and out of the shadow of the relationship that made her the pariah of Charytan, Kansas. 

Victoria Reyes wants in--in to a fashion design program and a sorority, in to the arms of a cute guy who doesn't go to Charytan High, and in to a city where she won't stand out for being Mexican. 
One thing the polar-opposite best friends do agree on is that wherever they go, they’re going together. But when they set off on a series of college visits at the start of their senior year, they quickly see that the future doesn’t look quite like they expected. After two years of near-solitude following the betrayal of the ex-boyfriend who broke her heart, Reagan falls hard and fast for a Battlestar Galactica-loving, brilliant smile-sporting pre-med prospective... only to learn she's set herself up for heartbreak all over again. Meanwhile, Victoria realizes everything she’s looking for might be in the very place they've sworn to leave. 


As both Reagan and Victoria struggle to learn who they are and what they want in the present, they discover just how much they don't know about each other's pasts. And when each learns what the other’s been hiding, they'll have to decide whether their friendship has a future. 


G: How many manuscripts did you query prior to signing with your agent?

D: I signed my first agent on manuscript #3 (though #1 was a very short query process—I think I only queried nine agents), and my second agent on manuscript #5 (though she also signed #4). I like to make things complicated J

G: How long did it take to write your query/pitch, and what things/steps do you think were most important to make it agent-ready?

D: Writing this query probably took a couple of days, but once I finished, the first draft was very close to the final version. I think the most important things are running it by other people to see where you’re being vague or unclear, and number one paramount step is running it past someone who’s never read the book. No question—do this.

G: Tell us about your query style – do you approach your entire list of prospectives at once, or query in small batches and revise in between?

D: Always small batches—no matter how confident you are, I think you always want to give yourself opportunities to revise things you see aren’t working. Sometimes your query’s obviously just fine, but you get to the point where you’re getting asked for fulls, and you realize that’s where your problem lies. That doesn’t mean I think you should use agents as test cases—I’d never query without feeling my query and manuscript were both solid—but sometimes it’s just hard to see the issues with your own work until someone truly objective points them out to you.

G: Now the fun part – what was “the call” like? How did you know your agent was the right person to represent your project?

D: My call with Lana was a lot of fun, very comfortable, and, as usual, I talked her ear off. For me, so much was in how well we clicked and how much she truly loved my book. One of the scariest things about being on sub is how not in control the author is. We don’t get to pitch our books to editors; we rely on our agents to do that. So it takes out a lot of the fear when you feel like an agent would really represent your book the way you would, given the chance. So to feel like an agent “gets” it, and gets you? That’s a huge deal. Another big sign for me was that when we talked revisions, she brought up something that had been bugging me about the book but hadn’t seemed to bother anyone else. I wanted someone who would really push me on stuff like that, even when I knew I could technically “get away with” not addressing them.

G: If you could give one piece of advice to writers seeking publication, what would it be? 

D: Ha, I could never give only one. Except maybe “Read my blog.” Can I do that? I’m doing it. 

Thanks for sharing, Dahl! Best of luck with JUST VISITING and all your writing endeavors! 

To stalk follow Dahlia in every possible internet location, here's where you'll find her:

Blog: http://dailydahlia.wordpress.com/
Twitter: @missdahlelama
Goodreads: BEHIND THE SCENES

What's Good In The Hood?

Good morning, peeps! I've missed you all!

HOW THE HECK ARE YOU?

Things have been crazy around here, and I'm sure they'll only get crazier, but I'm determined to carve out a niche for my writing life. I kind of have to - it's my outlet, and I already learned the hard way that sacrificing your outlet for your obligations leads to all kinds of ugly.

It hasn't been easy, though. Aside from trying to plug away at a new contemporary YA, here's what I've been up to:

- Incubating A Human Who Is Suddenly Growing At Warp Speed

 

 

 -Spending Time With Family And Friends Before We Moved

- Making the Big Move From Connecticut to Georgia Via Car

- Seeing Some Crazy Things Along the Way, Like A Giant, Kind of Obscene-Looking Peach

- Getting Settled in Our Temporary Apartment. I Swear This Part Was Harder Than It Looks.

Working From Home

- Finally Taking a Cue From Dahlia and Getting My Hands on Some Macaron Cookies. And MY GOD, THEY ARE HEAVEN.

And last but definitely not least, with all that time in the car I was able to do some reading. So, I did something I've been meaning to do for a LONG time, which is to read a Sarah Dessen novel. I've heard she writes amazing contemporaries and had more than one person tell me my writing is reminiscent of hers, so I wanted to see for myself.

Since I love summer stories, I chose THAT SUMMER:

For fifteen-year-old Haven, life is changing too quickly. She's nearly six feet tall, her father is getting remarried, and her sister—the always perfect Ashley—is planning a wedding of her own. Haven wishes things could just go back to the way they were. Then an old boyfriend of Ashley's reenters the picture, and through him, Haven sees the past for what it really was, and comes to grips with the future.

I haven't finished yet, but wow, this lady can write. Her characters are so relatable and so real, and if people see that in my writing, then I'm just gonna go ahead and say, Damn, I'm good. Kidding. Sort of ;)

The next bit of summer lovin' on my Kindle is THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY by Jenny Han. Because I've always wanted one of those. And I'm still waiting.

Your turn, peeps! What are you doing these days? What are you reading? What are you writing? GIVE ME DETAILS!

Amazing Book News!!

You guys! Fantastic news! One of the best unpublished things I've ever read is going to be one of the best PUBLISHED things YOU'VE ever read!

That's right! My amazing friend and CP, Dahlia Adler, just sold her book BEHIND THE SCENES to Spencer Hill Contemporary!

HAPPY DANCE!!



To give you an idea of how excited you should be, and how you'll feel after you read this book, let me (and some kickass gifs) tell you the story of how I came to love it so much:

Once upon a time in the year 2012, I went to Mexico. I wasn't online much while I was there, because duh, it looked like this:

But when I was, I noticed of few of my friends and CP's chatting on Twitter with someone called @missdahlelama. She seemed like a cool chick, so I followed her. And she followed me back.

Eventually, we started emailing, and I realized I'd had no idea that she wrote Contemporary YA. I hadn't even read anything she'd written, and vice versa. So one of us, and I'm not sure which one, suggested trading ms's even though we were both already on sub. And even though I had some other things on my plate, I was all:

So then I started to read. And you guys. It gave me SO MANY FEELS.

At any given moment I was doing this

Or this



Or this

Or a combination of both

I went through so many emotions, I told Dahl I felt like a mental patient...

....But in a GOOD way. If that's possible. Because when I was done reading, I was like

And why, you ask? Because it was just that good. The characters were witty and real, the plot was both heartfelt and fun. And speaking of characters?

LIAM.

He's the male mc, he is SO HOT, and he is also my boyfriend. (Dahl admits he's  madly in love with me right here, so don't even bother hoping.) Oh, and he's an actor, so you know what that means? He has abs, guys. ABS.

The romance that developed between Liam and me - er, Ally, was sweet and sexy, and there were some freaking awesome kissing scenes

Yeah. Kinda like that.

 

You might find yourself saying

 

So then I basically told Dahl I wanted to read everything she ever writes, and even though we'd just "met," this was how I felt about her:

And then we lived happily ever after in our CP-ship...

.... and met for real :)

So the moral of the story is, I am SO EXCITED for Dahlia, and for this story to be published. I hope you're all adding it to your TBR piles, or your Goodreads shelves, because you will be SO happy you did. And I happen to know that Dahl has lots of great stories in the works, so be sure to head over to her blog and congratulate her, and follow along so you don't miss any of the awesome.

CONGRATS DAHLIA!!!!!