New Frontiers in Fantasy
Speaking of fairy tales, I’m collecting fairy tale stories for a new anthology with Grimm-style stories. Take a look at that project and more under “Current Projects” on this site.
Enjoy!
Don’t get me wrong–I love my Kindle and my iPhone, but there’s still something about a real book. All of the prizes in this blog hop are actual books, so enter away! This time, a copy of my first novel, “The Canticle Kingdom” is up for grabs. Remember, there’s just one month left to submit for the second Advent Anthology, with the proceeds this time going to Autism Speaks. For more details, click “Current Projects” above.
Enjoy!
Welcome to the Young Adult giveaway hop! Every entry you see below will give you a chance to win a great young adult book. Also, don’t miss my audio series through BigWorldNetwork.com (click on Audio Series above) or the submissions I have for upcoming anthologies. (See Current Projects.)
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Congratulations to all those who completed National Novel Writing Month! I finished early this year and that felt pretty good. I’m now on to what I call “National Novel Revision Month”, in which I sand down the rough edges of my hastily-constructed novel. I’m sure many of you are doing the same. I’ve decided to call this sequel to the Last Archangel, “The Last Kingdom”, which has to do with the prophecy in Daniel 2 of the Old Testament. Go read it for a clue as to what I mean: http://lds.org/scriptures/ot/dan/2?lang=eng
As such, I want to announce the winners of my NaNoWriMo contest. Alas, no one who entered the contest beat me to the punch of winning NaNoWriMo, but I did select three lucky winners to receive first chapter evaluations of their NaNoWriMo manuscripts. They are:
Heather Justesen
Diana Ault
Megan Conway
Thanks for entering! I think I’ll make that an annual event, so start gearing up for next year.
Next of all, I’m very excited about how many people are preparing stories for my Christmas Carol anthology. I would still love to see more entries. If you are considering writing one, please let me know so that I can make sure we all write on different songs. I have included a list of those songs already taken in my “Current Projects” page above.
All proceeds of this project will go to the National Down Syndrome Society, which is a great cause, so I hope you’ll help me spread the word! If there is anyone who would like to volunteer their services in helping design a cover, edit/typeset, or anything else, please shoot me an email at thecanticlekingdom@gmail.com.
Finally, look for a new blog hop starting tomorrow, and to all of you, I wish a blessed and peaceful holiday season.
Day 10 of NaNoWriMo and Day 3 of the Blog Hop. Thank you to all of you who have entered. I made slow and steady progress yesterday and finished with about 1,700 words. Some days are just busier than others.
The November Giveaway Hop continues. Please use the widget below to enter to win a choice of a signed copy of either of my novels. Please also consider entering my NaNoWriMo contest. You can find the widget by clicking on any other of my NaNoWriMo posts.
At the bottom of the post is a list of the other bloggers who are also giving away things. Enjoy!
Leaderboard:
1. Writer Mike 27,220 (as of November 10th)
2. Robin: 17. 133 (as of November 8th)
3. Misha: 3,398 (as of November 2nd)
Word Count:
Writing Tip of the Day: Make sure that when deciding where to end chapters that you give it some suspense. You hear about some books which are “page turners”, and much of that has to do with giving your readers a good reason to turn to the next page. If you end your chapter with your character’s going to sleep or with nothing that leaves the reader with a question of what is going to happen next, your readers may very well stop turning your pages. Here some good ways to end:
Click on the blog post name to see the link list and the entry form.
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Leading up to Halloween and NaNoWriMo starting the next day, I’ve joined the Spooktacular Blog Hop. It’s a little bigger than the other ones I have done, and that means more chances for you to win great things on this blog and on other blogs.
On this hop, you’ll be able to win a signed copy of “The Last Archangel”, just in time for your holiday shopping. Don’t forget to enter my NaNoWriMo contest by following this link: http://www.writermike.com/2011/10/ring-out-one-contest-ring-in-another_17.html#.TqLquaCImU9
Writing Update: I had a tremendous writing week. I’m up to 45,442 in Simon Says and to 28,647 in the Last Archangel II. I’ve made some progress in getting Canticle of Night (a prequel story to The Canticle Kingdom) put together, and I’ve even started putting together a Christmas story for my publisher’s annual Chirstmas submission contest. (You can read more about the contest here: http://www.cedarfortbooks.com/call-for-submissions-holiday-contest/ )
Writing Tip of the Week: Give the reader some white space. Long paragraphs can intimidate the reader and cause him or her to lose interest. Take a look at your work in progress just to gauge the amount of white space on the page. If you find a page that is too dense, see how you could break up the longest paragraphs.
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Visit all of these great blogs for more chances to win:
Blogger is really giving me trouble. For some reason, it is showing the entry form from last month. Please enter the blog hop here. Don’t forget to follow and leave a comment and to scroll down to the next post to find the other blogs on the hop!Thanks for all those who entered and left comments!
Hello readers! I’ve got a double header today. First I’ve got a feature about a new fantasy novel called “The Key of Kilenya”. Then I’ve got a contest for my October Blog Hop, where you can win a signed copy of “The Last Archangel”. Please have a look at both parts of the post.
First a little about the plot:
When two vicious wolves chase fourteen-year-old Jacob Clark down a path from our world into another, his life is forever changed. He has no idea they have been sent by the Lorkon—evil, immortal beings who are jealous of powers he doesn’t know he possesses—powers they desire to control.
The inhabitants of the new world desperately need Jacob’s help in recovering a magical key that was stolen by the Lorkon and is somehow linked to him. If he helps them, his life will be at risk. But if he chooses not to help them, both our world and theirs will be in danger. The Lorkon will stop at nothing to unleash the power of the key—and Jacob’s special abilities.
My take:
Andrea is a debut author with a promising start. The book is highly imaginative, which is the greatest strength as a fantasy author. Her ability alone to come up with exotic-sounding names is impressive. The pacing is good and keeps the reader engaged, with plenty of surprising twists. The author did a good job of providing an interesting beginning to the story that did not drag down the pace. Andrea has set the readers up well for additional books and, I’m sure based on the first installment that the following installments will only be even better.
Purchase your copy here: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/68856
Visit Andrea’s site here: http://www.kilenyaseries.blogspot.com
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Welcome to the October Blog Hop, where you can visit new blogs, enter to win prizes, and have a great time! At the bottom of this post, you’ll see a list of participating blogs. Just click on each link, check out the prize, and follow the easy instructions to enter. You can enter on each blog, so it’s possible to win multiple times. It’s frighteningly easy. On this blog, you can win a signed copy of “The Last Archangel”.
To enter, all you need to do is: 1. Become a follower of my blog. 2. Leave a comment on this post and tell me why you’d like to win this prize. (There are a few additional options on the entry form as well) If your e-mail address isn’t visible through your Blogger profile, please also leave it with the comment so I can notify you if you win. You can enter until midnight MST on Saturday night, October 15th. That’s it! You are now entered. Now please go visit all my friends on the list below. It’s almost like trick or treating!
October Blog Hop Participants
| 1. Tristi Pinkston 2. I Am a Reader, Not a Writer 3. Bonnie Harris 4. Michael D. Young 5. Misty Moncur 6. Debbie Davis 7. Mandi Tucker Slack 8. Mary Ann Dennis 9. Deanna Henderson 10. Laura Bastian 11. Kristy Tate |
12. Kristy Wilson 13. Jennifer Debenham 14. Jenny Moore 15. Elizabeth Hughes 16. J. Lloyd Morgan 17. Close Encounters with the Night Kind 18. Billy Boulden 19. Scott Bryan 20. Maria Hoagland 21. Shirley Bahlmann 22. Shelly Brown |
23. Marcy Howes 24. Lynnea Mortensen 25. Jaclyn M. Hawkes 26. Diane Stringam Tolley 27. Gail Zuniga 28. Betsy Love 29. iWriteNetwork 30. Canda’s InkBlast 31. Stacy Coles |
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Books by Michael D. Young 