Meet Victoria Scott

Day two of my Pre-game Show for The Collector is here! Welcome back. I'll be your host for this post. Yes, I am indeed your normal host. I'm in a weird announcer mood today though and y'all will be reaping the benefits. I can sense y'all's enthusiasm. It's wonderful. Onward!

Meet Victoria Scott

She has such a nice face. I like her. 

The Details:
YA author repped by Laurie McLean of the Larsen-Pomada literary agency.
Member of Writer's League of Texas
Member of Team Shiver

Characteristics of Note:
Doesn't drink coffee. *checks the list again* *gasps* Yep. It's true. She doesn't drink coffee and readily admits that on her author page. Well...more for me!! Muahahaha!
Afraid of monkeys. That I can agree with. It's the fingers. I don't like their fingers. No idea why. Moving on...
Carries around water like a human camel. Minus the hump. I wish I was as conscious about my own hydration, but sadly, I do not drink enough H20. 
More interesting facts about the delightful Victoria Scott can be found on her author site. It's a pretty cool place so I recommend going over yonder and seeing what's what.

Find Victoria:
Website
Victoria Scott-Author
The Twitter
@VictoriaScottYA
Facebook
Victoria Scott Author Page

Scott's first book, The Collector (A Dante Walker novel), is set to be published in March of 2013. It features darkly handsome Dante Walker, known as The Collector, and his tale of soul-collecting, bad-boy fun. The cover will be revealed tomorrow (June 1) on a wide-selection of blogs that volunteered to participate in the cover reveal event, including this one.

I hope you'll all show Victoria and Dante some love by Tweeting about the event tomorrow (hashtags #DanteFever #DanteisMine #DanteWalker), taking one of the lovely teaser badges down below and sharing them on your bloggy blog, reblogging about The Collector, or ALL OF THE ABOVE!

Also, her short story Four Houses is available on Barnes & Noble and Amazon. It's going to be the next download on my Nook. And because I'm so nice, I will buy the first three people who comment on this post a copy of the digital book. Just leave your email addresses so I'll know who to send them to! (If you don't want a copy of Four Houses, please let me know so I can give it to the next person who does want it. Thank you!)

This is my favorite...

Until next time...

Inheritance At Last

That's right. It's that time of the century again. Another Paolini titan is about to descend upon us mere mortals. In less than 12 hours, I believe. No, I'm not going to the midnight release. I grew out of those without even having to go to any of them. I love them, but nerds up past their bedtimes are almost too much for me to take. When you throw in the fact that they'll probably be adults (since Inheritance took eons to arrive), it would just be one of those sad moments that reminds me that I'm not a kid anymore.


For some reason, I find this reading to be slightly depressing. I don't know if it's the fact that I never found Paolini to be a very charismatic speaker or that time has dulled my appreciation for Eragon's plight in Alagaesia, but this excerpt didn't get my nerd juices flowing like I thought it would.


Oh well. I'm still going to go buy a copy, maybe not tomorrow since I don't get paid until Friday, and I'm going to read it. I'm just hoping that it doesn't disappoint me. I've been waiting so long for this last book that I'd pretty much stopped caring. That sounds horrible, but it's also true. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's thinks this is a bitter-sweet release. Let's just all pray that my doubts are wrong and that my "Bah humbug" attitude gets a sharp check by the actual book. I really want to be proven wrong in this case.

How's This For A Promotion? (aka Non-Sappy Sunday #1)

Hello people of the blogosphere! Thank you for stopping by, if indeed you are actually reading this. You're so special and I love you. I. Love. You.

Anyway, I've been following a certain blogger's blog (blogger's blog...haha...that sounds so funny for some reason...) for a few weeks now, and she really knows her stuff. I don't readily admit when someone is younger than me and can write circles around what I do, but here I go:

She can write circles around me, and I like it.

She likes to go by the name Silent Pages, and quite frankly, I'm glad. As long as she's hiding behind that pseudonym, I can still have that tiny belief in the back of my mind that she might just be a figment of my imagination concocted to make me feel bad about my own writing skillz. Those things do happen, you know. Really, they do.

But, since I'm on the topic of great ideas, writing tips, and so on, I would like to pass her link on to you folks so y'all can each get an idea of what I'm trying to say. Whatever that may be.

Without further ado, I give you Silent Pages' blog. Go crazy. (Warning: Her blog posts are so amazingly long, wonderful, and wise that you will feel inadequate, but be comforted in the fact that everyone else is feeling the same way.)

It's An Animal Cracker Morning

Image via WikipediaI can hear what you're thinking. What am I doing up this early and why am I writing a post about it? I respect your questions. In fact, I may even be wondering the same things myself.

Today, dear people, is Monday. Yes, I know it's fairly obvious from the way your bodies don't want to do anything, but hear me out. It's Monday and I'm awake, coherent--or at least enough to be able to type so you can read it--and I'm currently looking at a bag of animal crackers.

What's the significance you may ask? My, my, my, aren't you all a bunch of curious folks in the morning.

Well, those animal crackers symbolize my childhood. They also make me sing "Animal Crackers in My Soup" in my head whenever I see any, but this post isn't about my humming habits.

Childhood. It's a place of myth and legend. Somehow, my mind distinguishes between those two things and separates them, yet places childhood in both categories. Children, those little people, have the ability to exist in two worlds: ours and theirs.

Our world, the world of fact and logic, is what we call reality. It makes sense and, as adults, we like it that way. Reality makes us feel like we have some control over what happens in our lives. Reality is real.

But children live part of the time in a world all their own, where reality mingles with fiction. They have imaginary friends and conduct intense tea parties with a nine course meal. Their conversations deal with the nonsensical and fantastic. Their young minds cannot grasp the fullest idea of our reality, and that is what makes them special.

As writers, we all have to nourish our inner child. We do this is many ways, mine at the moment is pretending my animals crackers are alive and have their own names, lives, friends, enemies, etc. It's childish and that's what makes it fun. It feeds my inner child. She appreciates it and it shows in my writing.

All writers have to have a sense of the childish. It's what makes writing so much fun and makes our works rich. All literature, in order to become worthwhile, must appeal to the inner children of its readers. They may not know what is so interesting about a book because they've never acknowledged their own inner children, but the thrill they get from reading something comes from that secret place.

So, thus ends my little Monday morning post. I hope it makes enough sense and perhaps even no sense at all. Have a great week!

On Being a Writer

Image by madamepsychosis via FlickrLike many fellow aspiring authors, I have dreamed about the day I would see my words in print. In some of my visions, I cry and clutch the bound book to my chest before thrusting it up to the sky in triumph.

It's a lovely picture to a daydreamer.

Reality hits as soon as I wake up, and I realize with a modest amount of recollection that my dreams won't come through wishing. I have to put in the effort, and I do. I write everyday, but just writing isn't enough.

A writer has to be willing to expand and search out opportunities to better him or herself. Also to accept that authorial reknown can come in many forms.

If you had asked me only a few months ago if I would be publishing articles in my college paper about standardized testing, the conflict in the Middle East, or Study Abroad to China, I would have answered a confused "Not that I know of?"

You see, I was so focused on the Big Picture that I lost track of the process. Sometimes you have to start at the bottom. It's humbling and you get more out of it, I think, than if you have instant success and bestsellerdom. (Although I'm not going to say I wouldn't like that instant success.)

The truth is that when you write you have to make certain concessions. For authors, you have to be willing to work with the editors and others involved in the making of the book. For unpublished, unknown, authors-in-waiting you have to be amenable to being published in a smaller way.

For me, that constitutes writing articles about topics I may or may not be interested in just for the sake of getting my work out there to a small readership. I'm slowly but surely making a name for myself as a writer, and what I've found is that there are some people who really love what I write.

I'm reaching those few and it makes me feel all fuzzy inside like I've swallowed some vinegar. It's a good feeling, in case you don't know what it's like to drink vinegar. (Insert your scared laughter.)

Anyway, I'm now the official book reviewer for my college paper, The Vanguard, and I'm happy with where I am right now. I write articles for the Opinion and Etc. sections, and it's great experience.

No, I still don't have an agent. No, I still don't have a *perfect* title for my book. (Any suggestions would be fantastic. It's about superheroes.)

But I do have some peace. I'm in the eye of the storm right now and I can see things clearer than I have in days past. I'm not a psychic, but I feel like my future is bright.

But then again, don't we all?

Until next time...keep writing and wishing!