Another Nice Surprise

Click here to see the winners of the August Mystery Agent contest on Operation Awesome. :)

Contest Update

Check out the winners of the Teen Eyes Editorial contest. Here, here and here. A nice surprise for a Monday. :)

Awesome Opportunities for Writers

3 teen editors on 3 blogs with 3 prizes. 
Submit your logline, query and first page for the chance to win critiques from three teen editors. Click here for details. Submissions end August 7.

WriteOnCon
Free online conference for YA and MG writers from August 13-14. Forums are already open for critiques and more. Click here and here for details. 

WriteOnCon/Reading Room Aspiring Writers’ Competition
Submit the first 500 words of your MG/YA/NA novel for the chance to win $1000. Click here for details. Submissions end August 16.

Quirk Books "Looking For Love" Fiction Contest
Submit your novel-length unconventional love story for the chance to win $10,000 and publication by Quirk Books. Click here for details. Deadline is October 1.

Giant Giveaway on YA Highway

Click here for the chance to win ARCs, books, critiques and more from YA Highway as they celebrate their 4th anniversary.

Writing Tips & Advice

Assorted articles I've saved over the past few months with helpful advice for writers:

The Most Important Error: POV

Guide for Inner Conflict

Taking Away Elements to Fix a Scene

Tangled Beat Sheet

Formatting Titles

6 Simple Rituals to Reach Your Potential Every Day

Anna and the French Kiss

By Stephanie Perkins

Anna has the perfect life in Atlanta—loyal best friend, awesome job at a movie theater (her dream is to be a film critic), and things are finally heating up with her long-time crush. But her father takes it all away when he sends her to a boarding school in Paris. She expects a miserable senior year, but she's quickly embraced by a group of quirky friends, including Etienne St. Clair. A boy who is utterly charming—and absolutely taken. Knowing she and St. Clair can never be more than friends, Anna does her best to squash her growing feelings. But in the most romantic city in the world, her chance for love may not be as far away as she thinks.



Reading this book felt like devouring a piece of rich dark chocolate—it's delicious and irresistible. It will make you fall in love with Paris. And it will make you fall in love with love. Charming characters, beautiful setting, perfect pacing. I adored it.

PIXAR's 22 Rules of Storytelling