Wednesday Debut Interview: Vicious Circle by Elle E. Ire

Welcome to another Wednesday Debut Interview! Today, we're talking with Elle E. Ire, whose debut sci-fi LGBT romance recently hit the shelves.

Thanks for agreeing to be interviewed at Operation Awesome! Tell us a bit about VICIOUS CIRCLE!
Thanks for having me! VICIOUS CIRCLE is an adult sci-fi/LGBT (f/f) romance featuring a bisexual female assassin protagonist and a lesbian romantic interest. Think Xena: Warrior Princess in space with the subtext as the main text. Lots of action, multiple worlds, and a little magic thrown in on the side.


One of the coolest things about science fiction (at least in my opinion!) is the world-building. Can you share some of the unique aspects of the universe of VICIOUS CIRCLE? Would you want to live in this future?
VICIOUS CIRCLE is set primarily on two very different planets--Sardonen, which is a harsh, sparsely-populated, desert world, and Lissex, where the privileged population resides on dozens of islands, most of which are owned by different ruling families. There are many other settled worlds in this far future as well, and advanced starship travel between them. Languages vary, though most people speak the standard language in addition to whatever their native tongue might be. Belief systems come and go, but the people of Lissex belong to a religion known as the Givers of Life and are devoted to the teachings of their ancient text--the Generational, while on Sardonen, the Guild of Assassins is practically a religion all its own.

As for wanting to live in this future? Definitely not on Sardonen. Blazing sun, endless rocks and sand, and poison-spitting sand lizards are not my idea of a vacation spot. But Lissex? Laid-back, casual-attired island life? Sign me up. Add in interstellar passenger liner travel, and I'm totally there.


Do you have a favorite line in this book? Can you tell us a bit about it without spoiling too much?
I don't have a favorite line so much as a quick interaction:

I was up and at my cell's bars before the guard made contact. My arm went through the narrow space and around his neck. One twist and a sickening, wet crunch, and the enforcer dropped at my feet. I glanced at Vargas while pawing through the guard’s uniform. The pirate looked ill. 

"Don’t tell me you’ve never killed anyone before,” I snarled, coming up with the keys. 

Deftly, I inserted them in the exterior lock and let myself out. 

Derrick Vargas puffed out his broad chest. “Certainly. But I’ve never seen a woman do it with her bare hands.” 

This time I was the one with a wicked gleam in my eye. “You haven’t associated with the right women.”

This bit is a personal favorite because it sums up the main character, Cor, nicely. She's deadly, highly-skilled, efficient, and still manages to keep a sense of humor.


Let's talk about your writing process. How long did it take you to draft this novel? How long from that first draft until publication?
This novel took three months to draft. At that point, it was the fastest I'd ever drafted a novel, though I have beaten that by about two weeks on a more recent work. It also underwent almost no editing, though I did add a few antagonist scenes that took about one more month. However, it was several years before it found a home with a publisher.


What's the most difficult part of the writing process for you?
Insomnia. My characters wake me up at night. They vie for attention. They run conversations five different ways in my head until they are just right for whatever scene I'm working on. It's wonderful, but it does make for some sleepless nights.


Can you tell us about how you got your book deal with Torquere Press, LLC and what makes them a good fit for your book?
Actually, I just wrote them a query letter about the project. At the time, I was between agents, so I did this on my own, though I did sign with a new literary agent shortly thereafter, and she negotiated the contract. Torquere Press is a great fit for VICIOUS CIRCLE because they primarily publish LGBT romance, and though mine is more sci-fi than pure romance, I knew readers looking for the sort of thing I write would be familiar with Torquere.


What about the title? Was VICIOUS CIRCLE the original title you had in mind? How did it come about?
VICIOUS CIRCLE was the original title, yes. It's actually based on a line from the novel and pretty much describes the main character's life.


Tell us about your cover! Who designed it? How much input did you have? What do you hope it will tell the reader about your story?
Ah the cover. :-) I'm so thrilled that my debut novel's cover art turned out so perfect for the story and my assassin main character. Kris Norris designed it and did a spectacular job, if I may say so. I had a lot of input including filling out a lengthy form explaining what I did and did not want to see, font styles, colors, and images. I sent her several images of that particular model. I knew that woman was Cor. And the cover blurb? J.A. Pitts, author of the Sarah Beauhall series, wrote it for me. I was soooo nervous asking him to blurb VICIOUS CIRCLE. He's one of my all-time favorite authors. When he said he'd do it, I almost dropped my computer. And if you're looking for a great urban fantasy/f/f romance series, then check his out.


Releasing a debut is definitely cause for celebration — how did you celebrate this achievement?
We had a great launch party. About fifty of my friends came, from every avenue of my life: college, work, neighbors, writing groups. Some of them I hadn't seen in ten or more years. We served beverages appropriate to the two major characters from VICIOUS CIRCLE. Cor, the assassin, has a taste for unusual craft beers, and Kila loves blueberry wine. It was definitely an afternoon I'll never forget.


What are you working on now that VICIOUS CIRCLE is done?
Well, my agent is currently shopping an Old West/time travel/zombie/romance novel for me. Yeah, I have a hard time picking a single genre to write in. I also have several in-progress projects I'm fiddling with, trying to decide which one to get serious about. A bisexual rock star character named Lexi Cade has been waking me up at night, so she may get her book next.


Is there any other advice you'd like to pass on to others pursuing publication? Anything you would have done differently?
The biggest advice I have is Keep At It. Your first book doesn't get an agent? Write another one, and another, and another. Let people with real writing/publishing experience tell you what you're doing wrong, and LISTEN TO THEM. Keep honing your craft. My fourth novel was the one that got me my first agent, and when that one didn't sell, I wrote another one. VICIOUS CIRCLE was the fifth novel I completed, even though it's the first to be published.

And that leads right into what I would have done differently.

After writing my third complete novel, and being rejected by about 80 agents, I became so discouraged that I stopped writing for five years. Five years! Imagine all the books I could have written in those five years! I'd give so much to have those years back. If I had it to do over, I would keep writing despite the rejections, because I was so close, and I had no idea.


Great advice! And, just for fun: what actresses would you cast for the lead roles in VICIOUS CIRCLE?
Ah, Xena: WarriorPrincess in space, remember? I'd totally cast a 28-year-old Lucy Lawless as Cor, and a 19-year-old Renee O'Connor as Kila.

Thanks again for telling us all about your book, and congrats on your debut!!

Purchase VICIOUS CIRCLE here!

Giftmas Blog Tour Guest Post: On This Day of Christmas, My True Love Gave to Me . . . by Eileen Wiedbrauk

Operation Awesome is participating in Rhonda Parrish's 2015 Giftmas Blog Tour. All the guest bloggers are welcome to write about anything they’d like so long as their post touched on a December holiday in some way, no matter how tangentially. The blog tour extends across many blogs as well, and you can find more on social media using the hashtag #GiftmasTour.

But wait! There’s more!

We’re also giving away a whole whack of prizes (check out the list here) which you can enter to win using the Rafflecoper code below. Whatever December holiday you celebrate (or don’t) winning a stack of books will make it better!

On This Day of Christmas, My True Love Gave to Me . . .

by Eileen Wiedbrauk

The first holiday romance anthology I ever read was The Christmas Cat. I was probably 13ish because I remember reading these on the bus coming home from middle school. My mother had been in the habit of buying me all sorts of animal stories like All Creatures Great and Small and Cat Stories by James Harriet. This was no James Harriet. Inside were indeed stories of cats. Cats who used their nine lives to bring together couples, either through traveling through time or reuniting lovers who shouldn’t have separated to begin with.

Cats and sex as it turned out. Holy hot Lord of Misrule!

I was hooked on holiday romances from then on. And not just the sexy ones either. But just about every made for TV Christmas movie. Have you heard the episode of Ask MeAnother where they give two contestants Christmas movie scenarios and try to get them to guess which are real and which are made up? The contestants failed miserably. Meanwhile, I was shouting at my radio, No, no, that one’s real! I’ve seen it! Twice!

So of course, as Editor-in-Chief of WorldWeaver Press, I wanted to put together an anthology of fantasy and paranormal winter romances!

In 2013 we came out with A Winter’sEnchantment, a three-novella anthology of winter magic and loves lost and regained. They included The Devil inMidwinter by Elise Forier Edie, a melding of Mexican and Central American folk and fairy tales with a modern Mexican American girl who’s being pursued by a demon and a boy who burns and burns. Both would have her for his own, but figuring out which, if either, would help save her will be her real challenge. It also featured a novella in the Fate of the Gods series by Amalia Dillin, which follows the many, many lives of Eve reincarnated. This one in Taming Fate takes plase in France in the Middle Ages, where Eve is facing down the plague while facing a new marriage that isn’t . . . well, just isn’t. And the third novella, Opal by Kristina Wojtaszek, is a gorgeous, lyrical melding of many fairy tales into a bright new story following the intersecting lives of a magical girl born as an owl and a boy trapped in a tower.

Then when we launched Red Moon Romance, our first imprint, focused on—you guessed it—romance, we of course had to come out with a sexier holiday anthology.

The Naughty List, edited by Cori Vidae and featuring Tiffany Reisz, Alexa Piper, Pumpkin Spice, Elizabeth Black, Doug Blakesee, and Wendy Sparrow, came out just last month. It’s a blast. The ghosts of Christmas past, Krampus, cowboys and bourbon desserts, a little holiday BDSM, and the son of Father Time put to the test on New Year’s Eve. The stories range from sexy to sweet and prove love is better on the Naughty List.

If you’re a writer looking to submit to a holiday anthology, there’s always a publisher out there looking to put together another bundle of holiday romances—I’m not the only reader who’s hooked!

The most important thing to keep in mind when submitting to a holiday anthology is timing. Many publishers put out a call for submissions in the early months of the year for holiday stories with a deadline as early as March, if they’re anthologies, or August, if they’re magazines. When editing A Winter’s Enchantment, I couldn’t stomach the thought of reading Christmas stories in the middle of a sweltering summer, so I purposefully set our reading period as December and January to create extra time before bringing out the anthology the following winter. It’s best to keep your eyes peeled as these calls pop up throughout the year and are usually only open for short windows since the publishers have much less date-of-publication flexibility as compared to other projects.

Another thing to keep in mind is that holiday romance anthologies are often filled by invitation. This means that writers whom the editor knows are solicited by the editor to send her a story. The best way to have a story solicited is to have worked with that editor before or to have enough work out that you become known to her. In both A Winter’s Enchantment and The Naughty List, the final table of contents was a mix of stories sent to us through regular submissions and stories from writers whom we specifically asked for work.

Why write a holiday novella or short story? If you usually write novels, a holiday story can be a great tie-in, a chance to expand on already established characters by showing them briefly in a short story. Jumping into an anthology or bundle can also be a means of gaining the attention of new readers who come to the anthology with the intent of reading another author in the anthology and then discover your work. It can also be a great chance to explore and showcase cultures, modern or historical seasonal traditions, and holidays that aren’t as well known. The holidays have the tendency to bring out the best and worst in people, and tension like that should not be overlooked in story writing.

Eileen Wiedbrauk (eileenwiedbrauk.com) is Editor-in-Chief of World Weaver Press and Red Moon Romance as well as a writer, blogger, coffee addict, cat herder, MFA graduate, fantasist-turned-fabalist-turned-urban-fantasy-junkie, Odyssey Workshop alumna, designer, tech geek, entrepreneur, kdrama devotee, avid reader, and a somewhat decent cook. She wears many hats, as the saying goes. Which is an odd saying in this case, as she rarely looks good in hats. She writes creepy fairy tales like this one and can be found on Twitter @eileenwiedbrauk.

New Contest from Operation Awesome!

Operation Awesome is excited to announce a new query contest coming in January.

This contest features feedback from agents on queries and first pages. Have you ever been to a "Simulating the Slush Pile" panel at a writing conference? This is similar. Our panel of agent judges will read queries and first pages from our entrants, and make notes of where they would stop reading and WHY. Some agents may even decide that they would request more pages from these queries!

We hope the feedback for the chosen entrants will benefit those observing as well, because it will give you a glimpse into the tastes of our panel of agents as well as tips you can apply to your own queries.

Contest rules and agent announcement will be in the beginning of January, so keep checking in!

Giftmas Blog Tour Guest Post: About Writing and Holidays and Gifts--oh my! by E.C. Bell

Operation Awesome is participating in Rhonda Parrish's 2015 Giftmas Blog Tour. All the guest bloggers are welcome to write about anything they’d like so long as their post touched on a December holiday in some way, no matter how tangentially. The blog tour extends across many blogs as well, and you can find more on social media using the hashtag #GiftmasTour.

But wait! There’s more!

We’re also giving away a whole whack of prizes (check out the list here) which you can enter to win using the Rafflecoper code below. Whatever December holiday you celebrate (or don’t) winning a stack of books will make it better!

About Writing and Holidays and Gifts--oh my! 

by E.C. Bell

I’m a writer. I’m also a mother and a wife and a daughter and a sister and a friend, and I spend a lot of time trying to find just the right Christmas gift for the special people in my life. Sometimes I hit a home run, and other times--well, at least I tried!

But I realized that I don’t often give good suggestions when those same people ask me what I’d like for Christmas. That made me wonder about all the other families of writers. Do they have the same problem as mine? Quite possibly.

So, here’s my Christmas gift to all you lovely people who are involved in the care and feeding of a writer. The five or so best gifts to get the writer in your life (in no particular order).

(And if you are a writer, just print off this list, circle the gift you want and give it to your loving family. They’ll appreciate it, trust me.)

A room of her own.

All right, now this seems like a big one, but having space to write is vital. So, if your writer doesn’t have an office, check everywhere and see if there is a spot that can be set up as a “room of her own.” I believe Stephen King wrote in a furnace room for a while--so, hey, that might be the place to start looking. Wherever the space is, though, make certain that the door (and there must be a door) can be closed, if not locked. Because as much as we love you, writers need a space where they can be alone to create. (Cats and dogs don’t count, of course. For one thing, it’s impossible to keep either a cat or a dog out of a room if they really want in, and besides--Aww! A puppy on your lap! How sweet is that?)

Time to herself.

This goes hand in hand with the “having a room” gift. As much as you want to show her the “real cool thing I found on the internet, it will only take a minute,” don’t. If the door is closed, leave her be. She’ll come out when she’s hungry--or when you’re hungry. (It’s funny how writers transform back into moms and/or wives when that door opens.) And as helpful as you think you are being, don’t knock on the door every ten minutes to ask “How’s it going?” She’ll tell you, later. But give her some time, so she can create.

“How can I give time as a Christmas gift?” you may ask. Well, remember way back in primary school, when you made “coupons” for your parents for father’s or mother’s day? “This coupon is worth one hug”, or “one joke,” or whatever? How about making a bunch of those for your writer? “I won’t bug you until 4 pm, every day.” “Don’t worry, I’ll make dinner.” Or the always wonderful, “You don’t have to do the laundry this week. I got it.” Costs you next to nothing, and believe me, your writer will love them!

A lot of the type of pens she likes.

All right, this might be just me, but I have a certain type of pen I prefer to write with. It’s not expensive, but I’m absolutely certain that someday--someday soon--that particular brand won’t be made anymore. So... I hoard them. Boxes of them. (I can’t be the only one!) So, find out what kind of writing instrument your writer likes and buy a box.

When she tells you the type, don’t say, “Oh, those are so cheap, why don’t you try this kind?” because you are not being helpful. Just get her a box of whatever she likes, slap a bow on it, and thank the gods of writing that she didn’t ask for a box of the S.T. Dupont James Bond Spectre Fountain pens (a thousand pounds each at Harrods, just so you know).

Paper -- preferably in legal sized pads. (Yellow IS the best, but whatever.)

I know. Paper. How passe. Here’s the thing, though. Writers sometimes need to physically write. On paper. So, find out the kind she likes, and get her a lot of it.  Personally, I like yellow legal sized pads of paper. Why yellow? Because it’s cheap and cheerful. (Not necessarily in that order) I buy them by the gross, so I always have them on hand. (There is nothing worse than having that “great idea” and having to scribble it down on the back of a to do list or a grocery store receipt. Seriously.)

A variation on the paper theme--Post It notes. Get them in various sizes, and in different colours. Most writers I know LOVE Post-It notes.

Writing clothes. (In other words, pajamas and sweaters)

All right, so maybe the pajama and sweater thing is just me (again). I remember when I first started writing seriously, I imagined myself sitting at a perfectly clean desk (ha!) and writing while wearing a flowing lace dress (HA!). The reality? Not so much. What I wear, always, are pajama pants and an ugly, baggy, sweater. (In the winter I wear thick socks, too, but they aren’t required year round, so I won’t add them as absolutely necessary.) So, find the ugliest, baggiest sweater you can--no, wait, that would be for me. For everyone else, ask your writer what she likes to wear when she’s writing, and then riff on that theme. (Honestly, though. The uglier and baggier, the better!)

What happened to alcohol? (Don’t all writers drink???)

You’ll notice I didn’t add any beverages to this list, but if none of the above suit your fancy, then beverages will have to do. Make sure you ask what your writer likes, though, because, trust me. If your writer has a favourite type of pen (for heaven’s sake), she is probably pretty picky about her choice of drink, too! (Just sayin’.)

What? No electronics?

Nope. Most  writers I know own every electronic gadget known to man already. They don’t need more gadgets. They need to write.

Hope this helps, and I hope you have a wonderful holiday season with your favourite writer!

Eileen (E.C.) Bell’s debut paranormal mystery novel Seeing the Light  (2014) won the BPAA award for Best Speculative Fiction Book of the Year and was shortlisted for the Bony Blythe Award for Light Mystery. The second book in the series, Drowning in Amber, was released into the wild at the end of October, 2015. Her short fiction includes the Aurora Award winning Women of the Apocalypse and The Puzzle Box. When she’s not writing, she’s living a fine life in her round house with her husband and two dogs.

Website: www.eileenbell.com

Twitter: @apocalypsewoman

Facebook:www.facebook.com/eileen.bell.90

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Small vs Big Publishing Houses by Sheena Snow

Today on the blog, we have a guest post by Sheena Snow, an author whose YA SF debut is out tomorrow!

Small vs. Big Publishing Houses

by Sheena Snow

What’s the best decision for you?

Small publishing houses, most likely Amazon only reaching only houses? Or the big boys—the giant publishing houses that can get your book into every bookstore, as well as Amazon? Well, the question seems almost obvious from the start, doesn’t it? Umm… the BIG publishing houses. And that may very well be right. But it may also very well be wrong.

The big publishing houses might be your dream come to life. Maybe you are the next Veronica Roth. Her first book ever published, Divergent, hit the NY Times Best Seller list shortly after it was released, and now, she has a successful series under her belt and a movie rocking the charts. But, I believe, Veronica Roth had two very important things weighing in her favor: a superbly well written book and luck.

With the big houses authors have almost no say in: the cover art, the title, ebook only (they may never offer it in print), and if the book will be a series or serial. Once the author signs that contract--so excited to have a big house backing them--they haven’t even realized how much power they have signed away until things don’t start going the way they expected.

And this is exactly where the draw comes in for small publishing houses. With small publishing houses, authors have more of a say. They are much more about “author pleasing” than the big publishing houses. For the small publishing houses to attract authors away from the big house--since they can’t provide the marketing or the already established clientele from the big houses--they attract authors through: higher author royalty rates, control over release dates, cover art, series/serial, and more freedom with following editing comments. They are also more likely to take on a new author that needs a lot of editing work than a big house will. Small houses have the time and energy to put into a potentially blooming author.

To sum it up, what the big polishing houses don’t offer, the small publishing houses do offer, and vice versa. The choice, therefore, is entirely up to the author. What is it the author would like out of this? Do they want to start big? Have little control over their book but have a better chance at establishing a clientele and be in book stores? And then go to the small houses once they have their readers? Or the opposite? Start small, learn everything they can, and then go big knowing exactly what rights they will and will not sign over?

It’s deep food for thought and no matter what the author chooses, the end result is learning and understanding.

I am so happy with my decision to go with Soul Mate Publishing. I got exactly what I requested for the cover art for SPARKED and I needed someone to put in a lot of editing time into me. Soul Mate was more than patient and kind and everything I was looking for. They only thing they don’t provide is the marketing, bookstore copies, and already established cliental of the big houses. But every author needs to weigh the pros and cons and make the decision for their-self.

I would love for you to read SPARKED. Under the guidance of Soul Mate Publishing, my writing has thrived to create a novel that’s deep, dark and dangerously human!

Check it out! http://amzn.com/B015FW2AF0

They weren’t supposed to have feelings.

Metal will Clash

In a not-too-distance future, robots composed of metal for bones, electric cords for veins, and synthetics for skin are now available. For purchase. Eighteen-year-old Vienna Avery’s home is going to change forever, now that her mom purchased an Italian Chef Robot to cook and reside in their house.

Secrets will Unfold

The government claimed robots were indifferent, unthinking pieces of metal and elastic—assistance for the help of humans. Vienna never believed much of what the government said. The pieces didn’t always fit. And now Vienna knows why, because she’s uncovered the government’s secret: that robots have emotions, sucking Vienna into the underground world of feeling, thinking, and sovereign robots.

Sparks will Fly

Alec Cypher is everything a robot is not supposed to be: deep, dark, and dangerously human. And for some reason, he wants to save Vienna from the government’s prying, vindictive eyes. Going forward, Vienna will have to learn to trust robots and battle the growing feelings she never thought possible . . . feelings for the green-eyed, soul-searching robot named Alec.

Writing Series: Revise & Resubmit and What Really Happens Then

For today's writing series post, I asked a number of writers whom I knew to tell me about their own experiences with getting a "Revise and Resubmit" from an agent. As you'll see, no two "R&Rs" are alike, and actual results may vary!

ANONYMOUS
Changes requested: Radical changes! My viewpoint character in the original draft went to very dark places, and the agent asked for me to shift the entire tone of the second half, and have him find redemption rather than be...er... Evil. It was over 50% re-write.
How did you feel?: It wasn't my original vision, obviously, but in terms of saleability it made a hell of a lot of sense. So I gave it a try and made the changes.
Time from request to re-submission: 2 months
Time from re-submission to response: 12+ months
(After acknowledgement of receipt, she didn't reply. No reply to nudges, either. For twelve months.)
Outcome: OFFER from R&R agent and from other agent
I wrote it off, and assumed no response meant no. I got an offer of rep elsewhere, (which required another huge re-write, fun fun fun!) and I mailed the R&R agent to let her know, along with everything else outstanding on my spreadsheet. It turned out she had read, loved, and given the MS to other people at the agency, and she was about to offer rep herself. I felt pretty bad, but twelve months of no response is a long time to lose trust in a business relationship, so I went with my gut and signed with the first offering agent.

ANONYMOUS
Changes requested:Agent 1: Plot, Agent 2: Pacing, Agent 3: Pacing
How did you feel?Agent 1 offered me a phone call, as well as 10 pages of notes. We brainstormed together via email. Agent 2 has offered me a R&R and good advice in the past. Agent 3's comments were so close to Agent 2's comments that I knew the revisions needed to happen.
Time from request to re-submission:For the plot--four months--I basically re-wrote the book. I received additional R&Rs on the revised manuscript before I heard back from Agent 1, who had not yet read it. Since the comments from Agents 2 and 3 made so much sense, I asked all agents if they would accept an updated copy. The pacing R&Rs took about six weeks.
Time from re-submission to response: still waiting
Outcome: still waiting (good luck!)

DIANE
Changes requested:
When I received an R&R response from an agent, I was conflicted. On the one hand, I was thrilled by what she liked about my manuscript. On the other, I wasn't sure how I could improve a main character's motivation for an important action, could make one action scene more dramatic, or could spice up the conflict in the latter part of the story. I'd already tried to do all that through three previous drafts and three sets of beta comments. Argh, what did she want!
How did you feel?
I contacted my betas and asked for feedback. I didn't hear, "Wow, I don't understand what this agent is saying at all," but rather, "She makes some good points." Over several days, I came to realize the agent was right, but I still wasn't sure how to make the corrections. We emailed back and forth as I sought clarification and bounced ideas off her. After a week, I had a clear vision for how I wanted to revise my manuscript and was actually happy to do so. The work would end up stronger.
Time from request to re-submission: 5 weeks
It took me five weeks to make my changes and have one of my trusted betas read through to check for any problems with what I did: was anything nonsensical, contradictory, or ambiguous; was the grammar or punctuation off; were there omitted, extra, or misspelled words I didn't see because I'd read the book so many times? Then I sent the revision off to the agent with a cover email describing the changes I had made.
Time from re-submission to response: 2 weeks
Outcome: OFFER
Two weeks later, she offered representation. I looked at the other agents with pages or outstanding queries and realized I wouldn't prefer any of them to her. So I withdrew my manuscript from consideration by any of them and happily signed that long-sought contract with her agency.

GLORIA
Changes requested: Initially, it came as a rejection, but with really specific feedback, so I wrote back to thank them for taking the time to send the feedback, and mentioned that I was considering taking a stab at it. They wrote back requesting an R&R. The changes were specific to my protagonist's character arc--they felt the way he evolved was a little too subtle and wanted to see him change more dramatically by the end of the book. 
How did you feel?
I could see their point, but was very torn about it because I had worked really hard specifically to keep the character arc subtle in the first place. Still, I could see where they were coming from, so I was willing to give it  a go. (Maybe they were right and I was wrong as to what kind of approach would work better)
Time from request to re-submission: 3+ weeks
I was about 3 weeks in, when I got an offer from a different agent for the MS "as is" and decided to go with that agent because, after talking to him, I realized he completely got the subtlety I'd been going for in the first place. That being said, if I had finished the edits for the R&R, it probably would have taken me about a month all in all.
Time from re-submission to response: N/A
Outcome: WITHDRAWAL due to OFFER from another agent on the original![W]hen I wrote to give notice of offer of rep for the MS "as is," they wrote back with a very nice note, wishing me the best and reminding me that this is a subjective business and that they're glad the book found a home with someone who got it the way it was originally written.

JEN
Changes requested: The MS was on the short side, and she wanted to see more of the H/h's character arcs fleshed out apart from the romance aspect. She asked pointed questions about what she thought was missing, but generally didn't have an issue with the plot structure itself.
How did you feel?: I loved the requested changes. There had been something in the back of my mind bothering me about the plot of the novel, so when I got her email and notes it was a forehead-slapping moment: "Duh!"
Time from request to re-submission: 3 months
Time from re-submission to response: 2 months
Outcome: PASS
Final outcome was a rejection. A short email saying the new version was better, but she couldn't take it on.

LAURA R&R #1
Changes requested: Pacing and plot
How did you feel?: At first, uncertain. But I was much happier with the end result after the revision.
Time from request to re-submission: 3 months
Time from re-submission to response: 2 months
Outcome: PASS
She praised the revision, but passed

LAURA R&R #2
Changes requested:
Plot strengthening and tightening
How did you feel?:
Considering my experience with my first R&R, I was more open-minded. This time I researched even more about story structure and plotting, and the revised version was much stronger
Time from request to re-submission: 1 month
Time from re-submission to response: 3+ months
(I withdrew my submission after waiting about three months)
Outcome: WITHDRAWAL
Submission withdrawn by author

LIZ
Changes requested:
The changes were generally minor and related to characterization. My agent didn't get very specific (she let me figure out how to fix things) but said the motivations of certain characters needed to be clarified.
How did you feel?
I was overall okay with the requested changes, though more so after they were done than before/during the edits. I wasn't as certain at first but am happy with the end product.
Time from request to re-submission:There were a few rounds of edits, then an email snafu, so it was about a year between the initial R&R request and the offer of representation. Each round of edits, though, probably took me two to four weeks.
Time from re-submission to response:She was pretty quick (as far as agents go!), aside from the aforesaid email snafu (which caused a delay of a few months). Other times, though, she turned drafts around in less than a week.
Outcome: OFFER
Offer of representation (huzzah!).

STEPHANIE
Changes requested:
The requested changes were to put more focus on the relationship between two characters while cutting a particular use of narrative form used in the book (journal entries of the main character), and to consider eliminating the details of nerd comic book culture. So basically a refocus of the book and elimination of a key character detail.
How did you feel?
My first reaction was that the agent didn't "get" the book because it required cutting a thematic character detail. But after a few days of sitting on it I realized the suggestions resonated and I could write a better book, refocusing that nerd detail into the manuscript in a different way.
Time from request to re-submission: 4 months
Time from re-submission to response: 2 months
Outcome: PASS
I got a "not for me" rejection on the revised manuscript. I can't say for sure if it contributed to the final no, but I knew I took a risk with not completely eliminating one detail of what the agent didn't like and trying to rework it a different way-a risk I took willingly because, well, it's the heart of the book to me and I know agents also like when you work with their advice and not simply follow it blindly. In the end, I have a much stronger book more in line with what I originally set out to write and it's still generating new requests.

WENDY
Changes requested: Structural (changing a nonlinear timeline to a linear one)
How did you feel?:
Conflicted, but once I tried out the changes, I agreed that it was much clearer & smoother
Time from request to re-submission: 1 month
Time from re-submission to response: 2+ months
After two months, I nudged with an offer of rep from a different agent
Outcome: PASS/OFFER from another agent
While the initial agent ended up passing, the new version did result in an offer of rep from another agent

Guest Post: Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner: My 1st NaNoWriMo, by Julia Despain

I always knew I was going to be a writer someday. Four kids later, “someday” kept getting pushed further and further away. After my grandmother passed away, I was browsing through her bookshelves and found a shelf devoted to “how to write and get published” books. My aunt noticed the books I was going through and told me that my grandma had always wanted to write a book, but she never did.

   

I knew right then that “someday” was up to me, and I didn’t want my story to end the same way.

Yet, I still didn’t write. Oh, I have ideas, lots of idea. I have so many titles for books I could probably write a book about it, but I could never get pen to paper (so to say). I had heard of NaNoWriMo before, but it was a scary idea. Not to mention that Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday and I wasn’t willing to compromise my holiday for writing! Why did it have to happen in November? I also have a tendency to listen to the annoying inner self-doubter. I wasn’t really sure I had it in me. So, I never tried, until now.

I decided this year I was going to do it. I signed myself up for the NaNoWriMo, picked one of my many story ideas, declared myself a “pantser” and went for it.  That is, until November 1^st rolled around, three days later. Everything piled up, I had so much going on that I couldn’t stop to write, not even a word. After a few days of this pattern, I had a long talk with myself and decided that if I was ever going to write I needed to make time to write! Then suddenly “someday” became TODAY. I packed up my laptop, and went to my dentist appointment. I made a promise to myself that I wasn’t going to go home until I had written something, anything. I sat at the dentist looking out a window at a little bakery, I decided that when I was done I would go there to write, and get myself a motivational treat.

It was my first experience with NaNoWriMo writing. I sat down with my pumpkin cheesecake, and newly cleaned teeth; I pulled out my laptop, feeling very official and important. Then I remembered that my laptop is more like a mobile desktop; it has to be plugged in at all times! I frantically searched for an outlet and found one about six feet up on the wall. I climbed up on the booth and plugged myself in. Feeling less cool, and too embarrassed to make eye contact with anyone, I began to write.

That was all it took for me. I knew that I was several thousand words behind but that didn’t scare me anymore. I went for it. I was all in. I declared to Facebook that I was doing it, because nothing’s official until it’s on Facebook! I didn’t even let the naysayers get me down. I wrote and wrote until I was sure I had caught up. I did a word count that night… 500 words.

Not what I was hoping for, but it was better than nothing. I got really good at giving myself pep talks. Just when I started to feel like I would never catch up, I got invited to my first ever “sprint.” I was awful, really, really awful!! In 30 minuets I typed something like 600 words. I did learn a very important lesson though. Stop trying to edit while you write! I was constantly deleting sentences that I didn’t like, or fixing misspelled words. In an effort to get more words on my next sprint I practiced. I set a timer and wrote like crazy. I never reread anything I wrote during a sprint. I soon began looking forward to those sprints; it was enough motivation for me to know that someone else knew that I was writing.

At times the month would drag on. I feared that I wasn’t going to make it. I did have my back up motivation. I knew I had to finish, because, let’s face, it a 30 day trial of Scrivener is not enough--I NEEDED that program! There was a pretty sweat deal at the end for Winners, and I hate paying full price for anything! So, when I needed a little extra push I would wave that little figurative coupon in front of my face and plug on.

I gave my self a cheering section to keep the morale up. My family was incredibly supportive. They listened each night at the dinner table as I explained my frustrations. Gave me advice on what to do with my characters and listened as I talked myself through difficult scenes. Their excitement was infectious.

Time was increasingly hard to come by, so I strategically invited myself to Thanksgiving dinner at my sister-in-law's house, which would give me 14 hours in the car to write.  I then spent a Saturday making 40 freezer meals , so that I wouldn’t have to shop or cook for the rest of the month. It still wasn’t easy to find time, so I let everything else go. Laundry piled up, floors went unswept, the bathrooms got so bad that my husband cleaned them, and in general I allowed myself to be OK with that.

I still spent a lot of late nights struggling to keep writing. After three weeks, I fell asleep one night while typing.  Then, as I was stalling scrolling through Facebook I noticed a sprint invite. I hadn’t sprinted in a while and it started in two minutes. I quickly opened up my story and began writing as fast as I could knowing I would be a couple minutes behind, but not wanting to have to put up a pathetic word count again. I let nothing distract me. It was a double sprint with 15 minutes in between. I quickly updated my word count and kept writing. I was at a really good part in my story. I set a timer for when the second half of the sprint was to start but I kept typing like there was nothing else in the world more important than this story. When the timer went off I went to update my second word count only to notice a message that went something like this: “That’s great, but this was my sprint from last night.”

Wait… What…?

Sure enough I had just sprinted for an hour with … nobody. Everyone finished this sprint 24 hours ago! I did finish my word count for the day though, so there’s that. I don’t do well without sleep.

On November 30^th, after a month of writing, staying up late, struggling to figure out what came next in my story and doubting I would be able to do it, I emerged victorious! I submitted that final word count, gave myself a quick pat on the back, and frantically searched for my Scrivener discount code. Apparently, I really will do ANYTHING for a discount.

If I were to sum up my first ever NaNoWriMo experience and give a future first timers advice it would be this:

1: It’s hard: 50,000 words is a lot!

2: Don’t give up; don’t ever, ever give up!

3: Quiet that inner voice, telling you that there are more important things you should be doing. It’s only 30 days out of 365. You deserve 30 days.

4: Find and join a sprint, writing group or local write-in. It will help you to know that there are other people out there doing exactly the same thing you are.

5: Write on: It doesn’t have to be 50,000 good words, just 50,000 words.  You can always make them better later… or not. You get to choose what comes next.

***********

Julia Despain: I love reading, and l love writing. Even from a very young age I kept a journal, wrote poems, short stories, anything.  I used to sneak into my little sister’s room at night, and make up bedtime stories-- a tradition I still continue with my own children. I have been blessed or cursed at times with a very vivid imagination. It helped me pass the time in math class.

In college, I was finishing up my degree and had several upper division credits that I needed. I filled them up with extra English classes. The professor asked me why I was taking the class; I wasn’t an English major, and those were usually the only people who took her class. After explaining that I was taking it purely “for fun” she was a little shocked. Red ink always made me nervous, so when I saw my final with a long note written in red ink my heart sank a little until I read it. Next to my ‘A’ she had a list of her other classes for me to take “for fun” if I was interested. I was hooked.

Giftmas Blog Tour Guest Post: It's a Wonderful Life by Laura VanArendonk Baugh

Operation Awesome is participating in Rhonda Parrish's 2015 Giftmas Blog Tour. All the guest bloggers are welcome to write about anything they’d like so long as their post touched on a December holiday in some way, no matter how tangentially. The blog tour extends across many blogs as well, and you can find more on social media using the hashtag #GiftmasTour.

But wait! There’s more!

We’re also giving away a whole whack of prizes (check out the list here) which you can enter to win using the Rafflecoper code below. Whatever December holiday you celebrate (or don’t) winning a stack of books will make it better!

It's a Wonderful Life
by Laura VanArendonk Baugh

Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed in It's a Wonderful Life (1946). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Nearly every year of my life, my immediate family has gathered on Christmas Eve, invited friends and pseudo-adopted family, eaten ourselves silly on shrimp and brownies and cheese balls and red and green M&Ms, and watched It's a Wonderful Life.

"That old hack of a film? Really?" you ask.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you asked it silently to yourself, read on, and I'll explain. If you asked aloud, there's the door over there. We don't argue about It's a Wonderful Life.

No, it's not a perfect film, and yes, it's been parodied so often that many people can't see the original story for itself any more. That doesn't matter. If you need a fresh perspective, go look at the complete miniature village of Bedford Falls all lit and sparkling near the tree. "Merry Christmas, movie house!"

It's a story about a man enslaved to duty, bound to his family by love and his job by honor, feeling trapped and resenting not the people but the circumstances. It's about finding the delightful and unexpected in the commonplace, where the girl you ignore on the street everyday can be the gorgeous girl of your dreams when you finally notice. It's about giving up your youthful dreams and yet finding joy in the life you've made.

On my mother's Chistmas tree. (Photo credit: Melissa Heigl)

And it was allegedly Jimmy Stewart's favorite film, too, and who can argue with that?

It's a Wonderful Life (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As a film, it was a relative flop, fairly unknown until its copyright expired and it became cheap fodder for television stations seeking seasonal filler -- a miracle both in script and real life. The film slipped around the contemporary Hays Code (that #*&%@! Potter never gets punished), provided the names of friends Bert and Ernie for generations of happy Sesame Street fans, and managed to make a hero of a man who screamed at his children while smashing the house.

It's good for writers, that way -- we see George Bailey save his brother's life (losing his hearing) and the life of an unknown boy (taking a beating in front of the girl who likes him), give his college funds away, give his honeymoon funds away, and save the town's only independent financial institution at the cost of his own dreams, so by the time he's breaking stuff and shouting, we're on his side, because we know what it costs him.

But who cares about story technique? We're watching the movie. And it means Christmas lights and carols and food and friends and family, and while I'm not usually bound to tradition, this is one tradition I refuse to give up.

And if any philistines watch the colorized version, I shall banish them to Potter's Field (the best-named housing development ever, I suspect).

There are other Christmas and seasonal movies I love, too, but It's a Wonderful Life is our family's signature film.

What's yours?

Enter the Rafflecopter for cool prizes!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Laura VanArendonk Baugh was born at a very early age and never looked back. She overcame childhood deficiencies of having been born without teeth or developed motor skills, and by the time she matured into a recognizable adult she had become a behavior analyst, an internationally-recognized and award-winning animal trainer, a popular costumer/cosplayer, a chocolate addict, and of course a writer. Her holiday authorial achievement was bringing about a sweeping loss for The Little Drummer Boy game players by titling a Christmas book So To Honor Him, but she hopes it was worth it. Find her at http://www.LauraVanArendonkBaugh.com.

Wednesday Debut Interview: The Road Back from Broken by Carrie Morgan

Today's Wednesday Debut Interview is with Carrie Morgan, author of the self-published adult contemporary novel, THE ROAD BACK FROM BROKEN.

 

Thanks for agreeing to be interviewed at Operation Awesome! Tell us a bit about THE ROAD BACK FROM BROKEN.

The Road Back From Broken portrays a family in turmoil after the husband/father is seriously wounded in an IED attack in Afghanistan that claimed the life of another soldier. Road examines not only Fitz’s psychological recovery, but the impact of his trauma on his wife and son, and shows them struggling as a family to heal and reconcile.

Although his physical injuries have healed, Fitz is a mess. Months of heavy drinking leads to a DUI crash that sends his wife and son packing and leaves him one screwup away from a Bad Conduct Discharge. When sobriety unleashes vivid memories of the IED attack and his fallen comrade, Fitz has to choose between numbing the pain and losing both his family and his career, or coming to terms with his role in the death of his friend.

Do you have a favorite line in this book? Can you tell us a bit about it without spoiling too much?
There's a scene in which Fitz is agonizing over mistakes he's made in dealing with his trauma (especially his abuse of alcohol and mistreatment of his family) and someone tells him, “You can't unring the bell.” The quote is so emblematic of the story’s central message that it actually appears in the back cover art. Although we can't alter the events of the past or erase the scars those events leave behind, we can move forward by coming to terms with the past. The healing process can't move forward without an act of compassionate acceptance. In Road, that sort of acceptance is key to Fitz’s recovery and his reconciliation with his family.


Let's talk about your writing process. How long did it take you to draft this novel? How long from that first draft until publication?
The muddle of ideas that became Road had been swirling in my head for about two years before I actually sat down to write it. A trip to Ireland and Northern Ireland in November 2013 was the catalyst I needed to finally start writing on New Year's Day 2014. I finished the first draft of Road on April 4th, ninety-four days later. I released Road on October 20, 2015, a little over a year and a half after completing my first draft.


What's the most difficult part of the writing process for you?
Waiting for feedback from my beta-reader team and/or freelance editor was brutal. I was on pins and needles wondering how my story would be received and waiting to find out whether it needed fine-tuning or a complete overhaul. I didn't mind working through the edits once I got the feedback, but waiting for that feedback was tough. That's when the seeds of my self-doubt would sprout.

What factors led you to decide that self-publishing was the best option for this particular story?
I queried literary agents but received a consistent set of “beautiful writing, but this story has no market” responses from agent after agent. Several agents told me I'd have a better shot if I rewrote it to make Fitz’s wife Jenn the protagonist so the story could be marketed as women's fiction. Others said to make Fitz’s son the POV character so it could be sold as YA. I was told the story in its current form had no viable market and would have to be radically transformed to fit into a salable category.

The trouble was, the resolution of Fitz’s anguish is dependent on repressed memories unfurling from his POV, which means he had to be the main POV character. I believed in my story and the means I’d employed to tell it, and I knew the story had an audience (if not a sizable market), so I decided to publish Road myself.


Was there anything about self-publishing that surprised you?
I was really surprised by how supportive the rest of the indie (non-agented) and self-publishing writer communities are. It's been incredibly edifying to have the support of other indies as I've gone through the process.

Another thing that surprised me relates to the specific channel I used to publish Road in paperback. I went through CreateSpace and I was knocked sideways by how professional a print-on-demand paperback could look. A number of readers have told me my paperback looks every bit as good as one published by one of the big publishing houses. That was a very pleasant surprise!


What about the title? Was THE ROAD BACK FROM BROKEN the original title you had in mind? How did it come about?
No, actually, the original working title was Wages of War (which is the name of my blog site). The novel focuses on the impact of war traumas on military families, and on the intergenerational rippling effect those traumas have, so while I was writing the first draft, I called it Wages of War.

In the end, though, given the fact that the story’s subject matter is so heavy, I decided I needed a title with some built-in optimism and more focus on the healing journey. That's how I arrived at The Road Back From Broken.


I live near the mountains, so I'm sure I'm a bit biased, but I love your cover! Tell us about it! Who designed it? What do you hope it will tell the reader about your story?
Road’s cover was designed by Mark Aro of Hyperactive Studios. Mark is a brilliant designer and was a joy to work with.

Road takes place along Colorado’s Front Range, with the action split between Colorado Springs (where Fort Carson is located) and Littleton (my hometown, which happens to be Fitz’s hometown, too). I went to Mark with stock photos of Garden of the Gods and told him I wanted a cover that includes a road (a key metaphor in the story) and a set of dog tags (to mark the story as having a military subject) that evokes the Colorado setting.

Mark took all that and made sense of it somehow, producing a cover that I think perfectly evokes Fitz’s journey. I love the little touches like the dog tags (which have Fitz’s identity details rendered in proper U.S. Army format), the weathered interior of the vehicle (Fitz drives a 1976 Scout), and the blurry image in the rear-view mirror, which captures the idea of memory as an imperfect lens.


Releasing a debut is definitely cause for celebration — how did you celebrate this achievement?
I released Road two days after the book won a Royal Palm Literary Award from the Florida Writers Association, so that turned out to be a pretty great way to usher in the release! Release day started with a flurry of blog and Twitter posts announcing Road’s release and ended with a nice sushi dinner out with my husband. A pretty bouquet of flowers was waiting for me when I got to work the next morning.


Congrats on the award! Do you have any other projects in the works?
Yes! I'm working on the sequel to Road, entitled What Fury Left Behind, which takes place at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

I have a couple of other novel projects in the queue behind Fury, all of which deal with the struggles and experiences of military families. A couple of those are suitable for submission to small specialty publishers, so I might try that route for the non-”Fitzverse” novels.

I'm also thinking about writing a few short stories to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme next summer.


Is there any other advice you'd like to pass on to others pursuing publication? Anything you would have done differently?
Believe in yourself and your story. Listen to the qualitative advice of others, especially beta readers and editors, but don't let anyone tell you that your story doesn't matter. Stories get rejected by publishers for all kinds of reasons that have nothing to do with quality and everything to do with money. Make your story the very best story it can be, then determine the best path for it to find its readers. Don't let anyone tell you your story has no audience. Don't let the business of publishing, with all of its trends and its profit and loss calculations, let you think for a minute that your story doesn't matter. Every story has an audience. Every story matters.


And, just for fun, since your cover makes me think of road trips: What artist/album would your main character Fitz would listen to while driving?
If he's just driving around town, he'd probably be listening to whatever came up on his iPod’s shuffle—an eclectic mix of blues, alt-rock, and metal like Stevie Ray Vaughan, R.E.M., and Metallica. But if he's on a long drive, like the 150-mile haul from Denver to Glenwood Springs, I think he'd settle in with a couple of long prog-rock albums like Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, Iron Maiden’s Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, and Rush’s Counterparts.

Great choices! Thanks again for joining us, and congrats on your debut!

Purchase THE ROAD BACK FROM BROKEN here!

Tuesday Museday gets sentimental

If you celebrate a holiday in December, chances are as that holiday approaches you might feel a sense of appreciation for holidays gone by. You fondly remember the good times you had the last time this holiday came around. You hope that this year will be just as enjoyable as the last.
Your characters are the same way, whether they live in our world or a fantasy one. Can you capture that nostalgia? No matter when your book is set, chances are it's near some holiday. Don't forget to include your characters' feelings toward the holidays of the past years!
That's my challenge to you this week. And now that NaNoWriMo is done, I have some free time back for query critiques! If you want a fresh set of eyes on your query before (mumble mumble something happening at Operation Awesome) the new year, please speak up in the comments! I'll choose someone for a query critique.

Revise and Resubmit

After sending out queries, we all wait for responses. Sometimes they don't come. Sometimes we

receive rejection letters. Sometime we get a hopeful, "Send me more," and then we wait again. We hope for a phone call and not a polite "no thank you" email. A yes, and we're flying. A no, and we're plummeting.

But what about that other response--the R&R. If you're new to the term, in the publishing world it does not mean rest and relaxation. In fact, it might mean just the opposite. The R&R we're talking about stands for revise and resubmit.

For today's post, I'm taking off my writer hat and replacing it with my publisher hat. I'm going to tell you why I ask for an R&R, what I hope you'll do, what I hope you won't do and about the negatives of R&R requests. 

Why I ask for an R&R: 

This is pretty simple. I really liked something about your manuscript. I saw something there that caught my interest, and not just a little. If I only liked it a little, I wouldn't bother with the R&R. I get this excited inner niggling when I come across something I really like--an intriguing premise, a strong character voice, a unique plot or setting. When I find this, I get excited. This excitement combined with well written sample chapters leads me to request a full manuscript. When the manuscript has problems, but I see great potential, I'll request an R&R.

What I hope you'll do:

I hope you'll take the advice I gave when I requested the R&R and dig into your manuscript, that you'll edit with new eyes. This is a second chance, so take full advantage of it. I hope you'll make global changes and then get new beta readers to supply feedback in light of what I've asked.

What I hope you won't do:

Simple--rush. If I ask for an R&R, it does not mean there are only minor tweaks to be made. If the

changes I wanted were minor, easy changes, I would've just proposed offering a contract and making those changes during the editing process. An R&R means the manuscript needs significant changes that exceed what Rebelight Publishing will undertake in the editing process. If you send the manuscript back to me within a week, I'm going to be pretty suspect of the quality of the revisions. As always, take your time and make your manuscript the very best it can be.

What are the negatives of R&R requests:

• I move on. A week after I send you an R&R, I may find something that I like equally, but doesn't as much revision. We may sign that author and by the time you send me your revised manuscript, I may no longer be interested. All the more reason, to rush, right? No, because I may still be interested, and if you don't bring your manuscript to where it needs to be, you've just blown your second chance. I won't give a second R&R. I'll just assume you're unable to do what's been requested.
• I may still decline the manuscript. Perhaps you did what was requested, but it went in a different direction than I'd hoped. This doesn't mean it was bad, just different and not something I felt fit with our publishing goals. However, with the manuscript newly revised, it may catch the attention of another agent or editor.
• You may not want to make the changes I requested. I'm a strong advocate for authors telling the story they felt compelled to write. Whether or not you attempt the R&R is totally up to you. Take some time to think about it. If you don't feel comfortable taking your story in the direction I suggested, then don't do it. Keep searching for an editor or agent who gets your vision for the manuscript.

I encourage you to take full advantage of the R&R. Work hard to show the person who offered you the second chance that you're just the type of professional they'd like to work alongside. 

Have you ever had an R&R request? Tell me about it in the comments. 

Flash Fiction Contest #6

Welcome to the last #OAFlash fiction of 2015. After this, our next contest will be run the weekend of January 8, 2016 to give everyone (myself included) a nice holiday break. If this is your first time, check out The Rules here.

Flash Fiction Prompt For Friday, December 4, 2015

When posting, don't forget to include your name and your Twitter handle.

I look forward to reading your words.

Submission is now open for WRITE TYPE CP MATCH

We've talked a lot on Operation Awesome about the importance of finding good critique partners. A critique partner is critical to making your manuscript into its best version. They are good for sounding off when you have new ideas. They provide a shoulder to lean on through the querying and submission process. They are, in short, absolutely crucial.
If you don't have writer friends in real life, however, it can be tricky to find them. The Twitter online writing community is a goldmine of opportunities to find other writers, but how do you know if you'll really gel with one of them? I've had bad, good, and amazing experiences with finding CPs online, and it's still nerve-wracking for me to approach a new person with my work.

In an attempt to bridge that gap, WRITE TYPE CP Match was created! It's run by Kimberly VanderHorst, Caitlyn McFarland, and Rebecca Blevins. The basic idea is that you post a snippet of your work, along with details about yourself and your critique style. Then you browse through the other submissions, looking for people you might want to work with. If you tag someone who also tags you, it's a match!

It's like online dating for writers.

Anyhoo, I think it's a fabulous idea, and if you're looking for CPs--no matter where you are in the publication process--I suggest you head over to WriteTypeCPMatch.blogspot.com and submit. You have until December 3rd!