It’s one of my favorite weekends of the year, and once again, I get to be a little part of it! I’ll be signing books in the Writer’s League of Texas booth on Sunday, November 9 at 1:00 PM, so come see me!
Author. Nerd. Literary Deviant.
Category: Announcements
I swear I’ve been hard at work, just not at updating y’all over here on my blog. But I have proof!
I’ve been busy querying agents and publishers about the satire romance I finished in 2023, which was a finalist in the romance category of the Writer’s League of Texas at that time. More to come on that, but the short version is I have thus far amassed over 100 rejections.
But fast forward to the present, I have also been busy writing the first draft of my NEXT novel, which is a satire thriller. As with my last work in progress, I entered it in the annual Writer’s League of Texas manuscript contest, more as a way to get some early feedback and a helpful critique to let me know if the book is worth finishing.
Last week I got my helpful critique, which was indeed helpful. It included a modest amount of praise, but was not nearly as effusive as the critique I received when I entered Don’t Give Me Grief, so I was not confident I would have a repeat performance as a finalist this year.
I was right about the finalist thing, but I was also wrong because I wasn’t a finalist in the thriller category… I WAS THE FUCKING WINNER! So – introduction… it’s called The Handwriting Artist (a working title I was unsure of but everyone else seems to love it, so I suppose it’ll stay) and I’m about 60% done with the first draft, so don’t expect anything any time soon. But having this prestige under my belt certainly doesn’t hurt.
I’ll share with you my favorite line from the book so far, which I have committed to memory: “If I’d known I’d be spending so much of this trip running for my life, I’ve have done more cardio and worn a better bra.”
In case you’ve missed such literary masterpieces as “No-Elf, No-Elf, Our Family Doesn’t Do Elf on the Shelf” and “The kids ruined another Spotify Wrapped, and I’m here for it” or “Happy Hour in South Austin”, then you’ve probably missed that I’ve been an editorial contributor to Austin Moms for the past two years.
I recently accepted the position of managing editor of Austin Moms, a position I plan to use to further my spread of chaos and parenting-related humor. Join my reign by following my work or coming to be a contributor under my freckled wing.
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Howdy, y’all! I’ve been sitting on this news for nearly a week (admittedly, out of busyness/laziness) but I’m ready to hit you with a big announcement…
I’VE BEEN ACCEPTED TO GREATER AUSTIN BOOK FEST!
It’s the first festival I’ve been accepted to, so my excitement is through the roof. So come see me and a bunch of other local authors at the Austin Central Library on Saturday, April 26!
Oh, hi! You came to see me but today I’m in Issue III of Reverie Magazine with newly published short story, Floating Ghost Pose. I have no intentions of revisiting a sequel for Community Klepto, but I got continue to draw inspiration from my awkward interactions at the gym, and this short story was the product!
Leave a CommentI’m still grinning ear to ear from the announcement that Community Klepto was named the adult fiction winner of the 6th annual regional Indie Author Project contest for the great state of Texas! Up until now Community Klepto has only been a bridesmaid – being a finalist many a time for several awards but never the bride – so I’m thrilled to finally be named a winner!
And I get to share the honor with another Austin author, who won the young adult prize. During the ceremony, when they announced me as a winner, they also mentioned that I have a new book in the works, so I guess I need to wrap that up, too…
Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day to all who sea-lebrate! Not only is it one of my favorite obscure holidays; it’s also the first day of my latest giveaway for a treasure chest of five signed paperback copies of Community Klepto on The StoryGraph. So you don’t even have to pirate my book for a free copy… you just have to enter the giveaway to get a copy of a book about a hilarious gym pirate working out her booty and stealing everyone else’s.
Enter between now and OctobARRRGH 18th!
The Readers’ Favorite annual book awards contest is one of the biggest ones out there, with close to 100 contest categories. It’d been so long since I entered (I tend to throw my hat in the ring at either the first possible second or the last) that I honestly forgot I was still in the running, until my publisher’s office wrote to tell me I’d won as a finalist in the humorous fiction category!
Thrilled to display yet another Community Klepto merit badge on its beautiful cover!
I had a self-imposed deadline of finishing the first draft of my newest manuscript by my 41st birthday, which is why I’ve been a little MIA as I write and write and edit and polish. My birthday also happened to be just a few days before the deadline for the 2023 Writer’s League of Texas manuscript contest, so I decided to enter it, looking forward to getting some early feedback of things I could work on as I am knee-deep in my editing phase.
Since it was a first draft, I went in with very low expectations, so imagine my shock when I receive an email today congratulating me on being named one of the 5 finalists in the romance category (yes, satire romance is still romance)! It’s kind of a big deal, y’all… my new book’s already getting accolades, and I haven’t even finished it yet.
And since it’s on the internet, it’s as good a time as any to announce the (working) title for my satirical romance novel – DON’T GIVE ME GRIEF. Wish me luck in the final round, and check out all the other finalists in this year’s contest; word on the street is the competition was fierce!