Want Stuff? I've Got More!

It's the end of Week Two of my Wildest Moments Tour/Blogfest, and as promised, I have another very special giveaway planned.

Entry is easy.  And look at these prizes!

ZOMBIE BEDTIME STORIES 1-3 by Thea Isis Gregory (ebook)

WOMAN OF HONOR by Nicole Zoltack (ebook)

BROKEN DESTINY by Carlyle Labuschagne (ebook)

a Rafflecopter giveaway


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Celebrate Forgetfulness

We've all been known to forget a thing or two, right?

Absolutely.

Some days I'm sure I forget many things.

So, when I realized my blog tour stop hosts forgot to post what we'd arranged, I didn't get upset. Instead, I'm deciding to celebrate their forgetfulness!

Just play along with the Rafflecopter below, and on December 5th, I'll choose three winners for signed paperback copies of all three of my books. Depending on participation, I may increase the amount of books I give away.

<3 Krystal
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Wildest Moments

Wildest Moments Blogfest!

WILDE'S MEADOW comes out next Monday. Can you believe it?

Me either!

You may have to pick me up and smack my face! Three books published within six months of each other . . . I better get back on track here.

So, I have 4 weeks of giveaways and blog tour posts planned for the month of November. (Full tour and contest info is at the bottom of this post.)

Beginning the second week of November--that's the 12-16--I'll be hosting the Wildest Moments Blogfest. This is something anyone, anywhere can participate in.

All you have to do is blog about a time you did something wild, something life changing. Jumped from a perfectly good airplane? Quit your job to write full time? I'm looking for fun, heart-pumping, or inspirational stories that you have experienced. "Wilde" things you've completed on your quest to grow up or move on.

Anyone who posts their Wildest Moments between November 12th-23rd can enter to win a Kindle FIRE ($199), Kindle Fire Skins, or a $15 Amazon Gift Card. Yes, this means I will visit each blog and read your "wildest" moments.

Don’t blog? Put the cover of WILDE'S MEADOW up on your FB wall, pin it on Pinterest, or change your twitter avatar to the cover. Use the words “Wildest Moments” somewhere to go with the picture and link back to this post. (I will still enter you to win a $15 Amazon Gift Card--or B&N--and all three Darkness Falls books on December 5th)

Sign up for the blogfest in the LinkyTool below (and make sure you grab the Wildest Moments badge to put on your blog).





Full Tour (there are two--A Review and Interview tour through Kismet, and an Interview, Review, Giveaway, Promo tour via ME!) Schedule:

 



November 5th - Jen
November 6th - Pam
November 7th - Hannah
November 8th - Stacy
November 9th - Shreya
November 12th - Damaris
November 13th - Jessica
November 14th - Susan
November 15th - Benji @ The Non Reluctant Reader
November 16th - Colette at A Buckeye Girl Reads
November 19th - Anagha
November 20th - Terri
November 21st - Tori
November 22nd - Laurie
November 23rd - Ana



November 5 - Mara Valderran
November 5 - Matthew Graybosch - Interview and Giveaway
November 6 - Jamie Ayres - Interview
November 6 - Mandy Anderson - Excerpt and Giveaway
November 7 - Johanna Pitcairn - Giveaway
November 7 - Ayden Morgen - 10 Rules for Surviving Encardia
November 8 - Brinda Berry - Biggest Distractions and Giveaway
November 8 - Jaycee DeLorenzo
November 9 - Jessica Wentz - Interview and Giveaway

November 10 - My Blog - Giveaway (ebook FADE, ebook WILD AT HEART VOL2, Romance Trading Cards, THE TRUTHS ABOUT DATING AND MATING-signed paperback)

November 12 - Susie Levine - Giveaway
November 12 - Thea Gregory
November 13 - Kay Froebel
November 13 - Nicole Zoltack - My Favorite Lines
November 14 - Carlyle Pretorius
November 14 - Charity Bradford - Giveaway
November 15 - Talynn Lynn - Giveaway
November 16 - Amanda Foody - Interview
November 16 - Mike Robinson - Excerpt

November 17 - My Blog - Giveaway (ebook ZOMBIE BEDTIME STORIES 1-3, ebook WOMAN OF HONOR, ebook BROKEN DESTINY)

November 19 - Krystalyn Drown
November 20 - Raine Thomas - Excerpt
November 20 - Jessa Russo - Review
November 21 - Vicki Trask
November 22 - Christina McKnight
November 23 - Carrie Slager - Interview

November 24 - My Blog - Giveaway (THE GREEN-EYED MONSTER, ebook BECOMING, ebook EVER)

November 26 - Farrah Sayyed - Interview
November 26 - Debra Kristi - Interview
November 27 - Felicia Wetzig - Interview and Giveaway
November 27 - James Wymore -
November 28 - Carolyn Brown
November 29 - Dawna Raver - Review
November 29 - Sylvia van Bruggen - Interview
November 30 - Lisa Collicutt - Review

December 1 - My Blog - Giveaway (MINDSCREENS, THE GATHERING DARKNESS and Swag)

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My Successful Query

Welcome back, Mad Scientists. Hopefully you've all been working on your Frankenstein's--aka queries--and you're noticing lots of improvements in your creations.

As promised yesterday, I'm here to provide you with my successful query. This short letter earned me two acceptances . . . on the same day.

Now, I want you all to know I edited this a tad before it went on my actual book. So below this successful query, I'm pasting the final version.

Enjoy!

Dear Ms. XXXX,

 “There is no pain in this death, only peace, knowing I am going to die with the one I love the most.” – Katriona Wilde

Katriona Wilde has never wondered what it would feel like to have everything she’s ever known and loved ripped away, but she is about to find out. When she inadvertently leads her sister and best friend through a portal into a world she’s dreamed of for six years, she finds herself faced with more than just the frightening creatures in front of her. She’s forced to accept a new truth: her entire life has been a lie, and those closest to her have betrayed her. What’s worse, she has no control over her new future, and it’s full of magic and horrors from which nightmares are made. Will she discover and learn to control who she really is in time to save the ones she loves, or will all be lost?

Full of love and loss in 95,766 words, Wilde’s Fire is the first of a three-part fantasy written with young adults in mind, but has the potential to span across many age groups. I’ve attached the synopsis, prologue and first three chapters for your review. Your time and consideration are appreciated.

With Respect,

So I've tweaked that little query/blurb to read this way:

"There is no pain in this death, only peace, knowing I am going to die with the one I love the most." - Katriona Wilde.

Katriona Wilde has never wondered what it would feel like to have everything she's ever known and loved ripped away, but she is about to find out. When she inadvertently leads her sister and best friend through a portal into a world she's dreamed of for six years, she finds herself faced with more than just the frightening creatures in front of her. Kate's forced to accept a new truth: her entire life has been a lie, and those closest to her have betrayed her. What's worse, she has no control over her new future, and it's full of magic and horrors from which nightmares are made. Will Kate discover and learn to control who she really is in time to save the ones she loves, or will all be lost?

Hope this helps!

<3 Krystal



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Frankenstein's Laboratory - He's Ali...err, Successful

Is your query ALIVE? Do your words create tingles in the fingertips of the editor or agent reading the short-better-make-an-impact-fast synopsis of your book?

God I hope so.

Queries are hard. Submitting your query is harder.

My first piece of advice is this: Make sure you know who you're submitting your manuscript to. If that agent/editor has zero interest in your type story, don't waste your time. Do your RESEARCH (Like any excellent mad scientist!)

My second piece of advice: Know your story. Nothing worse than a query that's all over the place.

Third piece (you know you want it!) and this happens to be the best piece of advice I've ever received: Write 1 sentence for where your MC is at the beginning of your story and 1 sentence where she/he is at the end, then go back and write three sentences that are your main three plot points. Once you have this "outline", go back and write a few transition sentences that get you from each of your 5 sentences. None of this has to be perfect; just get the idea out there. Clean up as required. :-)

That's it for now. Tomorrow I think I'll post my successful query!

Don't forget to say hello to my fellow villains!

James Wymore - Dark Brain, master of hypnosis, seeking Darkling minions

Court Young - The House of Gaunt (pure bloods only)

Dawna Raver - The Mystical Masters

Gerilyn Marin - The Phantom Court

Thea Gregory - The Zombie Culinary Institute

Mike Robinson - The Mighty Minotaurs of Metaphysics

Krystal Wade - Frankenstein's Laboratory

The Criminal Masterminds - Visit the Curiosity Quills blog today for an interview with criminal mastermind contest judge, Andrew Buckley.

This is a Blog Hop!



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The Haunted Writing Clinic

Hello fellow writers, minions, super villains.

Thanks for stopping by.  As a former acquisitions editor for Curiosity Quills Press, I saw a lot of queries. Some good. Some bad. Some horrifically ugly, covered in slime and ooze, brandishing knives, and shooting turds. (Okay, I was just doing that to stay in the spirit of Halloween--or something.)

One of the biggest flaws I observed was wordiness. Not spelling--because we ALL spell things wrong. Not because you didn't follow our submission guidelines--which is my second biggest peeve. The biggest flaw is WORDINESS!

Why?

Well, acquisitions editors read non-stop! If you want to capture the attention of an editor, you need to do it immediately. Write clear, concise sentences. Punchy lines that build tension are my favorite. I usually tell people to imagine a trailer for a movie. If that movie was about your book, what would it say? Television doesn't allow you to be wordy--that would be too expensive, and viewers would allow their ADD to get the better of them and leave the room. So, treat your acquisitions editor as if she/he has a severe case of ADD.

That's all the advice I have for you today!

This is a blog hop, and you can still participate!

For the Minions: You are hereby commanded to post your query for slaughter on or shortly after 10/8. Then through the course of the week, visit the sites of the other minions to attack their queries (aka give helpful and respectful critique they can use to improve their submission). You are also commanded to visit the sites of the super villains for tips on how to make your query more likely to frighten editors into doing your bidding.

Remember minions, this week is purely to help you improve your query and will not be part of the judging for the contest. You may edit your query based on feedback and re-post throughout the week if you wish.

For the Super villains: The honorable and fiendish super villains will be doing the following on their blogs this week:

-Posting their spooky team name and theme

-Posting tips on how to write a query or anything else they think the minions may find helpful regarding getting published

-Posting their successful query (if applicable)

-Visiting the minions' blogs to critique their query

Sharon Bayliss - The Dark Side (you know you want to come over)

James Wymore - Dark Brain, master of hypnosis, seeking Darkling minions

Court Young - The House of Gaunt (pure bloods only)

Dawna Raver - The Mystical Masters

Gerilyn Marin

Thea Gregory - The Zombie Culinary Institute

Mike Robinson

Krystal Wade - Frankenstein's Laboratory

The Criminal Masterminds

Is this the first you're hearing about the contest? Learn more here. New minions are welcome to join until 10/21.

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