Megg as a Teen: Sacred Writing Spot

If you've read my old posts, you know I grew up on a farm. Two and a half miles from town doesn't seem far - but it was. My brother and sister are six and eight years older than me, so I was pretty much on my own as a kid. Well, not totally, my mom was at home with me (my dad worked a lot), but I spent a lot of time by myself in my room.

<--- That's my daughter and I standing at the top of my dad's new grain bin.






Writing was always a big part of my life, but as the angsty teen years crept up on me (okay, so maybe they slammed into me like a freight train) my writing exploded. Suddenly I had all sorts of feelings to write about. It wasn't pretty. Here's an excerpt of song lyrics I wrote:

When I'm all alone
I just think of you
And the way it could be
If you loved me too

(There is obviously a good reason I'm not a poet.)

But, to teen me, those were deep lyrics. So, so deep and meaningful. I wrote lyrics to more than fifty songs. Want to know where I wrote them?

In my closet.

Yep, in my closet. I grew up in an old farmhouse, the same one my grandma was born in. Yeah, you read that right. My grandma was born IN the house. Because my sister and I had to share a room, we were given the traditional master bedroom because it was bigger than the other two. Our bedroom had a walk-in closet. It was old, covered in cracked, peeling paint (most likely filled with lead). The orange carpet worn thin from years of women standing in it, wondering what to wear. The door didn't close all the way, but I would pull it shut as tightly as possible. Then it creaked its way open, just a tidge, until the tiniest stream of light shined inside it.

I'd write in there for hours at a time. Lyrics, short stories and poems (which actually got better as I got older, but I'm very protective of my poetry because I don't want anyone to tell me how horrendous it is). I didn't tackle a real novel until the late 1990's.

So it's no wonder that when I write now I still like to cocoon myself, whether it's with music blasting in my ears, wrapped up in my bed, or writing in total darkness with nothing other than the glow of my laptop and candle. 

There are secrets in my closet than no one will ever find. Distant memories, some precious, others I'd rather forget, float in veiled silence.

And now? I have a walk-in closet but I can't write in there. Not because my kids would think I'm weird (they already do), but because there's too many pairs of shoes in there. :)

Choices: The New Frontier

Everyone wants a concrete answer in publishing.

Should I pursue traditional publishers?
Should I pursue an agent?
Should I e-publish?
...and then should I pursue an agent?

Which is the RIGHT way to go?

 Now, lean in close. I'm going to whisper the answer to you.

Closer...a little closer.






THERE IS NO RIGHT ANSWER!

(sorry for yelling in your ear, but I want to make sure you hear me)

It's like those Kia hamsters rap, "You can go with this, or you can go that."

In today's publishing world we have choices. Amazing, wonderful, crazy, risky choices! Make the choice that is best for YOU! I did.

Am I making mistakes along the way? Of course. But I'd bet there's a few traditionally published authors out there who've made poor choices too.

What I'm really getting tired of is seeing a writer attacked for the choices she or he has made. Amanda Hocking signed a traditional publishing contract! So what? Just because she started out indie doesn't mean she has to stay there forever. This past week, Joe Konrath announced that he was working with his agent - the agent he's had all along - on his epublishing. Suddenly the people who'd worshiped him were frothing at the mouth! Really? Get over it. He's allowed to make his own choices.

If I ever announce I have an agent, I hope people will be happy for me. If I ever announce I'm traditionally publishing a book, I hope people will be happy for me. Neither of these is something I'm actively pursuing (though I am talking to an agent, I have nothing interesting to say about it yet). But if I decide to, then I decide to.

Why? Well, my mom told me the perfect answer to give: Because it makes me happy.

I want you to do what makes you happy too!!!! Remember, one hamster's toaster is another hamster's Kia.

Peace out peeps!!!!

Oubliette Contest Winner

So hopefully everyone read my post about breaking the rules. I made a lot of poor assumptions when I set up the contest and based it off rankings. My advice? Don't follow this model! LOL! I sold FAR MORE copies on Barnes & Noble than I thought I would, which I think skewed where my Amazon rankings would go. What's even funnier is that sales of Anathema picked up - and Anathema hit TWO lists on Amazon. Ironic? Sure, but I'll take it!!!

As I said yesterday, I'm going to base the prize off what I projected my sales would be, versus the ranking they hit.

My big winner is Stephanie Overton, a reader who's been a HUGE supporter of mine. I think she's entered every contest I've run, so I was so happy when Random.org chose her number this morning! She's won:

EXCELLENT PRIZE:

A $25 Amazon.com gift card, signed Oubliette paperback, and a signed Oubliette bookmark, PLUS a SIGG water bottle with Oubliette's cover on it!
(and an additional $25 donation to Friends of the Fountaindale Library)

I'm so excited to send the goodies to Stephanie and send a check to my local Friends group for $125!!!!

Thank you to each & every person who entered and contest and/or purchased a copy of Oubliette!!!

The cover for the third, and final, book in the Cloud Prophet Trilogy was released yesterday. In case you didn't see it I'm posting it below. Severed will drop sometime in the fall. I'm currently writing the first major draft.

Before Severed, I have at least one other release planned. More details to come next week....

Breaking the Rules ... There WILL be Prizes!

Tomorrow is the last day for Oubliette's blog tour. It's been a whirlwind! I didn't know what any of these ladies would say about Oubliette until I read the posted review. I'll be honest, there were a couple I was scared to see. I'm always convinced people will hate my work and always stunned when they love it. I hope you'll comb through each blog because all of these women are true book lovers and have so many great things to share!

My Contest of All Awesomeness ends tomorrow. If you've been following along, you might notice that I didn't hit any of the rankings I used as criteria for the prize packages. Here's the deal - when coming up with this contest, I wanted to do something unique. I brainstormed for a month, finally came up with the greatest idea and then BAM! Facebook clarified their contest rules and suddenly I had to come up with a new contest in the space of two weeks. It's not as easy as it sounds - especially because I was on a road trip for nine days and my husband & kids had to listen to me whine & moan in the car about this.

I'm one of those people who hates doing the same thing as everyone else. Hates, hates, hates. I'd rather stay home and stare at a blank wall than go along with the crowd. So as you can imagine, I spent every waking moment coming up with a new contest. When the idea for this ranking contest sprang to mind, the hubby (who has a masters in Electrical Engineering and is kind of a genius) and I sat down to figure out how many sales it would take to hit those precious rankings.

We thought we had it.

We were wrong.

Although I made most of the sales I predicted (though not all the sales I hoped for), I didn't hit the rankings. I didn't come even close. That just proves Amazon's ranking algorithms are totally not what we thought they were....and we were basing our calculations off of past experience.

So when I close the contest tomorrow, the prize package will be based off of the sales I projected for each ranking - not the ranking itself. I absolutely refuse to not give away anything. That would be totally lame. I want to give stuff away and if I have to change the rules for it to happen, then I will. Ha! Take that rules! :p

(Okay, so I guess it's not too dangerous for me to change my own rules in your favor....but, that's how I roll...)

I hope you've entered - I hope you've told your friends to enter - because there WILL be prizes!!!! :)

Blog Tour Kickoff!!!!!

My blog tour starts today. I hope you check these out. All of these ladies are wonderful!!!!

I'm just as clueless as you. I have NO IDEA what they'll think of Oubliette. Am I scared? Maybe a little. But I'm sure it'll all be good. :))))) Make sure you check out all of them!!!!

Also, don't forget to enter the CONTEST OF ALL AWESOMENESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

June 20th - Two Chicks on Books, Jaime
June 21st - Me, My Shelf & I, Amber
June 22nd - The Top Shelf, Misty
June 23rd - The Caffeinated Diva Reads..., Kim
June 27th - Sticking to the Story, M.E.
June 28th - Magical Urban Fantasy Reads, Mindy
June 29th - That Bookish Girl, Sarah
June 30th - Can't Find a Bookmark, Ky

Public Libraries & the Contest of All Awesomeness!!!!!!

I'm not one of those writers who recently learned to love books. I like to tell people I was raised in the wild by a bookshelf of librarians. My mom is a book lover and library aide. I spent nearly every morning and every afternoon in the elementary school library from 2nd grade through high school graduation because I rode with my mom to school. In college at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, I worked in a university library and spent more time than anyone I knew trolling through the stacks (one of the largest collections of books in the world).


When I grew up & had my own family, I wanted to volunteer at my local library so on a whim I attended a Friends of the Library meeting. That night I met some of the most amazing people I've ever met in my town. These people were pulled together by their love of books and libraries. I'd finally found my tribe.

I've been an active member now for nearly nine years, but every year I've paid the little $5 fee for membership. To celebrate the launch of Oubliette, I'm going to join Friends of the Fountaindale Library as a Lifetime Member, a $100 donation.

And before any of you call me a hypocrite - an e-publisher promoting libraries might seem contrary to some of you - I'm excited that my library has e-books in circulation. Libraries are not only a depository for the paper books we love so much, but also a resource in our ever-changing digital world!

On to the Contest of All Awesomeness!!!!!

Oubliette launches TODAY!!!!! Hurray! *glitter* *sparkles* *fireworks*

To celebrate I want to give away prizes. You know about my BIG winner, Friends of the Fountaindale Library - but I'm not leaving you out!!!

You can enter to win a prize pack, but the prizes are determined by my Kindle ranking between now and June 30th. I am so, so sorry I have to limit this to Amazon.com rankings. Barnes & Noble rankings are, well, inconsistent, rarely updated, and wonky. Amazon.com has the most clear-cut ranking system.

Only ONE LUCKY PERSON will win one of these packs, and the prize pack is determined by overall Kindle rankings by June 30th.

If Oubliette hits the top 10,000 overall on Amazon.com, ONE LUCKY PERSON could win:

PRIZE THAT ISN'T AS AWESOME AS THE OTHERS, BUT STILL COOL TO WIN:

A $10 Amazon.com gift card, signed Oubliette paperback, and a signed Oubliette bookmark
(and an additional $10 donation to Friends of the Fountaindale Library)

If Oubliette hits the top 5,000 overall on Amazon.com, ONE LUCKY PERSON could win:

EXCELLENT PRIZE:

A $25 Amazon.com gift card, signed Oubliette paperback, and a signed Oubliette bookmark, PLUS a SIGG water bottle with Oubliette's cover on it!
(and an additional $25 donation to Friends of the Fountaindale Library)

If Oubliette hits the top 1,000 overall on Amazon.com, ONE LUCKY PERSON could win:

MOST EXCELLENT PRIZE:

A $50 Amazon.com gift card, signed Oubliette paperback, a signed Oubliette bookmark, a SIGG water bottle with Oubliette's cover on it!
(and an additional $50 donation to Friends of the Fountaindale Library)

If Oubliette hits the top 100 overall on Amazon.com, ONE LUCKY PERSON could win:

GRAND PRIZE:

A $100 Amazon.com gift card, signed Oubliette paperback, a signed bookmark, a SIGG water bottle with Oubliette's cover on it, PLUS a FIRST EDITION SIGNED PAPERBACK OF ANATHEMA (less than 60 first edition copies are in existence).
(and an additional $100 donation to Friends of the Fountaindale Library)

How do you enter? Easy! Just fill out the form below. You're not required to do anything - however, if you want the prize pack to increase you might want to tell some people about Oubliette. The more Kindle sales I have, the bigger the prize pack. There will only be ONE winner and as Amazon.com rankings update, I will update this post to show which prize pack you'll be eligible to win.

Want to earn additional entries? No problem!

- Take a screen shot of Oubliette's rankings on Amazon and post it on your choice of social network (please tag me or I may not see it) - +1 entry

- Post a picture of yourself with your copy of Oubliette on your choice of social network (please tag me or I may not see it) - +1 entry

- Post fan art from Anathema or Oubliette on your choice of social network (please tag me or I may not see it) - +1 entry

- Change your pic on your social network to Oubliette's cover for 24 hours - +1 entry

(no more than FOUR additional entries - you cannot post screen shots every ten seconds) ;)

Want to buy a copy of Anathema or Oubliette? - click here or on the covers to your right and you'll be sent to a page with all the available purchase options!

Not ready to buy yet? Mark my books "To Read" on Goodreads!

Anathema         Oubliette

Terms: Open internationally, not available where prohibited by law. If you are under 18 years old, you must have your parents permission. No purchase is necessary to win. Winners will be contacted via email on July 1st, 2011. Winners will be chosen at random. Winners must respond to claim their prize within 24 hours or they forfeit their prize.  For items being mailed: We are not responsible for items lost or damaged during shipping.  We are not responsible for shipping delays or acts of God that interfere with delivery.  The item will ONLY be shipped to the shipping address provided.  Prizes are non-transferable. No cash value.  Contact us for full giveaway details. Thank you.

Oubliette e-ARC Contest!!!!

Oubliette launches on June 20th, but I know quite a few people have been anxiously waiting to read it. Since you're all so awesome I'm hosting a contest to win an e-ARC (Kindle, Nook, or PDF formats only) of Oubliette three days before the official launch.

Entering is easy. Fill out the form below.

*GASP*

Is that all? No promotion? No liking or following?


Um, yeah, just comment below before 5pm CST on Thursday, June 16th.

Wait a sec - how about those of you who HAVEN'T read Anathema yet? I know there must be one or two out there. ;) So if you haven't read it, then I'll give you an e-copy of that too. It would suck to read Oubliette before Anathema, trust me!

Oh, and just so you know, I'll be running the Contest of all Awesomeness starting on Oubliette's launch day, June 20th. I'll give you all the details on Friday, June 17th.

Terms: Open internationally, not available where prohibited by law. If you are under 18 years old, you must have your parents permission. No purchase is necessary to win. Winners will be contacted via email on June 16th, 2011. Winners will be chosen at random.  Winners must respond to claim their prize within 24 hours or they forfeit their prize. Prizes are non-transferable. No cash value. Contact us for full giveaway details. Thank you.