Lindsay Eland - Middle Grade Author

Every year starts out much like a book. We wipe the slate clean and start fresh when the sun rises on that January 1st morning. We set down the old book of last year and pick up that new book and start to read and live at the same time. 2009 started off much that way for me.

SUMMARY:

There was a whole lot of ups and a whole lot of downs.

Tension on every page, dramatic and rising action, page-turning chapters that leave you on the edge of your seat (or awake at night), emotional crying scenes and those that leave you laughing out loud, a few villains here and there, and just enough heroes and rescuing to make you let out your breath and sigh with relief.

My REVIEW:

When I look back on this 365 page book, colored with the good and the bad, the climactic and the anti-climactic…I think it was a brilliantly wonderful book–one of my favorites yet–that I will place on the shelves somewhere inside me and glance at and think back on and treasure with all my heart–they are memories now…and memories, unlike real books, cannot be relived or re-experienced. So as much as I loved and adored this book, it’s time is done and the possibilities that will accompany the next one await to be read and lived when the sun rises tomorrow morning on January 1st, 2010.

Happy New Year one and all!

Hey everyone! Thanks for all the well-wishes for Scones and Sensibility!! I can’t believe it’s actually released into the world today!

Anyway, the winner of my Triplet’s Scavenger Hunt is….RK CHARRON!!!! Yipppeee!!

Don’t forget to check Rhonda and Bree’s blogs to see if you are the lucky winner of their contest!

Thanks to everyone for entering and happy reading!!!

Click here to view it! Thanks Kim!

The top 10 reasons I adore my editor–the wonderful, vivacious, and hilarious Elizabeth Law!

1. Confident…Elizabeth exudes confidence in everything that she is. She is ccompletely confident in who she is as a person as well as an editor, confident in what she likes and doesn’t like, and confident in her choices. I can’t tell you how relaxed and comfortable I feel knowing that my book(s) are in her capable hands!

2. Professional…She is not only completely personable in every way, but she is totally professional and savvy…a woman and editor who takes her job seriously but not in a t00-serious way

3. Advocate for writers…Elizabeth is always, always, always sharing advice and her thoughts on writing and pulishing and revision to aspiring writers as well as to established writers and I don’t know of any other editor out there right now who spends so much time helping others succeed.

4. Understanding…Elizabeth knows the weaknesses in my writing and asks the perfect questions that not only remedy the problem, but have made me a better writer in every way.

5. Risky-business…and I’m not talking about Jacob Black’s abs. I’m talking about an editor who not only scuba dives (something that is completely terrifying to me), but a few years ago she left her job to become the publisher of an unknown (at least on US soil) and unestablished company, hiring brilliant minds to accompany her and then bringing that company to the forefront of Children’s publishing. WOW!

6. Romance…She is overly-dramatic and overly-romantic making her my long-distance very bosom friend as well as the best, most-capable editor for Polly Madassa’s story ever…and thus the very best editor for me.

7. Passionate…she is passionate not only about Twilight (yes, in honor of her, I think I must mention Twilight at least a few times in this post), but about books and specifically about Egmont’s authors and their manuscripts.

8. Funny and Hilarious…sadly I have yet to meet Elizabeth in person, but each Tweet and Facebook update is enough to have me completely cracking up and wiping tears from my eyes.

9. TV…as a person who doesn’t have TV (just a television that we can watch movies on)…so I never get to see Glee, Idol, or Top Model. But it’s nice each day because I usually can get a play-by-play of every show, and it’s always hilarious and, lucky-for-me, commercial free!

10. Twilight…this one word alone should say enough to the millions of Elizabeth Law fans, but I must continue: not only is Elizabeth heartily Team Edward (besides Jacob’s abs, that I admit, are delish) like myself, but is obsessed with all that is Twilight and keeps me in the know of all of Robert Pattison’s movements.

So, thank you Elizabeth for being the amazing editor that you are and for being such a wonderful person! Know you are celebrated and loved today!

Hop over to author Margie Gelbwasser’s site and read some of my writing advice as well as advice from other amazing authors!

To celebrate the final seven-day countdown till Scones and Sensibility is released out into the world, I’ve teamed up with two amazing authors whose debut novels are also releasing next week!

Bree Despain author of the amazing THE DARK DIVINE

and

Rhonda Stapleton author of the wonderful STUPID CUPID!

But before I get into the nitty-gritty of the contest, let me tell you all what you win!

Drum roll, please….

A signed author’s copy of SCONES AND SENSIBILITY, a signed authors copy of THE DARK DIVINE, and a signed authors copy of STUPID CUPID!

I know, it’s amazing, right?!

So now, what do you need to do to enter this amazing contest?

You must email me (lindsayeland at me dot com) the answers to two questions about each of us correctly! And if you tweet, facebook, or blog about the contest you get an extra entry, but leave a comment here to let me know where you have advertised the contest! And remember, all three of us are doing this scavenger hunt, so when you’re done with mine head on over to their blogs and you can enter in their scavenger hunt contests , but be careful…cause all the questions are different!

So here goes!

Search Bree’s website to find the answers to a little bit of what Bree is all about! www.breedespain.com

1. What is Bree’s #1 favorite TV show?

2. True or False: Bree loves chocolate.

And here is a little bit about her book THE DARK DIVINE being released on December 22, 2009 with Egmont USA!

Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared—the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in blood. But she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night really held. And when Daniel returns three years later, Grace can no longer deny her attraction to him, despite promising Jude she’ll stay away.

As Grace gets closer to Daniel, her actions stir the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind Jude and Daniel’s dark secret . . . and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it—her soul.

Now onto Rhonda!

Check out her website to find the answers to a little bit about what makes her tick! www.rhondastapleton.com

1. What two electronics does Rhonda hate being on at the same time?

2. Which author is listed last under “My Favorite YA Authors?”

And here is a taste of STUPID CUPID being released on December 22, 2009 with Simon Pulse!

Felicity Walker believes in true love. That’s why she applies for a gig at the matchmaking company Cupid’s Hollow. But when Felicity gets the job, she learns that she isn’t just a matchmaker…she’s a cupid! (There’s more than one of them, you know.)

Armed with a hot pink, tricked-out PDA infused with the latest in cupid magic (love arrows shot through email), Felicity works to meet her quota of successful matches. But when she bends the rules of cupidity by matching her best friend Maya with three different boys at once, disaster strikes. Felicity needs to come up with a plan to set it all right, pronto, before she gets fired…and before Maya ends up with her heart split in three.

And finally, here are two questions about moi!

1. What are the four states I have lived in?

2. What was my wonderful fifth grade teachers name?

Thanks for playing our Book Triplets Scavenger Hunt and good luck! Winner’s will be announced on release day…December 22, 2009!

First off, thank you so much for all the entries and the hilarious and wonderful names you came up with!! I have to say that I might just have to use all of those names at some point!!

But of course, there can only be one winner (though of course you ALL are winners to me!), so after I wrote each name down and put them in the magic white bowl (all the cereal was washed out, so don’t worry) I let my youngest son, Noah (who can’t read so he’s completely unbiased) reach in…and this is the name he pulled out!!

Kristin Gray!!

Looks like I’ll be using either Penelope Tulip or Charles “Chaz” Stapleton in my book…or perhaps they will be twins…hmmm, the wheels are already turning!! Kristin also won a signed copy of Scones and the Holiday Traditions book! Contact me, Kristin, and I’ll send out your prize tomorrow!

Thanks again to everyone that entered, I LOVED reading your name suggestions!

And this weeks contest is going to be a bit different but the prize is out-of-this-world! And I hate to leave you hanging like that…but I have to. I’ll announce the contest tomorrow, so stay tuned!!

There are travel agents and there are undercover agents and there are real estate agents and there are talent agents.

And then the cream of the crop are literary agents.

And then, above all agents everywhere in the world–on top of the cream of the crop–there is MY AGENT!

That one person who believed in my writing enough to say, “Won’t you be my client?” (maybe not in that Mr. Rogers type of way…but you know what I mean).

That one person who sent along one revision letter after another because she saw potential in my writing and myself as a writer enough to know that my manuscript could be better. And it was because of her questions and her suggestions and her insights that it became better.

That one person who was savvy and knew just the right editors to send my manuscript to.

That one person who encouraged me when the rejections began to pile up.

That one person who has been supportive of every manuscript that I’ve shown her…always seeing the potential in it and gently steering me in the right direction when I felt like I was floundering somewhere in the Atlantic without a paddle.

That one person who is my advocate in the great wide world of publishing, and who has made me ten zillion times better of a writer than I was a year and a half ago.

Someone, whose questions and comments and suggestions have made my dialogue come alive, my characters have motivation, and my plots have backbone (cause my plots sometimes have the spine of a jellyfish…and yes, jellyfish don’t have spines…so enough said).

I think my agent, Rebecca Sherman, is outstanding in every sense of the word and deserves to be recognized as the savvy, professional, friendly, and brilliant agent that she is!

Thank you so much, Rebecca! Know that today you are celebrated for the amazing work that you do and for the outstanding person that you are!

Cheers!

I did a super fun interview with Suzette at QueryTracker! Thanks so much for having me!

I did an interview with a wonderful book blogger, Faith! Thanks for having me! Check out the interview and her site right here!