JUDGEMENT DAY

This is one of my favorite stories that I've written so far!!! I like the voice and I like the idea of it. Since the site also put up a disclaimer, I feel I should warn you that it is adult themed and violent. Not for the squeamish, but I think a great read anyway. Please click the link below and enjoy!!!

JUDGEMENT DAY

THANK YOU FOR THE SHOUT OUTS!!!

I have been blessed in the last week by two wonderful bloggers:

Sophie Li (click to visit her blog) who has challenged me to a "meme" challenge. Sophie is such a wonderful writer, blogger and friend - so thank you Sophie!!
I need to complete the phrase, "Writing is like..." I am to pass this along to three of my fellow blogging friends and I will do so gladly!! :)

Alex Megas (click to visit his blog) has awarded me with the "Versatile Blogger Award" to which I say a heartfelt THANK YOU!!! I need to tell you seven (more) random facts about me and pass the lovely award to five blogging friends and so I shall.


After quite a bit of thought, I have decided that...

WRITING IS LIKE...a mountain. You start at the bottom and you have no clue how you're going to get to the top. There are so many paths to choose and some are not without their problems. There are pitfalls and dead-ends. You may stumble upon a mother bear defending her cub and like some fellow authors out there, she may bite you in the ass when you cross over into her territory. The climb up is steep and at times you may want to quit. You may not think you're strong enough, or the journey is too rough. Maybe you're just plain out of shape and you need to start with a small hill and work your way up to the mountain you're trying to hike. But once you get to the top....the top is where it's at. It might have taken everything you had to get there, but the view makes it all worth it.

I would like to pass this challenge along to the following bloggers. If you're reading this, please click on their names and check out their blogs. I chose them for a reason!!
1. Ryan Lawler 
because he is my "Australian Angel." (I can say that because my husband knows that's what I call him).
2. Everett Powers
because he is just cool. Like James Dean cool. Go look at his picture. COOL.
3. Jeff King
because he's starting out like all of us and is trying so hard. Hook him up with blog-writing-luvs!!! 

So my three friends, what is writing like to you? Can't wait to find out!!

Now on to the award!! :) Thank you again Alex for passing this along to me!! :) I hate to bore with seven more random facts so I'll keep it short (and I won't do another speech instead!)

1. I like food WAY too much. We have a one-way relationship as I love the food much more than it cares for me. Ungrateful.
2. I have been with my husband since the ripe old age of 18.
3. I cannot have anymore children and I still haven't told my daughter who begs weekly for a sibling.
4. I collect Harry Potter Legos and my husband makes me share with our daughter and her friends. And I really do not want to.
5. I'm too cheap to pay for my long hair to get highlighted or dyed so I do it myself. Twice now it has turned out diarrhea-green.
6. I am a jacket-whore. I love them. Thick ones, thin ones. Fur-lined and hoods. I am getting excited just thinking about them...
7. I once FREAKED because McDonald's forgot the bacon on my burger. (See #1) But I ask you, why would you name something "The Baconator" if you were going to forget the bacon??? (My family will NEVER EVER let me live it down!!)

And to my blogging friends, I pass the delightful award on to you!!


Syd Gill
because she said I was "pussy-footing" in one of my posts. How can you not absolutely LOVE someone who calls you on your shit a month into a friendship???
Ren Thompson
because her blog is awesome!! Her story, Eye-Hop, Magpie Tales #68, is c-r-e-e-p-y!!! So, of course, I love it!!!
PHC Marchesi
because she's not only a sweetheart, but she has a character named Shauna (even if she spells it wrong!) :)
Susan Oloier
because her blog is great, because she does more in one day than most of us do in a year, and because I have spent serious hours wondering how to pronounce her last name
Kristen
because I just started reading her blog and I like it. So hopefully this will obligate her to be my new friend! :)

Congratulations to the winners and thanks again to the wonderful Alex Megas. Don't forget you can check out his blog here ---> CHECK OUT HIS BLOG.

Until next time...

FRIDAY FICTION: THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE

I would love for you to read my latest short!! It started out as a morality story but then I had way too much fun and changed it at the end. Tell me what you think...

The Bermuda Triangle

THE REJECTION

Well, if you've been following my blog then you know that I had a request from an agent for my full manuscript in mid-May. I emailed it and within 48 hours, the agent said he was going to pass.

Now I expected to him to say that but what I hadn't counted on was my complete devastation. Talk about a DRAMA QUEEN!!!! I downed a bottle of wine, then I took a photograph of said bottle of wine and proceeded to text my friends the picture with some rant about how life sucks...and if that wasn't bad enough, I then drunk dialed my Facebook page about what a loser I was. Of course, I would have been much more embarrassed about that if it hadn't been for my friend Ariel. Instead of telling me everything was going to be okay, she linked Beck's music video for "Loser." I seriously love that girl.

I tried for days to convince my daughter that Daddy helped me drink all the empty bottles of alcohol that lined the kitchen counter the next morning, but I don't think she ever did believe me. Which is fine, because I didn't have the strength to argue anyway.

All this from the girl who expected to get rejected in the first place!!

I realized after some serious thought that it wasn't the fact that I still didn't have an agent. It was the doubt that crept in. What if the agent was right? What if all the time I spent writing my book was nothing but a waste? I just felt like I let my family down. And myself. And everyone else who believed in me.

Bottom line is, after crying into my pillow (now smeared with non-waterproof mascara) I decided that I'm going to keep trying. I mean, what else have I got to lose? (Since I clearly already lost my dignity). I want this more than anything, and I still think I have what it takes. So the journey continues...

 I am going to copy our email exchanges below for those of you interested in the rejection process! :) Keep in mind, my responses might sound calm, but I was on my bed doing the "ugly-cry" while I typed. So as you read, try not to laugh too hard picturing my dramatic sobs in the background!

Hi Shawna,

Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to look at Sycamore Meadow. This has many obvious strengths, but in the end I don’t feel confident that I would be able to place it with a publisher, so I’m going to decline to represent.

I’ll be interested to see what you come up with for your next book, though. Feel free to get in touch with me in the future when you’ve got something new that you are showing off to agents and editors. If you want to start with a plot summary and the first 100 pages, that’ll be enough.

Meanwhile, I encourage you to continue your studies in writing. I could see you as someone who would enjoy, and benefit from, pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing. Also, if you haven’t read them already, you might want to read these books:

-          Telling Lies for Fun & Profit by Lawrence Block

-          The Book on Writing by Paula LaRocque

-          Madeleine L’Engle Herself by Madeleine L’Engle

-          Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne & Dave King

-          Plot vs. Character by Jeff Gerke

-          On Writing by Stephen King

And, of course, 77 Reasons Why Your Book Was Rejected. :)

I hope to hear from you again sometime in the future.

Hi ____,
Thank you again for this opportunity. I don't want to take up anymore of your time, but I would love to know if it was the story, the writing or both. You don't have to go into detail, but even that little bit of feedback would help. Thanks again.
-Shawna

Hi Shawna,

 

Feel free to email anytime – no worries.

 

It was the writing. The story is good, but the fiction mechanics are not strong enough for me to feel confident of success in pitching to a publisher. Sorry. On the bright side, your writing is still better than 80% of what I see, so if you can grow, you can be successful. But it will take some dedicated effort and an ability to view your writing as if someone else wrote it. I think if you did view it that way, you’d see that it doesn’t meet up with your own standards…yet.

 

Hope that’s helpful.


That is helpful, so thank you. I appreciate the feedback. Looks like I have some work to do, but that's okay. I'm willing to put in the effort. :) Take care and thanks again. -Shawna

FRIDAY FICTION - THE FINAL BATTLE

THE FINAL BATTLE By Shawna Railey   <---- Click me!

I am so thankful for my gig at fantasybookreview.uk.co right now!! After taking a couple of weeks off (due to a diagnosed bruised ego) I have jumped back on the horse with my latest story. And it feels damn good to be back! So please enjoy and as always, please leave me a comment - they are what keeps me going!!

FRIENDS, FOLLOWERS AND THE BLOG-OSPHERE

If I were to be completely honest, I would tell you that I wasn't too excited to start a blog, sign up for Twitter and extend my base of Facebook friends. I know, that's not exactly the wisest thing to be telling my Twitter followers, Facebook friends and blogging buddies, but it's the truth. I'm not lazy and I'm not a snob. I am not against the whole media angle. I understand whole-heartedly why others enjoy it. I was just positive I wasn't one of them.

Writing itself has been a journey for me. I had to believe I was good enough to do it. Then I had to have the courage to put myself out there and then I had to believe that someone else would think I was good enough to want to read my novel. I had to think I was good enough to capture an agent's interest and good enough to be published.

Unfortunately, I am one of those rare gems that never believes that I'm good enough at anything.

I need to explain that I'm not just saying that for effect. I really do believe that I'm always coming up short. I could explain why I feel that way, but does it really matter? The point is I do. When I wrote about my Oprah dream, I started the post with "I'm going to regret writing this." Why? Because I naturally thought people were going to laugh at me. Who am I to think I could be on Oprah? I was blown away by all of your similar dreams and it felt good. I felt like I belonged. And everyone who took the time to leave a comment gave me that gift.

I did not want to join Twitter or write a blog because I was afraid. Afraid of the rejection I was sure would come. Who in the hell would want to read anything I had to say? Who would want to "follow" me or be my "friend?" Seriously. And who would care if I read their blog or followed them on Twitter? I'm just a flea.

So this post is a thank you, to YOU reading this right now. I feel so fortunate and lucky to have met so many amazing people - fellow writers, parents, artists, and most of all, friends. Maybe someday when I'm PMSing real good I will explain my self-doubt and self-worth, but until then you'll just have to take my word for it. It's real.

Each one of you have made a difference in my life already. I enjoy reading each and every one of your tweets and blogs and comments and emails. You make me laugh, inspire me, teach me things and entertain with your stories of life and wisdom and even the mundane. I find myself visiting one of your blogs and wishing I could meet you for a cup of coffee, or for some of you, a cold beer! So thank you for making me feel like part of the club. I'm glad I found the courage to join.

In the spirit of this post, I want to thank Sophie and Cherie for giving me the Sweet Blog Award. I actually find this quite ironic as they are two of the sweetest ladies I've met. They are generous with their time and are always so positive and fun!!! I really mean this, if you are reading this and have not met them or visited their blogs, I highly suggest you do so. You will not only find a great site, I guarantee you will make a friend. Just say hello and watch them share their sunshine with you!! Thank you ladies, for not only the award, but your friendship as well.

I am supposed to give this award to fifteen people, but I would like to extend it to all who read this and leave a comment below - this week only. I can't pick just 15 because the truth is everyone who takes the time to support a fellow author, and friend, is deserving of this award. So let me know who came to collect and thanks again everyone!!

I'm not usually this sappy - I promise to make you laugh next week!! Potty humor, bad words and all. Although I would like to point out, when my daughter saw the award she genuinely looked shocked. "Sweetest? But you say lots of bad words!!" She gets one book published and now she's a critic? Sheesh!

FLASH FICTION FRIDAY!!

Hi Friends!! This week's story is titled The Gambler. Hope you enjoy and please leave a comment on their site if you like it!! :) Thank you!!

http://www.fantasybookreview.co.uk/blog/2011/05/13/friday-fiction-the-gambler-by-shawna-railey/