Illegally Blonde!

Today a special package arrived for me in the mail. No. Not an author/agent contract, but something grand, nonetheless.

This afternoon, I received Nelsa Roberto's debut novel, Illegally Blonde, and before I could return to our carport, I read through the first six pages! Yes! The writing is fabulous. Not only did I find the synopsis intriguing, the connection I felt with the characters was enough to make me race through the beginning pages in a matter of seconds. The best part - discovering the nicest inscription written to me on the inside cover. In that moment, I felt so lucky to have won Ms. Roberto's blog contest.

So, for tonight's post, I've decided to share the synopsis of Illegally Blonde and provide a brief bio of Ms. Roberto. She is definitely a debut author that everyone should keep their eye on!

When seventeen-year-old Lucy do Amaral comes home with bleached blonde hair she expects a major lecture and another grounding from her strict Portuguese parents. What she doesn't expect is the shocking news that her family are illegal aliens who've just been told they're being deported in less than a week. Lucy's furious at being forced to leave her boyfriend and miss prom to go live in some backwater village in a country she knows nothing about. But as Lucy discovers, intentions and reality are sometimes worlds apart - or an ocean away.


Nelsa Roberto is a Portugese-Canadian who was born in a remote logging community in northern Ontario, grew up in a farming community in southern Ontario, and now lives in Toronto with her husband, three children, and Golden Retriever. To follow Ms. Roberto on her blog, go to http://out-of-the-wordwork.blogspot.com/

Amazing Contest & Humpday Reads!

As of 8:03 P.M. last night, I officially landed a spot at Querytracker's agent-judged query contest in which the super talented literary agent, Kathleen Ortiz, volunteered to critique the first 100 entries received.




Phew...I'm still stoked about this one!

You see, from countless hours of stalking Ms. Ortiz' blog (www.kortizzle.blogspot.com) and other social networks, I knew this contest would fill within minutes. So, with help from my ever-so-patient husband, I was able to sneak to my parent's home and complete the online form with nothing more than seconds to spare before the contest filled. Seriously, I barely had time to verify if I'd cut and pasted the first chapter of my YA novel successfully to the contest form.

But I did!!! *Cue confetti falling from the ceiling*

Now, to some of my friends reading this post, you may not understand what all the hoopla is about. Let me explain!

Anytime an aspiring writer *imagine ME waving a huge, red flag* receives feedback from a top-notch agent, the effort is worth this and so much more! As brutal as Ms. Ortiz' critique may be (she seems super sweet and very professional), I'm still hopeful she connects with the first chapter of my YA novel and asks for more. At this point in my writing career, any feedback is good feedback.

Okay, given that I hear little footsteps running around upstairs I'm going to quickly switch gears and list my book recommendation for this week's version of Humpday Reads.

I suggest: The Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr All her life, Aislinn has been able to see faeries, and they are everywhere, invisible to mortals except for her. And these are not your average cute Disney pixies -- they are the same size as humans, and can be very nasty, especially to those mortals who can see them. To survive, Aislinn has had to learn to pretend not to see them, and to live behind steel walls, which keep them out.
All Aislinn wants is to explore her growing relationship with Seth, finish high school, go to college, and lead a relatively normal life. But now she's being stalked by the faeries, especially one, Keenan, who is the Summer King and wants her for his Queen. Keenan is able to endure steel, and will have Aislinn whether she agrees or not -- if she doesn't, the power of his mother, the Winter Queen, will be unchecked, and winter will descend on the earth forever. (www.commonsensemedia.org)

I hope you enjoy! Tory