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shalannaI can't stand for the sad stuff to be the first thing that we see here, so let's do a happy post! Maybe it'll attract happy stuff.
***VOTE FOR ME*** (skippable section for those who don't actually like me, but read this journal to find ammo)
If I understand things correctly, today's the first day of voting for first chapters in the "Court TV"/Gather First Crime Novel Contest. I don't like to ask people to join a website (Gather) just to vote for my chapter, so that's not what I'm doing. But if you'd like to see what the first chapter of my original Jacquidon Carroll murder mystery looks like (actually the first couple of chapters, because they allowed up to 10K of text!), take a gander. If you are a Gather member or don't mind joining, then you can vote! But remember, as their rules say, "ONLY a vote of 10 counts--nothing less." They've got this screwed-up voting system from the previous contests, and they're still using it. What's the point--just have a YES or NO button, I say. But they tell you to have people vote 10 if they're going to rate you, so oh well.
They're going to enter you in a sweepstakes to win Borders gift cards each time you vote, BTW, so there's another carrot on this stick as well.
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977169428
This is the one that a powerhouse agent wanted to see after the Southwestern MWA conference, but she wrote back to say that because of the S&M content (to find the real killer, my heroine and her sister have to venture into a couple of S&M clubs, public spaces that are nevertheless a bit offbeat to the mainstream, to ask questions), it would have problems coming from a newbie. Political correctness would dictate that we put a positive spin on the lifestyle as a lifestyle (although I hadn't put a spin one way or the other on it, just presented it as something that exists), but then lots of uptight people could get upset; also, since it isn't the lifestyle of my heroine or her sister, it comes across as a bit scary (especially because it appears our victim was treated badly by some people), and she was afraid that would offend OTHER people. In short, she saw it as impossible to place. Rats! But I still think it's a funny book.
About the Gather voting, with a list of everyone's chapters
Somebody forwarded a link to a MySpace page for a "Shalanna" to me. She's a cute one and skinny, so you may rest assured this isn't me. Y'all know I'm not an Aquarius. *grin* O, to be 23 again and know what I know now. I want a do-over!
And THIS time, I'm not going to turn down that chocolate chip cookie.
If I understand things correctly, today's the first day of voting for first chapters in the "Court TV"/Gather First Crime Novel Contest. I don't like to ask people to join a website (Gather) just to vote for my chapter, so that's not what I'm doing. But if you'd like to see what the first chapter of my original Jacquidon Carroll murder mystery looks like (actually the first couple of chapters, because they allowed up to 10K of text!), take a gander. If you are a Gather member or don't mind joining, then you can vote! But remember, as their rules say, "ONLY a vote of 10 counts--nothing less." They've got this screwed-up voting system from the previous contests, and they're still using it. What's the point--just have a YES or NO button, I say. But they tell you to have people vote 10 if they're going to rate you, so oh well.
They're going to enter you in a sweepstakes to win Borders gift cards each time you vote, BTW, so there's another carrot on this stick as well.
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977169428
This is the one that a powerhouse agent wanted to see after the Southwestern MWA conference, but she wrote back to say that because of the S&M content (to find the real killer, my heroine and her sister have to venture into a couple of S&M clubs, public spaces that are nevertheless a bit offbeat to the mainstream, to ask questions), it would have problems coming from a newbie. Political correctness would dictate that we put a positive spin on the lifestyle as a lifestyle (although I hadn't put a spin one way or the other on it, just presented it as something that exists), but then lots of uptight people could get upset; also, since it isn't the lifestyle of my heroine or her sister, it comes across as a bit scary (especially because it appears our victim was treated badly by some people), and she was afraid that would offend OTHER people. In short, she saw it as impossible to place. Rats! But I still think it's a funny book.
About the Gather voting, with a list of everyone's chapters
Somebody forwarded a link to a MySpace page for a "Shalanna" to me. She's a cute one and skinny, so you may rest assured this isn't me. Y'all know I'm not an Aquarius. *grin* O, to be 23 again and know what I know now. I want a do-over!
And THIS time, I'm not going to turn down that chocolate chip cookie.
