Friday Feature: Tangled Lines

Today I'm happy to share a Leap Books, Seek title I had the pleasure of editing. Take a look at Tangled Lines by Bonnie Doerr.

A string of islands, a knot of criminals, and two teens to untie it. 

High school changes everything for Kenzie Ryan and Angelo Sanchez—especially their relationship. After spending all summer cracking crimes against endangered wildlife in Big Pine Key, Florida, now they barely see each other. Angelo hangs out with a Porsche-driving quarterback and a stunning local “Conch princess” and Kenzie struggles with being a newbie among the Key West cliques. 

But high school drama gets overshadowed when horrific numbers of pelicans are found tortured near the islands where they live. Kenzie begs Angelo to help stop the slaughter, but he refuses until a stunning family secret is revealed. 

When a Sanchez Fish House employee falls under suspicion, the list of suspects explodes, and the discovery of illegal activity exposes Angelo and Kenzie to the same deadly risk faced by the pelicans they are trying to save... 

Bonnie J. Doerr, nature lover and gardener, grew up in western Maryland. Since leaving home, she has lived in eight of the United States. Degrees in reading education, combined with a brief post as a science teacher, led her to write ecological adventure/mysteries. Years of teaching and living in the Florida Keys provided irresistible material. Her books celebrate caring, involved, "green" teens who take action with attitude and a touch of romance. Her work has been honored by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) with a grant for its use in environmental education and has been included in Milkweed Editions literary field guides. She now lives in a log cabin in North Carolina. Island Sting, was released in January 2010 by Leap Books,LLC and was EPIC's 2011 eBook Award winner for outstanding children's book. Stakeout, second in her ecological adventure/mystery series, was a 2011 summer release and one of six finalists for the 2012 YA Green Earth award. Tangled Lines, third in the series, was released August of 2016.

Website: http://www.bonniedoerrbooks.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorbonniejdoerr

*Want your YA, NA, or MG book featured on my blog? Contact me here and we'll set it up.

Monday Mishmash 3/7/16

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Happy Release Day to Rick Starkey!  Blues Bones is officially out in the world today. I can't tell you how much I love this book. If you read middle grade or know any middle grade readers, check this one out.
   
2. Girls' Day!  My daughter is off from school today, so I'm spending the day with her. I love our girls' days.
3. Editing  I'm editing for clients again this week. I'm really lucky to have such amazing authors for clients. It makes my job so much fun.
4. Romantic Suspense  I started working on the sequel to my Ashelyn Drake romantic suspense. I have to say, I really like writing for adults.
5. Class Pictures  It's class picture day at my daughter's school tomorrow. I'll be helping out for part of the day. It's always fun to see the kids all dressed up.

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 2/8/16

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Blues Bones Cover Reveal  I couldn't be more excited to share the cover of Blues Bones by Rick Starkey because this is the first book I offered on as an acquisitions editor for Leap Books, Seek. It's an AMAZING story, and the cover is just as awesome. Check it out and preorder the book here for a special discounted price. The book releases March 7th.
   
2. Into the Fire's New Cover  Into the Fire's new cover has been revealed as well. This book has been heavily edited AND new content has been added. I'm really happy with the end result and think readers will be too. For now, check out my gorgeous cover designed by Deranged Doctor. And thank you to everyone who participated in the social media cover reveal this weekend.
    

   

   Preorder it here.

3. Editing  More client edits and edits for Leap this week. :)
4. The S-word  No, I don't mean spring, though I wish I did. I'd like snow if it was warm and melted within a few hours. ;) We're getting two storms this week and I'm not thrilled.
5. Drafting  Because my editing schedule is crazy, I got an idea for another adult romantic suspense. Of course! So I'm literary jotting down snippets of dialogue and scenes while cooking, lying in bed at night, and any other time when I can spare a few minutes.

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 1/11/16

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Blues Bones Cover Reveal Signups  Signups are now open for the cover reveal for Blues Bones by Rick Starkey. This is the first book I acquired through Leap Books Seek and it's amazing. You can sign up here. 
   
2. Curse of the Granville Fortune Cover Reveal  I'll be revealing the NEW cover of Curse of the Granville Fortune on Friday right here on my blog. Stay tuned!
3. Editing  I'm editing for Leap Books Seek and my own clients this week. Last week I posted that I have a lot of edits on my plate and jokingly asked people on FB to send me dark chocolate, and the very sweet Beth Consugar showed up at the Pocono Writers Conference with dark chocolate for me. :) How nice is that?
4. Pocono Writers Conference  I had a great time at the conference yesterday and I got to meet Megan Erickson, a fellow Corvisiero Literary Agency author, and Veronica Park, a Corvisiero Literary Agent. I also bought one of Megan's books. 

   

   Megan Erickson and me with her book Make It Count

   
   

   

   Megan Erickson, Veronica Park, and me (Veronica was talking when the picture was snapped, but all three pictures we took came out exactly the same. Sorry, Veronica! You still look lovely.)

5. Big Announcement!  If you are a newsletter subscriber, you will hear my big announcement today, and if you are a Kelly's Coven member, you heard the announcement last week. Everyone else will hear it on Wednesday right here. Come back to find out the big news!

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 11/23/15

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Editing  I'm editing for Leap this week. I'm forcing myself to take breaks to give my poor eyes a rest and hopefully cut down on the eye strain and headaches.
2. Into the Fire Trilogy  I got my release schedule for the Into the Fire Trilogy and ALL 3 books will release in spring 2016! I couldn't be more excited about this. This means no waiting to read the next book. The entire trilogy will be in the readers' hands in a matter of weeks! Here's the official release schedule: 
1. INTO THE FIRE February 16, 2016
2. OUT OF THE ASHES February 23, 2016
3. UP IN FLAMES March 22, 2016
3. Jamberry Facebook Party  I'm hosting a Jamberry nail wrap party November 30th-December 7th. I fell in love with Jamberry last spring and now I'm addicted. If you'd like to party with me and possibly win free samples, let me know and I'll add you. No pressure to buy. Just come join the fun.
4. Drafting  As part of my attempt to save my poor eyes, I've decided to reinstate my balanced schedule of writing and editing each day. When I write, I don't stare intently at the screen like I do while I'm editing. So I'm drafting a few thousand words a day now on my WIP, which happens to be an adult thriller.
5. Fright Before Christmas  Have you pre-ordered your copy of Fright Before Christmas yet? It's only $1.99 right now on Kindle. It's a scary fun Christmas read for middle grade and up.
   
6. Happy Thanksgiving  I hope you all have a very happy and safe Thanksgiving. Be careful traveling, and if you go out on Black Friday PLEASE stay safe. People get crazy when there are sales. I'll be waiting for the much safer Cyber Monday. ;)

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 11/9/15

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Leap News  I've signed another author to Leap Books Seek. I'm so excited about this book and can't wait to share the news. I'm just waiting on the Publisher's Weekly announcement. :)
2. Editing  This week I'll be editing the new book I acquired. 
3. Drafting  I'm a little jealous of all the people writing away for NaNoWriMo, so I may attempt to get some words in on my adult thriller this week. I had to put it aside to edit for clients. And yes, you read that correctly. I'm writing an adult thriller.
4. Review Opportunity  I'm looking for a few more readers to review Our Little Secret. If you're willing to read the book and review it on Amazon, let me know in the comments, or email me at khashway(at)hotmail(dot)com and I'll send you a review copy.
5. Huge Multi-Author YA Giveaway  I'm teaming up with a bunch of amazing YA authors to bring you a huge giveaway. There are tons of prizes and tons of chances to win! Here's what's up for grab: 

Prizes:

2 $40 gift cards

eBook of PERFECT FOR YOU by Ashelyn Drake

eBook of FINE ART OF PRETENDING by Rachel Harris

eBook of SOMETHING ABOUT LOVE by Elana Johnson

eBook of ELAVATED by Elana Johnson

eBook of PLAYING WITH FIRE by Sherry Ficklin

One of the GUARDIANS OF GALAXY books by Ednah Walters

RITE OF REJECTION by Sarah Negovetich

4 copies of THE TROUBLE WITH DESTINY by Lauren Morrill

eBook set of THE DARK BETRAYAL Trilogy by Nichole Chase

eBook of TOUCHING SMOKE by Airicka Phoenix 

The giveaway is international and will run from November 9th through November 15th. Enter on my Ashelyn FB page or on the rafflecopter form below. Good luck!

a Rafflecop-ter giveaway

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 10/26/15

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Happy Halloween!  I hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween this Saturday. My daughter is being a Monster High character for the third year in a row (different character every year). She loves dressing up as them.
2. Editing  Last week I finished one client edit. This week I have another to finish, one to start, and a Leap Books Seek edit to get to.
3. Revising  I'm hoping to get some revision time for one of my own books by the end of the week.
4. Lightning Quick Reads Feature  Tomorrow (Tuesday, 10/27), I'll have a story up on Lightning Quick Reads. It's a spooky YA story that will hopefully get you in the mood for Halloween.
5. Christmas Shopping  I've done about 80% of my Christmas shopping already, and it feels good to have such a big jump on the holiday. Still waiting on a few things in hopes they will go down in price once the real sales begin.

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 10/19/15

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. My Bio Couldn't Be More True  The first line of my bio reads that I fully admit to being the most accident-prone person in the world. I truly am. Let me recap last week for you. Saturday evening (after YA Fest) I cut my hand on the rounded edge of my countertop. Yes, rounded edge. Sunday, I got hit in the head with the mega-sized plug from our giant air conditioning unit as my husband carried it up to the attic. I now have a bump on my forehead. Friday night I fell down the stairs and hurt my arm. The X-rays didn't show a break but because of the amount of swelling, the doctor thinks I may have a hairline fracture that only an MRI would see. Still, no need for a cast. So yeah, my bio is spot-on.
2. Good News I Can't Share Yet  In the midst of my awful week, I got good news. I can't share yet, but I'm very excited. :)
3. Editing  I have three books on my plate to edit over the next two weeks. And I'm typing one-handed because of my arm. Eek!
4. New Adult Scavenger Hunt  I'm (as Ashelyn Drake) on Team Blue for the New Adult Scavenger Hunt. Yay! These are always a lot of fun.
   
5. Alien MG Submissions for Seek  I got some great alien MG submissions during my open Twitter pitch last week. It's going to be tough picking just one out of these.

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 10/5/15

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Our Little Secret Feature and Review Opportunity  Limitless Books is organizing a feature and review opportunity for bloggers. We're looking for people to feature the book and possibly review it on November 6th. If that's you, sign up here.
2. Editing  I'm editing for Seek this week. I have two books on my plate and both are amazing.
3. Revising  I have an emotional hangover from revising an Ashelyn Drake new adult title last week. Seriously all the feels! This week, I'll be revising another Ashelyn title, and it's adult. I'm still getting used to the fact that I wrote for adults.
4. Reminder to All Readers  I want to remind everyone to please, please, pretty please review the books you read. I'm so grateful for every review that pops up on Amazon. Yes, even the not-so-stellar ones. Why? Because reviews get Amazon's attention and then Amazon makes the book more visible to readers. So please, if you love books, help the book community by posting a review.
5. Opportunity for Middle Grade Authors  I'm looking for an alien MG book for Seek. I really want one, and I've had a few submitted but none I've loved enough to offer on. So…next week, I'll be taking one-line pitches of MG alien books on Twitter. Got an MG alien book or know someone who does? Follow me on Twitter and be ready with your pitch next week.
6. The Case of the Washed-Up Warlock  I'm so excited to announce that the first book I edited for Leap will releases today! It's a great middle grade book by Patrice Lyle and it's absolutely gorgeous too. Order it here.
   
   
   
   That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 9/21/15

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Revisions  This weekend I finished revisions on one of my YA titles. It was fun to revisit a book I haven't looked at in a while.
2. Editing  I have client edits to work on this week. No surprise there. ;)
3. School Pictures  I'm helping out with school pictures tomorrow. It's always fun to see the kids all dressed up.
4. Leap Submissions  I'm hoping to get through some Leap submissions this week. With upcoming releases, they've been getting pushed to the back burner.
5. Our Little Secret Blog Tour  This week is the blog tour through Inkslinger PR. So far, my little book is holding its own out there. I'm hoping the tour will help spread the word even more.

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 8/24/15

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Editing  Surprise, surprise, I'm editing this week. ;) I have client edits and Seek edits to work on.
2. Writing  I didn't get back to work on my novella last week. :( Maybe this week? Hopefully.
3. Happy birthday to my mom!  My mom's birthday is tomorrow. It's also my cat's birthday on the same day. Happy day before your birthday, Mom! (She reads these posts, so feel free to wish her a great day.)
4. Our Little Secret Blitz sign-up  Sign ups are open for the Our Little Secret Release blitz. No blog needed. Sign up here.
   
5. First Seek Acquisitions  I acquired my first two titles for Leap Books Seek. I loved these books. Here is the announcement in Publisher's Weekly. 
   
6. Fish Detectives is now available!  My newest picture book, Fish Detectives, is now available. 

   

When a treasure chest mysteriously shows up in the goldfish tank, it's a case for Horatio and Alexander, Fish Detectives. But a diver is guarding the treasure, and he's not talking. Horatio and Alexander will need all their comet goldfish speed and know how to crack this case. Suggested age range for readers: 4-8. Get it on Amazon.

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Writer Wednesday: Dos and Don'ts of Submitting to Editors

Now that Seek's open submissions period is over, I wanted to share some things I saw on the other side of the submissions desk. I hope you find this helpful.

First, let's start with the negative—things I saw that I wish I hadn't. These are things I beg you not to do when querying. 

• Queries that didn't follow submission guidelines  I get that every publisher (and agent) tends to have specific submission guidelines and it can be overwhelming for authors, but please take the time to follow them. If you don't, it shows us you don't value our time or our preferences. That's no way to start a relationship with someone.
• Queries that aren't at all what I'm looking for  I received queries for young adult books and early readers, yet my submission guidelines specifically say I'm looking for middle grade books. Querying with a book that isn't what an editor is looking for is wasting everyone's time, including your own. Besides, who wants an unnecessary rejection?
• Misspelling the editor's name.  I understand Kelly is both a girl's name and a boy's name; however, a simple Google search brings up only one Kelly Hashway—me. And I have my picture all over the place. I'm not Mr. Hashway. I also got a lot of "Dear Ms. Hathaway" queries. I'm not related to Anne Hathaway or any other Hathaways. If you can't take the time to proofread to ensure you're spelling an editor's name correctly, you're telling me you don't care. That doesn't make me care much in return. :(
• Replies asking if the author can revise and resubmit  If an editor loves your writing and concept but thinks the book needs work, he/she will tell you to revise and resubmit. Please don't email me and ask if you can—or worse, just assume you can. If I took the time to give you helpful feedback, use it to move forward and get ready for your next submission.
• Forget to include a query  I kid you not. I received more than one query that didn't have a query letter. They were simply "here's my attached manuscript" messages. I didn't even know what the books were called. If you can't care enough to describe your book to me or even tell me the title, I'm not going to be the least bit excited to read your pages.

Okay, enough negativity. Let's move on to the positives—things I saw and loved. These are the things you should do when querying:

• Be professional  I had several people who know me from this blog or other social media sites query me and they still addressed me as Ms. Hashway or Mrs. Hashway instead of Kelly. Kudos to you, because even though I was thinking, "Oh yay, INSERT NAME HERE is querying me" I still handle all query letters equally. Yes, I had to pass on queries from people I know, and yes it made me sad. But this is a business and we have to remember that.
• Appreciate any feedback you get, because it's rare  I got the nicest response from a pass. I didn't know this person at all, but they responded to my pass to thank me for getting back to them in such a timely manner and for offering helpful feedback. I'm not going to lie. I got a few others like this one and they kept me going when my inbox was spilling over. This showed me these people get it. They get how busy editors are and appreciate that an editor took the time to offer feedback when it's not mandatory. These are people I'll remember if they cross my inbox again.

Okay, there are other things you should do, but I think you can figure them out from my list of things you shouldn't do. Do you have any query tips to add to my list? Feel free to share in the comments.

Monday Mishmash 8/17/15

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Our Little Secret Is Up for Pre-Order!  Guys, I'm SO excited for this book. You have no idea. The pre-order went up last Friday and it's only $3.99, which makes me happy. You can pre-order your copy here. 
   
2. Seek's Open Submissions Period Is Over  My open submissions period has ended. I want to thank everyone who queried me. I have two acquisitions I'll be sharing soon and I have four full manuscripts on my Kindle waiting for me to make decisions on. On Wednesday, I'll share some tips from what I saw in my query inbox. Be sure to come back for that.
3. Editing  With life getting back to normal after open submissions, I'll be editing for clients again this week.
4. Writing  Finding writing time has been tricky lately. I had to stop working on a novella, but I'm hoping to get back to it by the end of the week. Fingers crossed.
5. Vacations  This summer we didn't get to go on the vacation we wanted, so we are planning a trip to Aruba for next summer. I know it's a long time from now, but I'm already excited.

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 8/3/15

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Our Little Secret Cover Reveal  I'm having a cover reveal this Thursday, August 6th. It's going to be a social media blitz, which means you don't need a blog to join in. You can share the cover on any social media site. If you'd like to be part of it, you can sign up here.
   
2. Open Submissions For Leap Books Seek  I'm open to unagented submissions until August 14th. If you have a middle grade book between 30,000 and 40,000 words, you can submit your query (in the body of the email) along with your synopsis and first 3 chapters (as Word attachments) to kellyhashway.leapbooks@gmail.com. Your subject line should read OPEN SUBMISSIONS: TITLE OF YOUR BOOK.
3. Editing  Somehow, I'm booked through the rest of the year with edits, so I'm editing all the time. LOL 
4. Drafting  I'm trying to draft a novella in between editing. It's going very slowly, which isn't like me at all. I need some help from my muse on this one.
5. Free Monthly Newsletter  My FREE monthly newsletter goes out this evening. If you aren't signed up to receive it, but would like to click here.

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Writer Wednesday: Big Announcement and Opportunity for Writers

I've been mentioning that I have news to share, and I can finally tell you what it is. I am now an acquisitions editor for Leap Books, Seek. This is the middle grade line for Leap. You can read the announcement on Leap's blog here.

As many of you probably know, I've been working as a copy editor for Leap for about a year now. That means I've had the privilege to work on some great titles from all of Leap's lines—Surge (YA), Shine (YA/NA novellas), and the newly renamed Seek (MG). Seek was formerly known as Frolic, but since the characters in the books seek adventure and don't actually frolic, the name was changed. ;)

Now the news that's good for you. Yes, YOU! I see you. In August, I'm opening up to unagented submissions for a very short period of time. Of course, if you have an agent, you are welcome to submit too. But this is an opportunity for those without representation at the moment, since Seek is usually only open to agented submissions.

So get ready! I'm looking for adventure, mystery, fantasy, and contemporary. And remember, it must be a middle grade title. If you don't want to miss my announcement of when the open submission will take place and where to send your query, follow me on Facebook and/or Twitter where I'll be sure to post the details.

Monday Mishmash 2/16/15

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Drafting  I didn't get much drafting in last week because I had so many client edits. I think I wrote about 3,500 words and that was all on Friday. This week I'm hoping to write more.
2. New Agency Sibling  If you didn't hear the good news, DL Hammons announced that he's signed on with my agent, Sarah Negovetich. I'm so happy for DL, who runs the Blog Blitz I'm part of and Write Club. Congrats again, DL!
3. Editing  I have more edits on my plate this week. 2015 has really been the year of editing for me so far.
4. Beware the Little White Rabbit Animated Cover  By now, you probably know I'm an editor for Leap Books. Well, I'm editing this amazing anthology that just got an animated cover. Check it out. (If you don't see the animation, click on the image.)
   
5. Looking For Love Cover Reveal  Last Friday, I revealed the cover of the final installment in the Campus Crush Companion Series (written as Ashelyn Drake). In case you missed it, here it is:
   

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?