Pitch Wars: Enter the Ninjas

A little over a week of submission time remains in the Pitch Wars contest – and the ninja mentors (including yours truly) have entered the field! What is Pitch Wars, you ask? Pitch Wars is a mentoring-based contest for authors seeking representation by literary agents. Authors can choose to query up to three prospective mentors (details below and also here). At the end of the submission window, each mentor will choose an author and together the teams will work to polish the author’s pitch in preparation for its review by a panel of literary agents. The panel of agents (over

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Kyoto’s Bloody Ceilings

In 1600, rebel samurai attacked Fushimi Castle, south of Kyoto, in an attempt to kill five year-old Toyotomi Hideyori, the son and heir of the general who had recently united Japan. After a two-week siege, the rebels breached the walls, set fire to the castle and killed the garrison commander. With their leader dead, the remaining samurai defenders (approximately 400 men) committed seppuku (ritual suicide) inside the keep. The mass suicide flooded the wooden floor with blood, staining the timbers permanently. That portion of the keep survived the fire, although the structure was subsequently dismantled by the new Shogun, Tokugawa

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The Most Patient Shrimp in the World

Most of the time, my seahorses eat at regular places in the tank. The large male (Cygnus) and the female (Ceti) eat near the top of the tank, while the little male (Ghillie) eats alone near his favorite hitch at the bottom of the reef. Last night, however, Ceti noticed me feeding Ghillie and decided to share his dinner instead of swimming up for her own. She quickly discovered there wasn’t enough room for two on Ghillie’s coral hitch, so she snaked her tail around the closest object – in this case, a cleaner shrimp. I ran for my camera,

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An Interview With Jim Lester

Please help me welcome Jim Lester, author of HOOP CRAZY: COLLEGE BASKETBALL IN THE 1950s (September 2012). I met Jim at the 2012 Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold Conference.  He holds a Ph.D in history and has taught at both the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and at Denver Academy, a special high school for students with learning disabilities. In addition to HOOP CRAZY, Jim is the author of FALLOUT, a YA novel published by Bantam/Delacorte, and six books on regional history. Jim married his high school sweetheart and lives in Denver, where he and his wife like

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Gobble Gobble Gobble! The Monday Blog Game.

Gobble. Gobblegobblegobblegobble. It’s Thanksgiving week here in the United States – a time for families and friends to come together, share a meal, and remember the many blessings in our lives. I’m fortunate to be spending the holidays with family around me and hope that every one of you is able to share this week with people (and foods) you love. In honor of the occasion, I’m sharing my grandmother’s recipe for “Nuts & Bolts” (aka “Texas Trash”) – the original party mix. Peggy’s Nuts and Bolts 12 cups dry cereal (Wheat, Corn or Rice Chex) 2 cups pretzels 1

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An Interview with Erika Marks

Please help me welcome Erika Marks, author of  THE MERMAID COLLECTOR (NAL, October 2012). A native New Englander now living in Charlotte, NC, Erika Marks has worked as an illustrator, an art director, a cake decorator and a carpenter. THE MERMAID COLLECTOR is her second novel, after LITTLE GALE GUMBO. “women’s fiction to be savored…a winner.”—Library Journal (Starred Review) I met Erika through The Debutante Ball, where Erika blogged as a member of the Class of 2012. I’m thrilled to have her here at my blog today! And now, on with the interview: 1. Where did you grow up? Will

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The Fair Use Death Match: Parody vs. Satire

Today’s Writing Wednesday installment takes a look at parody, satire, and humorous use of copyrighted materials. Non-protected, non-licensed use of copyrighted materials constitutes copyright infringement, even when the infringer’s intent was innocent. Use of copyrighted works for criticism and comment sometimes qualifies for protection as “fair use” under copyright law. The “fair use doctrine” involves a non-exclusive four factor test which courts use to evaluate third-party use of copyrighted works. The factors include: 1.  The purpose and character of the use (including without limitation commercial vs. non-profit nature) 2. The nature of the copyrighted work. 3. The amount and “substantiality”

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Finding Emo

Our maroon clownfish, Emo, lives in a sprawling anthelia coral at the bottom of the reef. Most clownfish live in anemone “hosts,” but since an anemone would sting the seahorses I can’t have one in the tank. Most seahorse keepers don’t keep clownfish, either – particularly maroon clowns, which have a tendency to become aggressive with age. On occasion, however, an individual learns to play nicely and when we saw the tiny tank-raised baby clown in the coral breeder’s tank we decided to chance it. I’m glad we did. Although Emo defends “his” coral against the other fish in the

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Writerly Gratitude*

*a Guest Post by Marci Jefferson I’m thankful for many things in life, but lately I’m especially feeling like one blessed author. Many writerly friends have contributed to this feeling. Like a critique partner who once told me my character lacked motivation. Like another critique partner who butchered about half the “darling” words from a very early draft of my first few chapters. And like local authors who regularly volunteer to teach writing in my community. Then there is the author who insisted I go with her to a writer’s conference and crash in her room. There is the agent

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