Writer Mama Giveaways Start Tuesday

I am afraid this post will be brief. I've been a bit under the weather with the nasty bug that's been going around.

But I wanted to remind everyone that Christina Katz Annual Back-to-School Book Giveaways are coming. Starting Tuesday, September 1, 2009 she will be giving away a ton of great books, mostly on writing. You can find the list on her blog. I've won before and so can you. Just stop by an leave a comment on each day's post for your chance to win.

Think Outside the Bridge?

As an aspiring writer, I spend mega amounts of time reading about the right way to create novels, essays, and query letters. What should the exact word count be on that young adult novel? What kind of font should I use to submit my manuscript?

Then someone sent me a picture of this spectacular water bridge, (scroll down a bit to see it) and I laughed with the sheer joy of seeing something so creative. I mean, when you think of building materials for a bridge, water isn't generally numero uno on the list. Sometimes I forget that breaking-the-rules creative part in striving to do things the "correct" way.

Cool bridge. 

Win a Restaurant in Essay Contest

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Ever dream of owning your own restaurant? Kyle Caballero is offering the public the chance to win his in an essay contest.

For the $200 entry fee you get to explain in 250 words why you should own a restaurant. The winner gets Caballero's Landeck Tavern in Landeck, OH. They will start accepting entries on Monday, August 24, 2009.

The deadline is October 31, 2009 and the contest will be judged by "an independent group of journalists." You can check out more about it on his website winmyrestaurant.com. The winner will be informed on November 25, 2009. Be sure to read the official rules if you're interested.

Christian Romance Publisher Seeking Submissions

ChristianWriters.com reports that publisher Torn Veil Books is seeking christian romance submissions.

Looks like a new company, so you might want to do some research or wait to see what they first publish. They do clearly outline their royalty structure.

Dirt is Good For You

I am happy to announce my Babble.com essay "Straight to the Bottle" will be available in a collection of parenting essays called Dirt is Good for You starting September 9. It's available for preorder on Amazon.com right now if you want to check it out. 

If you ever felt like you screwed up with your kids, this book is a great little guilt-reliever. If you've never felt that way, well this book will horrify your socks off and you shouldn't read it. It's a collection of the popular "Bad Parent" columns Babble.com has published over the last few years.

Do You Really Want to Be in A Critique Group? Really?

It's critique week! Seeing lots of great posts around the blogosphere on critique groups and here is another over at Warriorwriter's Blog about what how a serious writer conducts themselves at critique vs the accolade-gathering, I'm-not-really-here-to-crit-anyone else writer. 

I love the analogy with Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares show. I haven't seen it, but now I must watch some episodes.

How to Give and Take Critiques

Sunrise by Tricia Grissom

Good morning.

Check out this excellent guest post from Rick Daley over on Nathan Bransford's blog about the do's and don'ts of critiques. Love the sandwich approach.