I wrote this for you, Pitch Wars. Perhaps I have too much free time on my hands. Anywho, thank-you to everyone for your dedication to making aspiring novelists dreams come true. Enjoy! Ashley ‘Twas the night before #PitchWars, and all through the web, writers were stirring, not a lone one a’bed. The queries were sent to the inbox with care, in hopes that a mentor soon would be there. The spouses were nestled all snug Read more…
TODAY’S BREW: Spikey Eggnog! Until my liver screams for Christmas to be over! By Julie I am a smelly person. WAIT! I don’t have an odor, I mean that I’m very scent-driven, as I’m sure most of us are. Scent is the most evocative of the senses, and Christmas is the most smelliest time of year! Being the anti-Grinch, I look forward all year long to the baking of cookies, the scent of Christmas tree Read more…
The holidays mean drinking for the Fairholm Family in the New Adult book Elegantly Wasted. Actually, any day means drinking, but the holidays are no exception. I have crafted a few different drinks for special occasions – which can be viewed on the Wasted Blog. Give this bubbly cocktail a try… great for both Christmas and New Years. Pomegranate Champagne Cocktail Pick your favorite champagne! It helps if it’s on the dry side. (I Read more…
Today is December 12th. Which means that Christmas is super soon. I’m in a simultaneous state of YIKES (presents to buy!) and YAY (presents to get!) And in the spirit of Christmas, the Freshman Fifteens and I have a present for YOU. In case you didn’t know, the Freshman Fifteens are a group of fifteen debut YA authors whose books release in 2015.We’re doing a giveaway to celebrate Christmas and the fantastic writing community. There Read more…
I know you couldn’t wait, but alas, all good things … So I won’t go into much detail. If you were the top pick of one of our fabulous mentors, you may not enter any contests until after the agent round. Alternates may enter contests. Not all mentors are sending out response emails. It’s not a requirement and some are busy with the day job and deadlines. Your mentor will contact you on how to Read more…
Well, it’s been a week of swimming in applications, Gmail headaches, and making connections with new friends and your mentors have finally chosen their mentees and alternates. Below you will find the golden Pitch Wars list of teams. But, wait! It’s never a contest until you throw in a surprise, right? If you didn’t make on the below list, we have six awesome Ninja Elf Mentors jumping into the slush and choosing a Read more…
My favorite Christmas traditions go hand-in-hand: baking delicious treats and spending time with friends and family. For years, we hosted a Christmas Cookie Open House at our home every December. I’d bake approximately 300 dozen cookies (yes, I did say 300 DOZEN – I usually made between 12 and 20 dozen each of at least 16 different varieties of cookie), and we’d invite all of our neighbors, co-workers, friends and acquaintances to come sample the Read more…
Once upon a time, in a land far away from sugar plums or even fairies of any kind, there was a little girl who asked Santa for a magic wand. She asked him in a crowded mall, shyly expressing this One Truest Wish to a man whose fake white beard hung down a little too low and who chuckled and winked and promised her that wand. When instead she got a piece of sequinned plastic Read more…
It starts not with a gun, but with a whistle. You won’t find a race with fewer frills than this one. No mile markers, regular water stops, pinned-on numbers, or electronic timing; one of my former track coaches holds a stopwatch at the finish time. There’s no tracking device to dissuade you from, say, walking off of the course, returning to your car, and driving off into the sunrise. The annual holiday “fun run,” Read more…
Rekindling My Christmas Spirit I remember sitting in front of the frost-laced window, staring out into the flurrying snow, and wondering whether I would get a glimpse of reindeers sailing through the air, pulling a large sleigh behind them. Of course, I was six years old at the time. I also remember looking out a different window as an adult, with my five-year-old niece on my lap, and pointing up to the crisp, clear moon Read more…