Quote Friday and a Blog Hop

January 18, 2013 at 9:29 am (Writing contest)
Tags: , , , , , , ,

Today’s quote comes from Thomas A. Edison…

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. 

Now, for those of you coming over from Talynn’s blog for the “Celebrate the Small Things” blog hop…Welcome!

And now I shall give up some secrets about Talynn, because I’m all silly and gossipy (and most of all super proud of her still to this day) :)

Did you know that she WON my contest, “What’s Going on Here?!”

Yeah, that’s great, but what will really blow your socks off is this. In my “Best First” contest she was chosen as an Honorable Mention, AND second runner-up, AND she also won the GRAND PRIZE.

Yep, this girl knows how to rock a contest!

Alright, I digress. Now according to this Blog Hop she’s hosting, I’m supposed to mention what small things I’m celebrating.

Well, of course I’d like to first state how I always celebrate the health and happiness of my wonderful husband and seven-year-old twins. Family is everything to me!

Second, I’d like to celebrate that my lovely family supports me and my attempts at publication in the best ways possible, and far too many ways to list here. Let’s just say they are my biggest cheerleaders!

How about you? What are some of the small things you’re celebrating today?

 

17 Comments

Writing Contest News!

October 23, 2012 at 8:59 am (Family, Writing contest)
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

I’m beyond thrilled to announce that I’ve finaled in the Windy City RWA Four Seasons 2012 contest.

I’d like to say that I opened the notification email, calmly read it while a serene smile crossed my lips, and then went on with my day.

But alas, I’m a moron so it went more like this…

It’s dark-thirty am on Saturday morning and the new puppy who had been up for hours finally decided to go to sleep, so I stumbled over to the computer to check my email.

We’d just got back from romping through the pumpkin patch when this was taken. He was so tired that we had to wake him up to take the picture.

I see the email subject line “Windy City Four Seasons Contest Results” and I smile with glee because I know that email contains critiques of my manuscript. (If you’ve never entered a contest before I highly recommend it because published authors are the judges, and they give the best suggestions for improvements to your writing).

I open the email and see the word “Congratulations”, but think little of it because the next thing I see is those magical words “Your judged entries are attached”.

I skim past the rest of the email straight to the bottom in search of the critiques, hoping that my recent revisions (which is why I’d entered the contest to begin with…to get impartial feedback to some major changes) didn’t destroy all my efforts at having a publishable manuscript.

Then, my foggy, sleep-deprived brain finally registers the words, “…moved to the finals…”

My brain says “Whaaaaa?” and my eyebrows slam together in confusion as I quickly scroll back up to the top of the email and read the following…

Congratulations! Your entry, Along the Way Home, has moved to the finals in the Historical Category.

I re-read this about seven times, then call in the hubby because I’m certain that I’m reading it wrong, that my sleep-deprived state is causing my brain to play tricks on me (Recall that I had premature TWINS and spent the first few months of their lives permanently residing in this state of mind, so I totally know what I’m talking about).

Yep, we got to use BOTH signs that came with the stork!

Hubby wanders in, reads it, and smiles. I freak out, then immediately stop freaking out to make him read it again, and then again. By now the twins have wandered in to see what all the fuss is about because their Mommy is screeching up a storm and Daddy is hugging her and saying “Good Job! SO proud of you!” and then the whole family is in an uproar of hugging and cheering.

A great day indeed!

The absolute first thing I do next is to send out a huge blubbering “Thank You!” email to both of my critique partners (Artemis Grey and Margo Kelly ) for helping me get to this point, and then I send out another “Thank You!” email to an author friend of mine, Kaki Warner, who encouraged me to enter contests.

Then the Corbett family went off to the pumpkin patch, where the hubs and I were in such a blissful state of contentment we didn’t even mind that our twins picked two of the biggest pumpkins in the patch, and we ended up spending nearly TWENTY dollars (gasp!) on said pumpkins.

I’ll find out the final results of the contest the first week of December, but I can honestly say I’m just really excited to be nominated. It’s such an honor!

Here’s the list of all the finalist titles. Mine is in the Historical category, titled “Along the Way Home”.

How about you? Have you entered writing contests? How did you handle the results?

12 Comments

Meet the Winners of the “What’s Going On Here?!” Contest

September 7, 2012 at 8:04 am (Funny Stuff, Writing contest)
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Moriah Densley has selected the winner and runner-ups for the “What’s Going On Here?!” Caption Contest.

The Second runner up, and winner of Reid Lance Rosenthal’s book, Threads West, is M.V. Freeman, with the following entry:

“Hey, you said brush your teeth, you didn’t tell us *how* we had to do it.”

The First runner up, and winner of a critique from Moriah of their first 10 pages of their novel,  AND a copy of her e-book, Song for Sophia, is Florence Fois, with the following entry: 

“Hey mom, don’t blame me. It was her idea.”

The Grand Prize winner, and winner of a critique from Moriah of their first 15 pages of their novel, AND and a copy of her e-book, Song for Sophia, AND, a package of writing goodies from me is Talynn Lynn, with the following entry:

“Come back here, bro! You got toilet paper stuck to your foot!”

Congratulations to all the winners!

 

6 Comments

“What’s Going on Here?!” Caption Contest Open for Submissions

August 15, 2012 at 1:00 am (Funny Stuff, Guest Host, Writing contest)
Tags: , , , , , , ,

Yesterday, I introduced author Moriah Densley. Moriah has generously agreed to act as the sole judge for the “What’s Going on Here?!” Contest!

Contest details…

Leave a caption for the following picture of Moriah’s ADORABLE children in the comments section of this post.

Contest deadline is 11:59pm PDT on August 24, 2012.

Humor is appreciated, but not required. (Let’s keep it clean though)

Winners will be announced when Moriah is done judging :)

Prizes are amazing, and as follows…

Grand Prize Winner will receive a critique from Moriah of their first 15 pages of their novel, AND and a copy of her e-book, Song for Sophia, AND, a package of writing goodies (chosen by me and I always include great stuff!)

First Runner Up will receive a critique from Moriah of their first 10 pages of their novel,  AND a copy of her e-book, Song for Sophia.

Second Runner Up will receive book one of Reid Lance Rosenthal’s Threads West, An American Saga, series…Threads West. (I had a leftover book from Reid’s contest) 

The Soapster Award! If you read yesterday’s interview with Moriah you’ll know that she bribes her children in order to get time to write. This award goes to first person who figures out what happens when you microwave a bar of soap. (Prize is a copy of Moriah’s e-book, Song for Sophia)

Best wishes!

20 Comments

“Best First” Contest Winners!!

July 10, 2012 at 1:00 am (Writing, Writing contest)
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The “Best First” Contest winners have been chosen!

First, let’s give a standing ovation to the judge, author Reid Lance Rosenthal. For one, he had to pick only a few winners out of a whopping THIRTY-FOUR entries.  And second, he managed to do so while fighting to save his ranch from the massive Arapaho fire.

Well done, Reid. Well done.

Here’s the criteria he used to determine his choices…

Did the sentence invoke curiosity?

Did the sentence create a palpable visual image?

Did the sentence conjure suspense?

Did the sentence make me want to read more?

Was the sentence properly written and constructed?

First, let’s give a round of applause to the three Honorable mentions. (No particular order)

Artemis Grey       Evernow         YA Dystopian

Life is so much easier without underwear.

 Talynn Lynn       Found: Dead or Alive                   YA Paranormal Suspense

My grave knocked on the door last night, but I refused to answer.

 Sarah Fiete          Brink of Life                      YA Science Fiction

Leroy Splinter was eight years old the first time he was arrested.

*******************************************************************

And now, here’s the Second Runner-Up. This winner gets book one of Reid’s Threads West, An American Saga, series…Threads West.  

Talynn Lynn        Hope’s Redemption           Historical Fiction

Alura stood with Molly, Natalie, and Mary in the dwindling line of the captives.

********************************************************************

And now, the First Runner-Up, recipient of a package of writing goodies AND books one and two of Reid’s Threads West, An American Saga, series…Threads West and Maps of Fate.

Rick Lippincott           The Sicilian Connection          Mystery/Detective

The small 12 footer was tossed about the waves like a yellow rubber duck in a tub full of sumo wrestlers.

*******************************************************************

And now, the Grand Prize Winner. This person will receive a critique of the first page of their novel from Reid, AND books one and two of Reid’s Threads West, An American Saga, series…Threads West and Maps of Fate.

 Talynn Lynn              Only One Time      YA Paranormal Suspense

A man’s hand reached out from the smoky plated glass mirror and caressed River on the cheek.

******************************************************************

Winners, please contact me via email with your mailing address so I can get your prizes out to you right away.

Thanks to everyone for participating, and be sure to check back soon for details about my next fun contest, and to meet the author judge!

15 Comments

“Best First” Contest Update, Fires, and More

July 3, 2012 at 1:00 am (Writing, Writing contest)
Tags: , , , , , , ,

I heard from Reid about when he expects to announce the winners of the “Best First” contest. This is tentative, but he expects to notify me of the winners by this Friday, and I hope to have them posted here on Tuesday the 10th.

I know, I know. You’re reading this and thinking “Tentative?!” “Expects?!” “Hope to?!”

Yep, that’s what I said. And for good reason. I’m not holding him to either date because he’s got a lot going on right now.

If you recall, the first line of the bio paragraph from Reid’s interview on this blog reads, “Reid is fourth generation land and cattle.”

Reid is in the midst of the horrific wildfires gripping the nation right now, specifically the Arapaho Fire. On his Facebook page, he wrote that the situation is “… now grim. Beginning to move dozers, pumps, and other equipment up country to the cabins in the AM. Horse and cattle moving through opened gates down country.”

You can check out his page on Facebook for more details, pictures, and video. And, drop him a line of support and encouragement too if you’re so inclined.

Click HERE to view his personal page on Facebook, including photos of the fire and details of all he’s doing to save his ranch.

Click HERE to view the Threads West page Reid has up on Facebook. He has photos there as well.

Do you know anyone affected by the wildfires across America?

4 Comments

“Best First” Writing Contest Open for Submissions!

June 13, 2012 at 1:01 am (Writing, Writing contest)
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Yesterday, I introduced award-winning author of the Threads West, An American Saga, series, Reid Lance Rosenthal.

Reid has generously agreed to act as the sole judge the “Best First” Contest, and is including a critique to the winner!

Now, without further ado, let’s get to the contest details…

Entrants shall enter the first sentence to any novel they’ve completed, but haven’t published.

If you’ve written more than one novel you can enter the first sentence from each—just complete separate entries for each one.

Entries should include author’s name, title of novel, genre, and first sentence. (Use my example below as a guideline.)

Christi Corbett

Along the Way Home

Historical Western Romance

Every Wednesday Kate stood on the same front porch, her hand poised inches from the door, willing herself to do the unthinkable—walk away without knocking.

All genres accepted.

Enter your sentence in the comments section of this post.

Contest deadline is June 22nd, 2012 at 11:59 pm PDT (Pacific Daylight Time).

Winners will be announced when Reid is done judging :)

Prizes are amazing, and as follows…

Grand Prize Winner will receive a critique of their first page of their novel from Reid, AND books one and two of Reid’s Threads West, An American Saga, series…Threads West and Maps of Fate.

First Runner Up will receive a package of writing goodies (chosen by me and I always include great stuff!) AND books one and two of Reid’s Threads West, An American Saga, series…Threads West and Maps of Fate.

Second Runner Up will receive book one of Reid’s Threads West, An American Saga, series…Threads West.  

Best wishes!

73 Comments

It’s a Summer of Writing Contests!

June 10, 2012 at 9:31 am (Writing, Writing contest)
Tags: , , , , , ,

I love summer, and all the fun writing contests that pop up all over the blog-0-sphere. Especially ones that offer great prizes.

(Hint hint…I’m somewhat foreshadowing for MY awesome contest, the “Best First” Contest that starts this Wednesday :) . Check back Tuesday for more details)

In the meantime, if you can’t wait and want to enter one NOW, click on over to Lisa Burstein’s blog where she’s giving away some amazing prizes.

(This list copied directly from her site)

  • 1 3 Chapter Critique of your book by my editor!
  • 3 Chapter Critique of your book by me!
  • $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card
  • 1 Talking Parrot toy- with Message from Lisa!

Click HERE for info on how to enter, and to learn more about Lisa!

3 Comments

Writing Contest Alert!

December 6, 2011 at 1:00 am (Writing contest)
Tags: , ,

Jamie Corrigan is hosting a really fun writing contest!

Click here for details on “The Twelve Days of Christmas Blogoversary Contest”

Leave a Comment

First Kiss Contest and Bio Paragraph Critique

October 11, 2011 at 1:00 am (Funny Stuff, Writing, Writing contest)
Tags: , , , , , ,

Ahhhh, the first kiss.

In romance novels, it’s a moment of perfection between the characters.

But I’m not talking about that kind of kiss. I’m talking about your first kiss ever. 

In real life, it’s usually a moment of embarrassment and good for a laugh.

And now, you can win a prize for sharing your story!

On author Tawna Fenske’s blog, share your own story of your first kiss/your most awkward kiss and win a signed copy of Tawna’s debut novel, Making Waves.

Click here for contest details.

Yes, I shared my own mortifying story. Read it, have a good laugh, then enter your own!

Also, I recently won a contest hosted by Courtney Miller-Callihan (Literary Agent with Sanford J. Greenburger Associates). My prize was a critique of my query’s bio paragraph.

Click here for her critique.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, either on my first kiss story or on the critique :)

2 Comments

« Older entries

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 117 other followers