Thursday, August 15, 2013

EFFORTLESS WITH YOU by Lizzy Charles BLOG TOUR


It's FINALLY here!

EFFORTLESS WITH YOU

by Lizzy Charles

(Swoon 8/13/13)

I can barely contain my excitement at finally being able to share an excerpt from my good friend and critique partner Lizzy Charles' new release, a YA Contemporary Romance, EFFORTLESS WITH YOU (Swoon Romance). 

AND, as if you need just one more reason to keep reading, EFFORTLESS WITH YOU hit the Top 100 Amazon Best Seller in Coming of Age Novels upon her debut!

Effortless With You Book Blurb:
School is out and Lucy is ready for the perfect summer: lazy days at the pool, invitations to the most exclusive parties, and romantic dates with her hot new boyfriend. That is, until she lands in trouble one too many times and her parents issue the ultimate punishment: a summer job. Suddenly, the summer can't end fast enough.
To make matters worse, the job is painting houses with Justin, the most popular, egotistical guy in school. Spending all summer with Justin might be other girls' dreams, but definitely not Lucy's. After all, Justin is cocky, annoying, and a jerk. So what if he's the most beautiful jerk Lucy's ever seen? Or that his grin makes her forget she’s mad at the world? Or that maybe, just maybe, there's more to Justin than Lucy realizes. Only one thing is certain: it won’t be the summer she wanted, but it might be exactly the one she needs.


And here's what we've all be salivating over,
the excerpt from
EFFORTLESS WITH YOU


"Now, Lucy." She sounds like and elementary-school teacher. "When Justin comes over, I want you to take some photos of us. Pretend you're with me, grabbing some lifestyles moments." She waits for me to nod before continuing. "I'll wink at you when I think the shots are right and what I'm looking for. Once you take the pictures, you can go find your Zach and have a nice time." She pats me on my back before she turns back to the bartender. I feel like a dog. I ignore the pat.

Instead I focus on Justin. I don’t want to see him even more than I don’t want to see Zach. Zach had forgotten but Justin was knowingly cruel. What if he mentions our conversation to Marissa? She’ll be furious I didn’t tell her we talked. I turn the camera back and forth in my hand, playing with the dials. There’s no way he’ll pass up the chance to share.

“Justin, come over here,” Marissa calls. I take a slow, deep breath. “I’ve got something to ask you.” Marissa’s hair stings my cheek as she flips it over her shoulder. She giggles. Her game is on.

“Marissa.” Justin sounds unenthused but she doesn’t seem to notice. Marissa leans in and gives him a long hug. Justin pats her back a bit before distancing himself. He asks the bartender for a bottle of water before turning his attention back to Marissa. “What’s up?”

“What do you think of new uniforms for the basketball team? I’ve got an in with Midwest Jersey through my uncle and he told me he has a great new design you’d love.” She lightly brushes his arm. When he looks down at his arm, she kicks her leg back, jamming me in the calf. Photo time. My calf throbs where her stiletto jabbed me. That’ll bruise.

I take a deep breath. I can’t believe I have to face Justin so soon. Time to harness my loathing energy and turn it into fake energy. Spinning around, I pop the camera up to my face and step out in front of them. Justin looks too perfect in a white Batman shirt and dark jeans, hair curling in the humidity. But his teeth do glow stupidly in the black lights. I’ll focus on that.

This is what I had to say about

EFFORTLESS WITH YOU on Amazon:

Lizzy Charles' debut YA novel is fabulous! I started out reading this one morning, thinking I'd read a chapter or two and lay it down, and then come back when I had a few of my MOM chores done. Yeah... NO.. I GOT NOTHING DONE while reading this well crafted teen novel that took me back to my high school days of in-crowds, outcasts, love-angst, and parent drama.


Lucy, the main character and POV from which the story is told, is real, and I mean REAL. I have two teen daughters, and Lucy could be one of them, either of them, or both of them-or she could have been ME when I was that age. ;) Her struggle to find herself is heartfelt and touched with just the right amount of emotional baggage, just like we all carry into life, whether created by others or in our own minds.

And JUSTIN... the heart-throb hero of this story, well, let's just say, I have an agreement with Lizzy Charles that Justin is one of my literary boyfriends, because he's just so- SO JUSTIN! HOT and cool, all at the same time. Yet he's all heart at the center. A gentleman who knows how to give as good as he gets. Plus, he isn't afraid to tell Lucy how it REALLY is, even when she doesn't want to hear it, especially from HIM.

This is a great read for all YA fans, no matter their age!

I HIGHLY recommend this book and gladly give it a FULL FIVE STAR rating!


Go buy it; you won't regret it. Here's where you can get it on Amazon. I believe it will also be available on Barnes and Nobles soon!


About Lizzy Charles
When Lizzy Charles isn’t scrambling to raise her two spunky toddlers or caring for premature and sick babies as a neonatal intensive care nurse, she’s in a quiet corner writing or snuggled up with a novel and a few squares of dark chocolate. Black tea keeps her constant and she loves guacamole. She married her high school sweet heart, a heart-melting musician, so it’s no surprise she’s fallen in love with writing contemporary YA romance novels. 


Social Media
Swoon Romance (publisher) site: http://www.myswoonromance.com/

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

WriteOnCon

Well, folks, here it is again-August. And that means WriteOnCon, an Online Children's Writers Conference. This is an amazing place to get some great feedback on your work from fellow authors and those ever elusive Ninja Agents. Also you can develop friendships and network with the other participants. Can anyone say 'critique partner'?

If you write anything from Picture Books to New Adult, this conference is for you... and it's FREE! It doesn't get any better than that. 

I've entered my YA Romantic Light Sci-Fi, DEVASTATION, for feedback on my query, which I've probably tweaked a thousand times, but I'm still looking for that perfect combination of magical beans and fairy dust to help me snag my dream agent. I've also posted my First 250 Words in the YA Forum and DEVASTATION's First 5 Pages. The latter being the one I love the best. Like most writers, I can never get enough feedback on my manuscript, and those first five pages are so important.

This year, I've also entered my new Work In Progress, LILY WHYTE, a NA Contemporary Romance (query, 1st 250 words, 1st 5 pages). That's right folks, it's even okay at WriteOnCon to post your unfinished works, just be sure you make it clear that it's a WIP, not a finished MS, so the agents will know. 

There is also a contest for the First 500 Words of a manuscript as well, you can find the deets on that here. This one includes CASH prizes! So, yeah, you may want to enter this.

Something else you might be interested in are the Live Events, most of which have finished, because you know me, I'm regularly a day late and a dollar short. BUT WAIT- you can still go watch them online and glean wisdom even if you aren't there 'live'. Just go to the bottom of the page and click on 'Completed Events.' 

If you've registered and are hanging around there today, go on and friend me through their system. I'd love to take a peek at your stuff. And if you're interested in checking out mine, I'd love that too. If you aren't registered, but would like to, go here.

Do your writer friends a favor, pass it on, so they can reap the benefits of this awesome online conference too. Did you enter? Tell me about your WriteOnCon experience in the comments!