Saturday, January 8, 2011

Meet Your Saturday Posters & Win a Book!

DJ and Wendy will rock your weekends with alternating posts every Saturday...
because they're awesome. :-)



DJ DeSmyter

1. DJ, when did you start writing? Why?

I began writing poems in middle school and it wasn't until a few years ago that I began novel-writing. My first official story was a novella that will never see the light of day, but I am so proud of it because it was my first, you know? As a reader, I become invested in the books I read and I often find myself thinking about a book's world and characters days after finishing it. I want to have that kind of impact on readers. But I also hope I can inspire someone to start writing, just like Stephenie Meyer did for me.

2. What do you love the most and hate the most about being a writer?

I love the friendships I have made being a writer/blogger. I've never had many friends who shared the same enthusiasm I have for books and the characters in them, so being part of this community has been wonderful! I can geek out about fictional people all I want and not get "You're crazy" looks! What I hate is writer's block. I'm a firm believer in this and whenever it hits me, I sink into this funk that usually takes a week or two to climb out of.

3. Tell us a little bit about how you came to be with Pendrell Publishing.

I took kind of an unconventional route to getting a book deal. Most writers try and get an agent in order to submit to the bigger houses, but that wasn't the first step for me. Having read Lani Woodland's Intrinsical and loving it, and looking into Pendrell Publishing, I found out they accept unsolicited manuscript submissions. I had planned on submitting to them to kind of warm myself up to the submitting process, but then decided not to. The thing was that my crit. partner did a lot of work on Hunted, so at 2 in the morning, a couple of hours before Pendrell's deadline, I submitted. And, well, you know the rest. I couldn't have asked for a better home for my book. :-)



Wendy Higgins:

1. Wendy, what genre do you write and why?

You know, it’s funny. I was always a lighthearted chic-lit kind of girl. I wrote general fiction, using humor to tackle underlying serious issues. But when I was finally hit with major inspiration to write a complete novel, it was paranormal romance! And much darker than I ever thought myself capable. So I suppose I could go either way. I don’t know if my next book will be paranormal, too. Who knows?

2. What are some things people may not know about you?

I’ve had nearly every customer service job under the sun – waitress, department store associate, banker/loan officer, Chuck-E-Cheese birthday party girl (even dressed as Chuck-E a few times), English teacher, and flight attendant – to name a few. These experiences of working with the public have given me a plethora of writing ideas, especially characterizations! 

3. Tell us a little bit about how you got a literary agent.

I didn't go about finding an agent in the traditional way. I'd been querying a few months with no luck because of my weak first chapter (too much telling, not enough showing). I joined inkpop.com so that I could get some feedback and ideas about how to strengthen the intro - the critiquing there was very helpful. During that time a woman read my whole story on the website and fell in love with it. She was represented by Neil Salkind and she asked if she could put me in touch with him... uh, yes please! I sent him an official query and he called me that same week with an offer. He usually reps nonfiction, so this has been quite an adventure for both of us. We've got some promising stuff cooking up right now. Fingers crossed!


Giveaway!

Wendy is giving away a new, hardback copy of Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare! Just become a follower and post a comment to win. This giveaway is opened internationally. Please leave an email or way to contact you. We look forward to hearing your comments!
The winner will be drawn at random and announced on Monday, January 10th.

33 comments:

  1. Hello awesome Saturday Posters! It's a pleasure to meet you both :)

    Haha, I 100% agree with this "I can geek out about fictional people all I want and not get "You're crazy" looks" - key reason why I LOVE fellow book addicts!

    And I'm so glad to hear that inkpop.com helped Wendy a lot. I joined ages ago but now she's encouraged me to visit more often!

    Thanks for the awesome giveaway, I would love to be entered if this is open internationally :)

    Thanks!
    hanging.by.a.moment_@hotmail.com

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  2. Hey Brodie! Yes, this one is an international giveaway. Thanks so much for dropping by! :)

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  3. Congrats on finding an agent. :)


    kristarwrites(at)gmail(dot)come

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  4. Nice to meet Saturday posters!

    Dj, I completely agree! Although being a lit students means people sometimes don't give me the weird looks, until I start to gush about a million books, talking really fast. It's great to talk to people who understand that!

    And wow, Wendy you've had loads of jobs and that's cool. Also, I love it when you surprise yourself with your writing- especially when you write something you don't normally write.

    Great giveaway! I have Clockwork Angel on my desk waiting to be read. Very excited to start it!

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  5. Thank you, Kris!
    And Jenny, I love when the story takes over - it makes our jobs as writers easier and more exciting. :)
    I hope you love Clockwork Angel as much as I did. I liked it even better than her other stuff.

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  6. Wow Wendy, you sure got yourself a great blog here! =)

    Is the flight attendant job hard? I have a humorous monologue that I do about a flight attendant gone a bit (a lot) crazy, and was just wondering. :p

    Oh, and I'd love to enter for that book of yours! I'm in France right now though... so if that's okay, I'm entering, and you already have my email.

    Best of luck with this blog -- it seems to be off to a great start!

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  7. Yay, Lithia! Being a flight attendant was a cool job, absolutely crazy scheduling and hours though. Definitely not as glamorous as it seems (people pee and puke a lot in their seats... sorry, tmi). But I wouldn't say it was hard. I lived with 7 other FAs in a small apartment, which worked out because we all traveled so much.
    Thanks for entering!

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  8. Ahahaha I saw SM Johnson's blog announcing for the opening of this blog. I was really looking forward for this! wohooo~! I AM VERY EXCITED *jumps up and down*

    Ooohhh~ I'd love to have my own copy of Clockwork Angel ! are citizens from other countries allowed here to ask for that one, too? I want a copy and I'm certainly sure it isn't available in my place. I'm from the Philippines, is that ok? >_<

    ~MidnightTwist

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  9. Yes, Midnight Twist! Consider yourself entered. :)

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  10. that's really great to hear! I think I still have to wait till many months, if not next year, before I can get my hands in this book! (If I'm not drawn the winner) We are certainly not the fastest country to be filled with new published books >_<
    I can be contacted by either my twitter account (http://twitter.com/MidnightTwist) or inkpop account (inkpop.com/profile/86ff782f-498f-43e1-b65a-e23db152caa0/midnighttwist/) I'll definitely tell my friends to watch out for this book. Thank you so much for offering this wonderful opportunity! :]

    ~MidnightTwist

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  11. Love getting to know more about you guys--you inspire us all!!!!

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  12. Thanks for the great post and the giveaway!!! I am an old follower - please enter me! I would love to win Clockwork Angel.
    bevsharp@desch.org

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  13. Hey, guys! Thanks for stopping by and leaving comments! Good luck to everyone who enters the giveaway! :-)

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  14. Though pleasently surprised that DJ is a devastatingly gorgeous guy, I am somewhat disapointed that he is NOT Stephanie Meyer as I'd originally suspected. Bye bye Stephenie, but welcome DJ. *giggle* And knock'em dead on the shelves.

    Wendy, you're even more gorgeous than ever, add that to an awesome talent, and way hey, we have the makes of a future star!

    I'm look forward to some super Saturday posts from you guys. Now I'm off to flog your blog. Ta Ta.

    Good luck!

    Leigh

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  15. Great interview Wendy and DJ. And you guys ARE awesome!

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  16. Great interview! I love reading about routes to publishing.

    jpetroroy at gmail dot com

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  17. Fabulous. It's wonderful to hear your stories and outcomes. Congrats!!

    Vivien
    deadtossedwaves at gmail dot com

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  18. WOW! It's nice to finally have a face with the blog DJ! Thanks for the great suggestion on another book blog - I enjoy learning more about the writing and publishing world.
    Thanks for the give away!
    kjovus
    kjovus(at)gmail(dot)Com
    PS I am a follower.

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  19. It's nice to meet all of you!
    We can't wait to begin some book blogging with you!

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  20. Interesting post.
    I really enjoy hearing how new authors got their books published, I think it makes for a fascinating story.

    Thanks for the great giveaway. ^_^
    New follower
    hauntingorchid (at) aol (dot) com

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  21. I love how excited some of you are to finally see what I look like, haha. Sorry, Leigh, to disappoint you. :-D

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  22. hardback copy of Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare! omg i am so excited i might win :)

    khyla_808ATyahooDOTcom

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  23. HI Saturday posters!

    What type books do you like to read?

    What an awesome giveaway- Clockwork Angel

    vampiremistress2010(at)gmail(dot)com

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  25. You guys are all awesome - thanks so much for hanging out with us!
    BLHmistress, I like to read a little of everything (paranormal and general fiction), but my favorite books are anything with strong romantic tension.
    We'll see you guys on Monday. <>

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  26. BLHmistress ~ I'm like Wendy; I need a book with a great romance, one that captivates me not only as a reader, but also as a person. I read mostly young adult books, but I do enjoy a good Jane Austen or other contemporary "adult" book too. Paranormal romance is, as I call it, my "specialty", though. :-)

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  27. My Saturday will never be the same :)
    it's great to be here !

    uniquas at ymail dot com

    - a follower

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  28. I enjoyed the interviews. I'm a new follower.
    Thanks!
    jentam777 at gmail dot com

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  29. Wow, that's really awesome about the literary agent who normally only represents non-fic.

    km115sweetie at yahoo dot com

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  30. Hi there!
    I just remembered to look at this blog, I heard about it a week ago on inkpop but forgot to come check it out!
    Great SAturday posters here! I like the part about the literary characters,. my friends are always giving me that look! I also like what your saying about talking to people through blogging and stuff, because I have noticed that too. I love blogging because I can talk to people who share my intrest even when I don't know any people that actually do.
    It was also nice to hear that inkpop helped you. I love inkpop, and it's nice to know that other people do too!
    This was a very good blog and I look forward to checking it again!
    ~Baylee Jean

    Email: 7796bday@gmail.com

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  31. Thank you so much! Please check back tomorrow - Kelley Vitollo is going to post our first official blog and announce the giveaway winners! :)

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  32. Thanks for the giveaway!

    crazypplrok@gmail.com

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  33. You're both so darling! All our interviews came out so awesome.

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