UtopYA Con 2014 Fan Invasion Author Signing Event

Happy Friday, everyone! Well, it's time for the weekend and two days off. I heard that sigh of relief from you all! *grin* Today, I'm gonna take a moment to tell you about a very special event happening at UtopYA in June. An Explorer Package (general admission) is currently $75.00, a Superstar Package (VIP access) is currently $95.00, and a ticket to get into the Awards only is currently $55.00. But, on Friday, June 20, 2014, from 6pm-9pm, UtopYA Con is holding a Fan Invasion event. Price of admission? Free if you bring a new or gently used children's book to donate to Book 'Em; otherwise, it's just $5. All proceeds from this event will go to Book 'Em.

I know! They've lost their minds! How awesome is that?

You can find out more here.

However, there will be a ton of great authors to meet and greet, and get your copies of their books signed!

Which authors are participating? These:

See anyone you know on there? *grin* Yes, I'm up there; but so are a ton of the authors you've gotten to know right here on the blog through the awesome author interviews I've been doing. Still to come: Amy Evans, Eva Pohler, and Elizabeth Kirke! Yup, meet them here, then meet them there.

Heck yeah! You can come say hello to me and get your copy of any (or all) of my books signed! Share the banner with your friends, grab a children's book, and come meet us all!

Join us for a ton of fun! I look forward to seeing you at the event.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Most Popular Posts of 2013

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I know, I know, I'm late. But, I have good reason. This morning, I had a meeting with Ms. Sandi Tuttle, a dentist appointment, and a very sick child to contend with. Onward and upward! Today, I'm going to give you all links to some of the posts on my blog that have had the most traffic. They're probably the most useful posts, too. Strap in, get your fingers ready to do some clicking, and let's get going!

Because all posts are better with a cute baby with cake on his hands and feet.

Up first, I'm gonna give you my two free PDFs. These have been downloaded a lot and are free for you to keep and share, providing you don't change any of the content.

This one is on Branding Yourself.
This one is a A Novel Checklist.

Now, we move on to the posts!

Monkey Wrenches
Dialogue Tags vs Action Tags
Pesky Pronouns
Human Nature Series (last post)
Enneagram Personality Types
Comma Part 3 (links to part 1 and 2 included)
Timeline Tips
Common Editing Errors
Templates for Using MS Word for Print
He Said, She Said, Who Said What?

Love those? Here's a page with them all (plus others that didn't get as much traffic but are still just as useful). I even categorized and summarized them. Yup, all for you readers.

Thanks for making 2013 awesome. I hope to bring just as much great content in 2014!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Rafflecopter has Flash Sale for Annual Subscriptions

Happy Hump-Day, blogospherians! Everyone relax and take a deep breath. If you make it through today, there's just two days left until the weekend arrives. Yup, I heard that cheer. Way to stay positive! Today, I'm talking about yet another e-mail I got. This one involves Rafflecopter again, that awesome little widget we all love and couldn't live without. Let's get going!

If you're a blogger, author, reader, or you just love to host giveaways and use Rafflecopter to manage them, this announcement will make you smile, squee, and jump up and down. I'm sure everyone using the site with the free subscription has seen this:

At that price, bloggers pay $95.88 a year for access to the awesome features listed. One of the most notable is adding an image to your giveaway. People like images, folks! There's a reason Pinterest does so well.

Moving on...

Until 11:59pm MST on Thursday, September 19, 2013, you can have an annual subscription to all the awesome extras for bloggers for just $59.

PLUS! I know, I know, the plus is always awesome! You'll get a Rafflecopter t-shirt and handful of stickers shipped to your door (worldwide) FREE when you subscribe. How cool is that?

You want the link yet?

Are you frothing at the mouth?

Okay, okay. Here ya go:
This link will take you to the Annual Subscription page. It should look something like this:

Follow the prompts and you're golden. Make sure you visit this page so you aren't confused when your e-mail saying you've subscribed for the $7.99 a year plan arrives in your inbox (I straight freaked out, I gotta tell ya). FAQ: Linky for you!

May all your giveaways shine forevermore! As always, I get no kickbacks from anything you see here on my blog. I share information and choose what it's going to say. Jo Michaels Blog is ad free and will remain that way forever.

While you're here, don't forget to visit the interview with my featured UtopYA Con 2014 author, M.R. Polish!

Were you aware of this sale? What features will keep you up at night thinking about the possibilities?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Meet 20 of the Authors of UtopYA Con 2014

Happy hump-day, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I'm excited to talk about something wonderful that you'll notice happening on the blog over the next nine months. I'll be playing host to twenty lovely ladies that are attending UtopYA in June of 2014. Each one of them is an author and will be doing an interview, then a guest post, and will be featured on the blog sidebar for two weeks. This will consume every Monday from now until the con begins on June 20th.

I do hope you'll be joining us at UtopYA Con 2014! After all, you'll know twenty of the authors after this rush (twenty-one if you count me). *wink*

Without further ado, I give you the list!

M.R. Polish – September 16 through September 29
Felicia Tatum – September 30 through October 13
Allyson Gottlieb – October 14 through October 27
Tania Penn – October 28 through November 10
N.L. Greene – November 11 through November 24
Megan Curd – November 25 through December 8
Bethany Lopez – December 9 through December 22
Kristina Circelli – December 23 through January 5
Michelle Nicole – January 6 through January 19
Casey Bond – January 20 through February 2
Ripley Patton – February 3 through February 16
Carlyle Labuschagne – February 17 through March 2
Alison Pensy – March 3 through March 16
Rachel Harris – March 17 through March 30
C.A. Kunz – March 31 through April 13
S.G. Daniels – April 14 through April 27
Amy Evans – April 28 through May 11
Eva Pohler – May 12 through May 25
Elizabeth Kirke – May 26 through June 8
Tia Silverthorne Bach – June 9 through June 20

Anyone you know up there? Be sure you come back and check out the interviews (ya'll know I ask the hard questions!), guest posts, and books these lovelies have to offer. After all, you never know what'll happen next when you get a group of authors together; much less Young Adult and New Adult writers.

Come on back tomorrow for more of our regularly scheduled program. I may get deep and philosophical with you all. I may bring you a book review. Again, anything could happen!

Who are you excited to know more about?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

20 Ways to Plot Ideas - Part One of Two

Happy Monday, good people of the blogosphere! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and are sitting with your muses for the writing days ahead. Today, I'm gonna tell you ten ways you can get great plot ideas. I hit on this a bit before when I gave you a little bit on How to find an Idea.This will be a lot more in depth. Don't worry, ten more will come tomorrow! So grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

1. Fire in Your Belly
I've breached this first one in the past. It's all about what fires you up. What issues get you all riled up? Pick one and apply some pressure. If you care, your reader will care. But be sure and turn it into a story that people can identify with. No one likes a long lecture.

2. Listen to Music
Sometimes music is just the thing to get your creative juices flowing. Listen to the words and close your eyes. Picture scenes in your head and write a few down.

3. Visualize Scenes
Before you begin writing for the day, take a few moments and watch a little movie in your head. Think of an issue, character, or situation you'd like to hit upon. Free write for at least an hour. Don't think about plot, structure, or punctuation/grammar. Put it away and don't look at it again for a few days. After that, go back and give it a read through. See what makes you smile. Cut it out and use it.

4. Pick up a Newspaper
See what's going on in the world at large. Twist it around and use it as a plot. Those six people who got arrested for cooking meth in their house? They must have a background! Who better to write on a compelling story like that than you?

5. Fetishes/Obsessions
Think about what people are into. Is it a weird predisposition to wear other peoples' shoes? How about a desire to collect things (hoarding)? What could they collect? If you're a fantasy author, this could be pixies they keep in jars; and the MC could be willing to do anything to get that next, rare one.

6. Thought Web
Back when I was talking about Blog Topics and Where they Come From, I discussed thought webs. This technique works for novels, too! Choose a word and go nuts!

7. Jobs
Start with a job and work your way around what the person in that profession must be dealing with. Maybe the stress leads down a path of self-destruction, maybe it leads down the road of homicide. Perhaps that job has made everyone crazy because of a bug in the ventilation system. Your imagination is the only thing holding you back with this path to plot.

8. Change the Genre
Alice in Wonderland and Snow White have been redone so many times! Why? There's a great plot there that's begging for a makeover! Grab a book and think about how it can be changed to suit a new genre. Make The Princess and the Pea a Sci-Fi story, change the names, outcome, and situation. At the very least, it'll give you direction.

9. I really want to write...
Take twenty minutes out of your day and grab a sheet of loose-leaf. Start with "I really want to write about..." and fill in the rest with what your heart desires to put on paper. Let it take its own direction. Don't force it.

10. Borrow
Do you have a favorite novel? Borrow the plot line. Change everything but the plot. Give characters the personalities you always wanted them to have and write about it. Remember, there are few original plots. It's what happens from point A to point B that's different.

I hope this gets you writing if you were in a slump.

What do you do to get plot ideas?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo