I just have one thing to say!

Made It over the NaNo hump!

I'm happy to say that I've made it over the NaNoWirMo hump and I'm actually about a thousand words ahead, so it looks like I will be eating thanksgiving dinner after all. Whoohoo!

Why I haven't posted for a while.

NaNoWirMo.
I'm a thousand words behind and still trying to balance being a good mom and have clean dishes to eat on.

THE NEXT BIG THING!

I've been tagged in the next big thing by Luke Peterson. Now I have to answer some questions about my book and tag someone else. I must admit it, I pretended like I was on a live chat, answering questions from a celebrity blogger.

What is the working title of your book?

Who is Alexander Mitchell?

Where did the idea come from for the book?

My mind tends to wander on long car trips as I stare out the window at the vast landscapes around me. It was on one such car trip, along the strip of freeway from Vegas to LA that I got the inspiration behind what has become the premise for Who is Alexander Mitchell?.

What genre does your book fall under?

It’s light science fiction that takes place in the present day. Sort of bridge between today’s reality that leads to a dystopian future where society is carved by a movement similar to Hitler’s desire for a supreme race, but in this case it’s supreme DNA.  

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

This is a bit of a tough one for me since the main characters are teenagers and all of the actors I like keep getting older.
A seventeen year old version of Maggie Q and Raviv Ullman

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

After a failed assassination attempt on his life, Xan must unlock the mystery of his past and face a darker version of him in order to save his life and the lives of those he loves. .

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I’m sort of leaning on self-publishing. I didn’t have aspirations to be a writer growing up and don’t feel like I need the validation of being published by a sanctioned press. Besides, I always wanted to start my own business. That being said I have sent out some queries. If I get in with a major publishing house, I’m not going to turn it down on principal.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

5 months and that version is not worth the paper it’s printed on. But the three years I spent revising and learning how to write afterword has transformed it into something lovely.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

X-Men, Maximum ride, the movie Gattaca.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

*spoiler alert*

Star wars. Sort of a cliché I know, but there’s a scene in one of the newer ones where obi wan is shown around the clone army factory and I literally thought, what would it be like to be one of thousands of the same DNA?

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

There’s a love triangle for the prettier half of the population, betrayal, self-sacrifice and violence. Err… I give up. Here’s the latest version of my query:

Learning he’s adopted off the black market as part of a genetic experiment cover up gives sixteen year-old Alexander Mitchell more than a few abandonment issues.  

Subtle differences have always made Xan feel off. Deep cuts that heal like scratches, the way his parents refuse to answer questions about his biological mother or how they discourage any behavior that attracts attention. After an assassination attempt on Xan’s life he’s faced with no choice but to uncover why the company wants him dead and turn the tables on the assassin hunting him. His heart is torn between his girlfriend who he fears will find him revolting and unnatural if she ever discovers the truth, and a beautiful yet socially awkward genetically engineered genius, he’s surprised to find common ground with. Xan will lose the love of both girls, risk the lives of his family, and die in the process if he can’t face a darker version of himself and bring the company to its knees. 

Here are the prospective authors i've tagged. Check them out.

Katrina Lantz  

Ashley  Benning

Dabbling in Graphic Novels

This week I've been dabbling in the graphic novel genre. Below are some of the sketches I did. Still trying to figure out my style, American vs. Anime.I think I want something in the middle. Some are pencil some pen and ink/ marker

AND THE WINNER IS...

And the winner of the cartoon makeover is Angie Lofthouse! 

I'd just like to take a moment and thank although who participated and made this contest a success.  My page views have more than tripled this month. Thanks everyone for being so supportive. 

CONTEST: Win a Cartoon Make-over!

Today starts my first ever Contest. From now until Tuesday October 2, all those who add themselves as a follower on my blog (aka "Awesome people") will be entered in a drawing for a cartoon make-over.  If you are already a follower simply comment on this post to let me know you are interested in participating.  

Think of the possibilities: A digital you is perfect for your blog, website, or even just a fun profile picture.

You could go from this to that!

  

                                    

Coming along...

The first color cartoon in done. Check it out below.

More to come.

Working on my first contest

I don't have a lot of followers. It's sad but true. Anyway I'm working on setting up my very first contest. The prize is a cartoon version of the winner created by none other than me. My goal is to get 10 or more followers. Depending how this goes I'll try more contests.

    Today I've been developing some examples. So here's what the cartoon looks like.

                             

                             

Tomorrow I'll color them  or maybe next week since I'm making my son a train table for his birthday. And yes it's me and my Hubby. He doesn't typically have a mustache so don't worry :)

Goals and Accountability

I make a lot of goals about my writing. It helps to keep me producing. Like right now I have a goal to finish my current WIP by Thanksgiving. Well not finish, but get it to the stage where I can send it out to readers for feed back.
My goals all seem promising until disaster strikes, like the whole family get's sick or my husband loses his job and we have to move. I remember one year starting Nanowirmo off strong only to be asked to create a show for our church Christmas party.
Anyway, I think publicly acknowledging or declaring my goals might give them more of a back bone when it comes to facing the unforeseeable.

I'm going to list my goals here so I have someone to be accountable to.
               1. Post on my blog at least once a week.
               2. Get my current WIP ready to be read by Thanksgiving.
               3. Submit my short stories to 5 different journals
               4. Get my writing group functional
               5. Submit my picture book or take scrap pictures for the illustrations.
               6. Have some sort of contest on my blog to get more readers.
All the above mentioned goals are good through December.
If I achieve everything, I'll try throwing a blog party.

Face to Face

Lot's has happened since my last post. I've moved to a new state to follow my husband on a new career path. Anyway I'm making new friends left and right. I've joined a large woman's organization and am giving  the old face to face networking a try. I thought it would be awkward talking about my writing, but it hasn't been that bad. It was strangely... familiar. Maybe that's because  when I was single, I used to connect with guys through the books I'd read. I guess that's why I went out with a lot of sci-fi geeks. Anyway the conversation never went dry. And I've discovered parts of my stories can connect with people in a real way.

       New acquaintance: So, what do you do?

       Me: I write books. Just starting to get rejections. (usually I put in an interesting detail about the story so they ask for more.)

       New acquaintance: "My brother got a bunch of them but he just found a publisher."   You'd be surprised how many people connected to the industry. 

      I ask her a bit about her brother's book and then she asks me about mine and it's elevator pitch time.

 Needless to say I got a whole table full of people asking me questions about my current WIP.

When I talk about my novel, I let my passion show through, like I'm sharing a bit of my dreams with those around me. Cause in reality that's exactly what I'm doing.

My Picture book is available for free through Monday

So i just uploaded a picture book to amazon. It's great for toddlers and little kids. You can download it for free through Monday. works on kindles, ipads and other tablets, even your computer with the kindle cloud reader.
http://www.amazon.com/Where-is-your-nose-ebook/dp/B007A45YPA/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1330100122&sr=1-4

Amazon.com: Where is your nose? eBook: Sarah Anderson, Sarah Anderson : Kindle Store

www.amazon.com

Amazon.com: Where is your nose? eBook: Sarah Anderson, Sarah Anderson : Kindle Store

i just uploaded a picture book to Amazon!

So i just uploaded a picture book to amazon. Mostly, just for fun but also for the experience, as i'm playing with the idea of publishing more content later on.
So here's the cover.

here's a sneak peek at some of the illustrations.

And just to be fair...

Yeah i know they're the cutest kids in the world :)


Anyway it should be available for free for the first 5 days so please down load it. As more downloads will get my book ranked higher. I'll post the link when it becomes available.