Official Maria V. Snyder Blog

I've wonderful news, INSIDE OUT final for a Prism Award in the Young Adult category!!  YAY!!  My fellow finalists are  Shade, by Jeri Smith-Ready (a really good friend of mine - we already planned for the winner to buy the loser a drink ;), and Picture the Dead , by Kelly Barrales-Saylor.  We'll find out the winner at the end of June.  Here's a link to see the other finalists in the other catergories: http://www.romance-ffp.com/contests.cfm As for the giveaway - I'm a guest blogger on I Just Wanna to Sit Here and Read blog - I blogged about writing a dystopian novel and Sheepy.  As part of the blog, we are giving away 4 copies of INSIDE OUT so stop by and be entered to win - the contest ends June 6th.   Here's the link: http://www.sithereandread.com/2011/05/guest-post-maria-v-snyder-giveaway.html I had a great time at BEA (book expo) and am now off to Balticon in Hunt Valley, Maryland for the long weekend!  If anyone is in the area on...

Social Media  are the catch words of the day.  I've been hearing it from everyone - my publisher, my editor, my agent and even my writer friends.  Facebook and Twitter, I think are the biggest examples of social media.  And there are lots of articles out there on how to use social media to promote books.  I'm all for spreading the word--writing is a business, but...I don't know if it's truly working.  And it does take time - time that could be spent writing books and short stories.  I'm sure I'm not the first person to wonder if  the time spent is worth it in a business sense.  In general, would readers prefer more stories and less interaction?  Or more interaction and not as many books?  Do you make discoveries online? However I enjoy doing the social media thing in a more personal sense and will continue to do what I can, which is maintain two Facebook pages (one more personal and the other a Fan page)...

This is a guest post from Author/Speaker Bri Clark (she has also posted comments in my blog).  Welcome Bri and thanks so much for putting together this very infomative post for all writers :) GMC…and we ain’t discussing trucks. GOALS, MOTIVATION and CONFLICT My editor at Astraea Press (I indicate Astraea cause I have several editors) and I were discussing submissions (we were discussing submissions because I also run the blog and contribute to the marketing for the Press. Currently authors wear many hats, but that’s a whole other post) She was expressing her dismay at having to reject so many. She’s wore the author cap too. She knows the sting. Nevertheless, she said she couldn’t accept a novel of any kind lacking GMC. GMC…I repeated. What’s that? Goals, Motivation, Conflict she explained…, which are what, spurred this post. GOALS: A story needs to have goals for the overall book as well as for the characters. Especially the main characters…however even the sup...

I'm cleaning out my inbox.  It's amazing just how many emails can lurk below what I can see on my computer screen.  I think they hide there, hoping I'd forget about them ;>  I've long since given up my goal of being "caught up" with all my email replies.  Now, if I'm only a week or two behind, I'm feeling pretty good. As with all house cleaning, I've been finding a few items of interest that I've posted below. Links: I'm participating in Brenda Novak's Annual Online Auction for Diabetes Research - I've donated a set of Australian Study books that you can bid on and raise money for diabetes (I'll personalize them and sign them for the winning bidder :). Here's a link to the auction (lots of goodies to bid on): http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com/ and a link to my books: http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com/Bidding.taf?_function=detail&Auction_uid1=2132967 INSIDE OUT was mentioned in The Independent on Su...

Fiction writers spend lots of time with imaginary people - we have conversations with fictional characters, we argue with them, and spend hours putting their words, actions and thoughts onto a blank screen or page, depending on the author's work preferences.  However, writing is not a solitary life.  We have families and friends and other writers to hang out with.  And I will admit, hanging out with my fellow writers is always interesting - we discuss the business of writing, the craft of writing, and have a million odd little conversations about zombies, murder, cats, chips, and basically "fill in the blank." As an aspiring writer, I had the good fortune to meet many published authors who shared their knowledge of the industry and writing with me.  One author, Kate Elliott, even spent time critiquing my first book, POISON STUDY and her comments improved my story tremendously.  Of course, I thanked her many times and treated her to dinner, b...

Sorry it's been quiet around here - 16 days without a post.  The short version is I caught a nasty head cold/sinus infection, went to Texas, had a blast, worked too hard, came home still sick, and spent the next week napping...er...recovering.  The long story is down below (warning - it's very long - but there are some pictures!), but first I need to anounce the winners of the Australian Give Away!  Thanks for all who posted reviews for INSIDE OUT and OUTSIDE IN all over the Internet - it is most appreciated!  I picked four winners by using a random number generator, and from those four, the person with the highest score won his/her choice of Study books or Glass books.  Second highest received the other set and the next two won Australian editions of INSIDE OUT  (I hope - I haven't heard from my AU editor yet!). The winners are: 1st place - Nicole - who picked the Glass books! 2nd place - Ashley - gets the Study books! 3rd place - Sophia -...

That's down south to Texas, y'all ;>  I'm leaving at OMG-early tomorrow morning and will be there until late Friday night...my birthday :)  Yeah, I was born on Tax day here in the USA - well, I think this year it's the 18th to give everyone the weekend to panic....I mean...prepare their tax forms. I wanted to post this last week, but a nasty head cold/sinus infection took me out for four days!  Here's my schedule for those who live in the great state of Texas! April 12, 2011 Reading, Reception, Q&A, and Book Signing at El Paso Community College, Valle Verde branch in the Cafeteria Annex (919 Hunter Drive, El Paso, Texas, 79915) 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. April 14, 2011 Book Signing at Barnes & Noble (La Frontera Village, 2701 Parker Road Bldg A Suite 700, Round Rock, Texas, 78681, 512-600-0088) 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. And it's 116 days until I arrive in Australia!!!  Further south than Texas and also a heck of a lot bigger :)April is also the releas...